Origin
The Academic Quality and Standards Committee is a committee of Education and Student Experience Committee and has delegated responsibility to oversee the provision of all education delivered under the name of the University of Southampton. The School Programmes Committee was implemented to support the Academic Quality and Standards Committee in carrying out its delegated responsibilities.
Purpose
- To oversee the delivery of educational programmes consistent with the university strategy as it applies to education and student experience, ensuring implementation of the University’s regulatory and quality assurance framework for taught programmes and taught parts of research programmes.
- 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 oversee delivery of educational programmes consistent with the University strategy as it applies to education and student experience.
- To ensure implementation of the University’s regulatory and quality assurance frameworks for taught programmes and taught parts of research programmes, to assure the attainment of appropriate academic standards as described in external reference points.
- To identify areas where action needs to be taken to enhance the student learning experience.
- To report to Faculty Education and Student Experience Subcommittee, Faculty Graduate School Subcommittee, and Education Partnerships Subcommittee on issues related to the student experience, including the Personal Academic Tutoring system
- To report to the Academic Quality and Standards Committee on quality monitoring and regulatory matters for taught and taught parts of research programmes according to that committee’s specified reporting schedule.
- To receive and consider reports from external review and/or accreditation of taught and taught parts of research programmes by Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies.
- To receive and consider updates from Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies regarding changes to accreditation requirements.
- To appoint internal and external examiners for taught programmes and taught parts of research programmes, on behalf of Senate.
- To receive and consider the reports from, and approve responses to, external examiners for taught programmes.
- To receive and consider any feedback from Academic Quality and Standards Committee arising from reports, eg, External Examiners reports, Annual Monitoring.
- To receive and consider reports and action plans from Programme Approval or Programme Review panels and to monitor progress via the Programme Action Plan.
- To ensure compliance with the requirements of regulatory bodies when making authorised changes to existing modules and programmes, and when proposing new or when scrutinising and/or proposing the withdrawal of taught or taught parts of research programmes to the Faculty and Academic Quality and Standards Committee.
- To establish student prizes and the award of those prizes.
- To receive reports from Student Staff Liaison Committees.
Reporting arrangements
- The School Programmes Committee reports to the Academic Quality and Standards Committee.
- It also reports to the Faculty Education and Student Experience Subcommittee, Faculty Graduate School Subcommittee, and Education Partnerships Subcommittee (where applicable) on issues related to the student experience.
- The School Programmes Committee may set up and disband from time to time such advisory/working groups as it decides are required to execute its business.
Constitution
- Chair: Deputy Head of School (Education)
- Head of School
- Doctoral Programme Directors (programmes with taught part(s))
- Representative from significant education partnerships, including international campuses (where applicable)
- Head of Faculty Student Administration
- SUSU School (and, where applicable, Departmental) Presidents
- Secretary
The Chair may co-opt additional members as necessary (including to act as chairs of advisory/working groups).1
Members who are unable to attend may send a substitute with permission of the Chair.
1 The Chair may co-opt additional members as necessary, which enables them to invite relevant staff/role holders based on local education structures, ie, Programme Leaders/Directors of Programmes/School Senior Tutor or other such roles.
Quorum
The School Programmes Committee will be quorate with one third of membership plus one in attendance.
Frequency of meetings
The School Programmes Committee will usually meet three times per year.
Resources
Secretariat support is provided by the Curriculum & Quality Assurance Team.
Terms of Reference review
Date of last review:....... November 2025
Date of next review:...... November 2026
Governance reporting line
The School Programmes Committee reports to the Academic Quality and Standards Subcommittee . It also reports to the Faculty Education & Student Experience Subcommittee and the Faculty Graduate School Subcommittee .
Document owner
Academic Quality and Standards Subcommittee .