Institution-led Review (ILR) is designed to ensure that, besides external review, universities and colleges are responsible for managing their own periodic internal reviews - such as for subject areas, support services or cross-institutional themes.
Institutions should carry out ILRs to produce robust, comprehensive and credible evidence that the academic standards of awards are secure and that provision in Scottish institutions is of high quality and being enhanced. ILR should be designed to promote and support critical reflection on policy and practice. The method used should ensure that any shortcomings are addressed, and it should give a central role to quality enhancement by promoting dialogue on areas in which quality could be improved and identify good practice for dissemination within the institution and beyond.
Resources
Please note that we are in the process of updating our guidance around engaging students in ILR, in line with the new tertiary approach to quality. The new guidance will be published here and added to our Resource Library in due course.
In the meantime, our 2016 guidance (applicable to universities only at the time of publication) is still available for reference, Engaging students in Institution-led Review, developed in conjunction with Robert Gordon University’s Gray’s School of Art and IT Services Department. A two-page executive summary is also available. It was designed to support staff and students to work together before, during and after reviews of academic departments, service areas and cross-institutional themes. This guidance informed, and was launched as part of, QAA Scotland's Focus On project on ILR.
In 2016 we also published generic, adaptable training materials that universities and students’ associations can use for student members of ILR panels.
Generic workbook - Word | pdf
Generic presentation - PowerPoint | pdf
Generic tutor notes - Word | pdf
Guidance on roleplay characters - Word | pdf
As noted above, our work and resources in this area are being updated in line with the new tertiary approach to quality, and sparqs continues to support students and staff in conversations about what partnership in internal review should look like.
For more information on this area of work, please contact Eve Lewis.