QAA publishes report on Ruskin College, Oxford

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) has published a report on standards and quality at Ruskin College, Oxford (the College) following its review in March 2016.

A team of QAA reviewers visited the College and judged that the academic standards of the awards it offers on behalf of degree-awarding bodies and the enhancement of its student learning opportunities meet UK expectations. The quality of its student learning opportunities is commended.

However, reviewers judged that the quality of information about its student learning opportunities requires improvement to meet UK expectations.

The review report identifies a number of features of good practice at the College:

• the rigorous admissions processes that enable the College to provide educational opportunities to excluded and disadvantaged adults

• the personalised support provided by the learning development service, which enables student achievement

• the strong and effective partnership working that supports the provision of high quality and effective placement opportunities for students.

The review report recommends that the College ensure that all media accurately describes qualifications on which students are enrolled, and academic transcripts issued by the College consistently state the correct awarding and delivery institutions.

Paul Di Felice, Acting Principal of Ruskin College, Oxford, said: ‘The HER review was a valuable experience for the College. The view team highlighted many areas of ‘good practice’ and focused upon the outstanding level of support the College provides for all its students.

‘The reflective nature of the review provided an excellent opportunity to consider and reflect upon our engagement with the QAA Quality Code and the impact we have on the student experience.’

QAA’s Higher Education Reviews are carried out by experts from other universities and colleges. Every review team includes a student reviewer, because QAA believes that students should be partners in the quality assurance of their education.

The review team comprised Scott Isaacs (West Herts College), Sarah Riches (independent reviewer) and Lyes Bouakaz (student reviewer, University of Sheffield).