Academic Quality and Standards Subcommittee

Origin

Senate is the ultimate academic authority within the University, but it cannot be directly involved in decision making on all matters for which it is formally responsible:  the range of business undertaken inevitably means that delegation of powers and responsibility to individuals and to committees is necessary.  The Academic Quality and Standards Subcommittee is a subcommittee of the Education & Student Experience Committee and has delegated responsibility from the Education & Student Experience Committee to oversee the quality monitoring and enhancement framework and its implementation, and the University Regulations.

Purpose

• The Academic Quality & Standards Subcommittee oversees on behalf of the Education & Student Experience Committee the quality monitoring and enhancement framework and its implementation, and the University Regulations.
• The Chair is responsible for ensuring that any equality impacts against each project/policy/process/procedure have been considered as part of the decision-making process.

Responsibilities and activity

• To maintain, subject to the approval of the Education & Student Experience Committee the University's regulatory framework for all taught and research degree programmes, including regulations for admissions, recruitment and outreach and all forms of collaborative provision in the UK and overseas, and to regularly review the framework to take due account of external reference points of regulatory bodies.
• To own and maintain on behalf of the Education & Student Experience Committee the University's quality assurance framework for taught and research degree programmes including all forms of collaborative provision in the UK and overseas and any approved accreditation/affiliation arrangements, and to review the framework to take due account of national developments. Consideration of quality for all postgraduate research programmes will be routed through the Postgraduate Research Quality Monitoring & Enhancement Subcommittee of the Doctoral College with recommendations reported to Academic Quality & Standards Subcommittee for endorsement and approval by Education & Student Experience Committee.
• To develop policy and guidelines in the areas of quality, monitoring and enhancement.
• To direct Faculties and Schools on the implementation of new policies and guidelines to agreed timelines.
• To scrutinise and, where appropriate, approve new taught or doctoral programmes and major and minor modifications to existing programmes and to approve the Programme Specification(s) and Doctoral Programme Profiles for those programmes. 
• To approve the closure of programmes and implement the Student Protection Plan when programmes are at risk of closure.
• To monitor, through a specified schedule of reporting, the compliance of Schools and Faculties with the requirements of the regulatory and quality assurance frameworks (internal and external) to ensure the standards of awards, the quality of the students’ learning opportunities, the progress against enhancement action plans, and the quality of public information.  Reports to Education & Student Experience Committee will be made on:
  • Matters of enhancement, common themes and/or urgent issues.
  • Matters of significant non-compliance by Schools and Faculties.
• To consider and, where appropriate, approve on behalf of the Education & Student Experience Committee any requests submitted by Schools for exemption from harmonised regulations.
• To consider and make recommendations, via the Education & Student Experience Committee, to Senate for the approval of new awards.
• To establish, develop and monitor the University’s student admissions policies for all levels of study, ensuring such policies comply with relevant legislative and statutory requirements and align with the relevant aspects of the UK Quality Code.
• To be responsible for the regulatory and quality assurance framework for approved accreditation/affiliation arrangements.
• To ensure compliance with regulatory bodies and with other external requirements when approving new and existing policy, procedures and guidance across the University's quality monitoring and enhancement framework.
• To receive specified reports from the Education Partnerships Subcommittee and the Postgraduate Research Quality Monitoring & Enhancement Subcommittee.
• To prepare responses to national quality exercises, (e.g. Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies, QAA, Office for Students) in accordance with University strategy and policy.
• To receive minutes from School Programmes Committees.

Reporting arrangements

• The Academic Quality & Standards Subcommittee reports to the Education & Student Experience Committee. 
• The Annual Assurance Statement, approved at the first meeting of the Academic Quality & Standards Subcommittee, will be shared with the Education & Student Experience Committee and Senate before being submitted to Council.
• The Academic Quality & Standards Subcommittee has reporting relationships with:
  • Postgraduate Research Quality Monitoring and Enhancement Subcommittee
  • School Programmes Committees
  • Education Partnerships Subcommittee
  • External Degrees Subcommittee (currently held in abeyance

• The Academic Quality & Standards Subcommittee appoints Scrutiny Groups to undertake some aspects of its work, providing the Academic Quality & Standards Subcommittee with overview reports. The Scrutiny Groups include:
  • Annual Monitoring Scrutiny Group
  • External Examiners Scrutiny Group
  • Programme Regulations Scrutiny Group
• The Academic Quality & Standards Subcommittee may set up and disband from time to time such working groups as it decides are required to execute its business.

Between ordinary meetings of the Academic Quality & Standards Subcommittee, the Chair shall have power to act on behalf of the Academic Quality & Standards Subcommittee on any matter requiring an immediate or early decision.  Any decisions taken by the Chair under these delegated powers shall be reported to the next meeting of the Academic Quality & Standards Subcommittee.  Matters requiring an immediate or early decision include such items as:

• routine business that would not normally merit discussion at a meeting of the Academic Quality & Standards Subcommittee;
• matters relating to the implementation of policies that have already been approved by the Academic Quality & Standards Subcommittee:
  • where permission is given by the Academic Quality & Standards Subcommittee to finalise approval on completion of specified actions related to an item previously scrutinised at a meeting;
  • matters where delaying a decision would disadvantage the University or put it at risk;
  • in an emergency, or unforeseen circumstances, provided that such action is taken only in exceptional circumstances and, where practicable, in consultation with selected Academic Quality & Standards Subcommittee members with expertise relevant to the issue

Constitution

• Chair: Associate Vice-President (Education)
• Representative of Associate Deans (Education)    
• Deputy Heads of School (Education) (or nominee)
• Director of the Doctoral College
• Representative of the Centre for Higher Education Practice (CHEP)
• Representative from University of Southampton Malaysia (UoSM)
• Academic Registrar
• Head of Quality, Standards and Accreditation Team (QSAT)
• Director of Global Recruitment & Admissions (or nominee)
• One Faculty Education Manager as nominated by the Head of Quality, Standards & Accreditation
• Students’ Union - Vice-President Education & Democracy
• Students’ Union - Two other student representatives
• Chair of Postgraduate Quality, Monitoring and Enhancement Subcommittee
• Chair of the Education Partnerships Subcommittee
• Secretary

Quorum and frequency

Quorum

The Academic Quality & Standards Subcommittee will be quorate with one third of the membership plus one in attendance.

Frequency of meetings

The Academic Quality & Standards Subcommittee will meet at least once per term. 

Resources

Secretariat support is provided by Quality, Standards & Accreditation Team.

Terms of Reference review

Date of last review:....... June 2023

Date of next review:...... September 2024

Annual Pattern of Business 2023-24

Agendas, minutes and published papers of Academic Quality and Standards Subcommittee are available to members of the University via the AQSS Open-access SharePoint site.

Members of AQSS can access the AQSS members SharePoint site. 

Governance reporting line

The Academic Quality and Standards Subcommittee (AQSS) reports to the Education and Student Experience Committee (ESEC).

Document owner

Education and Student Experience Committee.