The debate on ‘quality’ in universities continues to exercise the time and energies of those involved in higher education and in government. These debates include questions of the meaning of quality as well as its measurement. Central to such debates are the related issues of ‘teaching’ and ‘learning’; issues that are embedded in discourse of accountability, value for money, and who pays. The Covid pandemic has foregrounded the inherent quality of online, as opposed to face-to-face learning, but we are also witnessing, in England, ongoing reviews of the various UK government measures of teaching quality. The recent responses to the Augar review, TEF and NSS plans have not done much to clarify the situation

This event will offer opportunities to discuss what is meant by ‘quality’ and how we might go about measuring it.

This event is organised by the Academic Practice Network, SRHE and supported by CSPACE, Birmingham City University, and CCL, University of Central Lancashire

Abstracts for the following papers can be read here. 

The programme, along with some of the presentation materials, can also be found here.

     22^nd June

2pm                      Keynote

                             Quality in the networked digital university

Adam Matthews, University of Birmingham

3pm                      Session 1A

One size does not fit all: Ensuring quality across HE sub-cultures - Laura Roper

Session 1B

Reimagining quality at a university in a middle-income country - Gerda J. Visser-Wijnveen

Session 1C

Student Experience Matters: Measuring Quality by Engaging Students through Online Quizzes - Xiangping Du

Coffee break

4.15pm                 Session 2A

Accountability as a tripartite construct in the quality debate - Annie McCartney, Dawn Story and Clare Kell

Session 2B

Not the quality police: tales from an integrated approach to quality assurance and enhancement - Clare Saunders and Jennifer Marie

Session 2C

University quality and student voice in the age of artificial intelligence - Krzysztof Rybinski

5.15pm                 Review of Day 1

5.30pm                 Quality Quiz and online social (optional)

6.30pm                 End

23^rd June

1.45pm                 Welcome

2pm                      Lightning presentations

• • • • • Quality Teacher Educators and the development of quality classroom teachers  - Desiree Antonio
        • When I look at the screen, do you see and feel the same as me? - Michelle Groves
        • Shaken & (Digitally) Stirred. Exploring Pivot Qualities in a Transnational Context - Pip McDonald
        • Meaningful Assessment as Feedback for Quality Assurance - Nathalie Tasler
        • Lost in Translation: Lessons from our Chinese Students - Cai Zhang

3.15                      Session 3A 

Identifying and Mapping Higher Education's Intangible Assets

Elizabeth Cleaver, Alastair Robertson and Fiona Smart

Session 3B

Dimensions of Wellbeing and implications for Quality in Doctoral Supervision Pedagogy - Martin Gough

Session 3C

The role of belonging and community in ensuring quality of learning in a digital environment  - Marion Snow and Naomi Braithwaite

4.15pm                 Keynote

Quality as an emergent, formative process: understanding and improving teaching and learning as a case in point

Matt O’Leary, Professor of Education, Director of CSPACE research centre, Birmingham City University

Vanessa Cui, Research Fellow, co-lead of Practitioner Education Research Group at CSPACE, Birmingham City University

5.15pm                        Final comments and end of conference