QAA student panel calls for clearer quality processes

Updated Nov 10, 2026

Students need a way to understand and influence quality processes. That was a theme of the student panel at QAA’s Quality by Design event on 4 November 2026. The London event explored reference points used in course design, review and enhancement.

Make quality processes understandable

The student panel discussed co-creation, access and the role of representatives in helping other students understand quality processes. Panellists suggested a brief explanation of key quality issues for new students. They also emphasised students’ agency in shaping their education.

The wider event connected the Quality Code and its Advice & Guidance with Subject Benchmark Statements, Characteristics Statements and qualifications frameworks. Our account of the completed Quality Code guidance provides a route into its student partnership and evaluation principles.

Start with a decision students recognise

For an institutional Student Experience team, our practical suggestion is to choose a decision already coming to a course or quality committee. Use a concern students have raised, such as unclear assessment instructions or a difficult service handover. Explain who will consider it, what that group can change and how students can contribute before the decision.

Ask representatives to test that explanation with students. Can they identify the issue, the person responsible and the next opportunity to influence the response? Record the questions they ask and revise the explanation with the quality team. The student-partnership pathway helps define the role students will have in that discussion.

Keep the comments attached to the task

When preparing the committee paper, bring the relevant comment themes together with the material students describe. A concern about unclear assessment expectations can be reviewed alongside the brief and marking criteria. Give the course team a specific question to resolve and ask students to check the revised explanation.

After the meeting, return the decision in terms students can use: the issue considered, the action agreed, its owner and the next update. Where a proposal remains open, explain what decision or information is needed. The closing-the-loop pathway helps plan that return. QAA Cymru’s subject review and action-planning findings also distinguish completing an activity from examining the experience students report afterwards.

FAQ

What happened at Quality by Design?

QAA brought together UK sector contributors on 4 November 2026 to discuss reference points for quality and standards, including a student panel on participation in quality processes.

What could a team explain to students first?

Choose a live course or service decision. Explain who can make it, how students can influence it and when they will hear the response.

How can comments support the discussion?

Use them to identify a concrete question, review the relevant material with students and record the decision that follows.

References

QAA: Quality by Design, 4 November 2026.