Terms of Reference

The Faculty or School Learning, Teaching and Quality Committee will be responsible to the Board of Studies for the academic standards and quality of the undergraduate and taught postgraduate provision of the Faculty or School through:

1. implementation, monitoring and promotion of good practice and innovation in relation to the enhancement of the quality of learning and teaching in the Faculty/School, including oversight of e-education initiatives;

2. promotion of continuing dialogue between staff and students in the development and enhancement of the student learning experience, including the identification and implementation of effective student engagement practice;

3. consideration of key draft documentation for full programme proposals prior to consideration of full documentation by the Courses and Partnerships Approval Committee, including their academic content and coherence, academic standards and quality, relationships with existing provision, and conformity with the University’s academic framework and Quality Assurance Code of Practice;

4. consideration of proposed collaborative provision, other than in relation to research degree provision, including Institutional Agreements and Exchange Partners, for recommendation to the Programmes and Partnerships Approval Committee;

5. consideration and approval of the renewal of department-level agreements with exchange partners;

6. consideration and approval of Degree Scheme Review outcomes and action plans and determination of the process for monitoring implementation of each action plan in line with expectations set out in the Quality Assurance Code of Practice, apart from those relating to the School of Management where the relevant Learning, Teaching and Quality Committee will advise the Courses and Partnerships Approval Committee which will give final consideration and approval;

7. consideration of proposed amendments to units, programmes and scheme of assessment, including approval of minor/intermediate amendments of programmes of study and units where authority has been delegated by the Board of Studies, and recommendation of major amendments to programmes of study and units to the Courses and Partnerships Approval Committee;

8. consideration of professional accreditation submissions and for recommendation to the Programmes and Partnerships Approval Committee;

9. systematic analysis of recruitment, admissions and retention statistics in the context of national trends and any Faculty or School-specific educational objectives;

10. receiving and considering of overview reports and data in relation to academic standards, student progression and achievement and key aspects of the student learning experience (including annual monitoring reports for programmes, External Examiners’ reports, accreditation reports and student feedback) taking action as may be required;

11. consideration and approval of an annual quality report for submission to the Education, Quality & Standards Committee;

12. formulation of Faculty or School responses to internal and external consultation papers relating to quality assurance, learning and teaching and widening participation;

13. implementation of relevant QA procedures and the promulgation of good practice across the Faculty/School;

14. recommendation of delegation of authority by the Board of Studies to appropriate subject-level fora to approve minor and intermediate changes to units and monitoring the effectiveness of the subsequent exercise of this delegation on behalf of the Board of Studies;

15. effective interaction with departmental programmes committees or equivalent and collaborative partners.

16. scrutiny of courses designed or redesigned according to the “curriculum transformation” process, principles and academic framework and

a) to recommend for approval to Curriculum Transformation Committee (CTC) courses at the end of Phase 1 of CT;

b) to recommend for approval to CTC new courses at the end of Phases 2 or 3;

c) at an extraordinary meeting of the Committee, to approve the transformation of existing courses at the end of Phases 2 and 3;

d) to recommend for approval to CTC exemptions from the principles and/or academic framework for curriculum transformation.

Procedural rules

Membership

The term of office for nominated members of the Committee is three years (renewable). The term of office for elected members of the Committee is one year (eligible for re-election). In the event that a nominated/elected member ceases to be eligible to serve, a replacement to serve for the remainder of their term of office will be nominated/elected (renewable/eligible for reelection).

Co-option

At the discretion of the Committee. Co-option shall be for one year at a time and for a maximum period of three successive years; thereafter, a member shall not be eligible for co-option for a period of one year.

Alternates

If an ex-officio member of the Committee is unable to attend a meeting, they may nominate an alternate to attend that meeting. If a nominated member of the Committee is unable to attend a meeting, an alternate may be nominated to attend that meeting.

Quorum

There shall be a quorum at meetings of one-third of the membership of the Committee.

Rules for Voting

There are no specified rules for voting.

Minutes

Minutes are submitted to the Faculty or School Board of Studies and Learning, Teaching and Quality Committee.

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