17 Sep 2025

sparqs' TQER training

As the second cycle of the Tertiary Quality Enhancement Reviews gets underway, sparqs is pleased to introduce a new training opportunity designed to support college and university students’ associations engaging in a Tertiary Quality Enhancement Review (TQER). This dedicated TQER training programme aims to build confidence, knowledge, and meaningful engagement across the sector.

The training is aimed at Lead Student Reps (LSRs) and the students’ association staff who will support them, at institutions who are undergoing the review process in the 2025-26 or early 2026-27 academic year. If your institutions fall into this timescale, your sparqs Development Consultant will be in touch directly to invite you to our new training programme at the appropriate time.

For those undergoing the review process in future academic years, the training will be delivered regularly on an ongoing basis to ensure continual support is there for institutions, regardless of when their review lands in the TQER cycle. The first event took place on 11th September 2025 and the next training is planned for December 2025 and early 2026.

The first event included 10 delegates from across 6 institutions (3 colleges and 3 universities). It was a productive and engaging session, focused on enhancing understanding of TQER processes. Participants explored key principles, shared best practices, and engaged in interactive discussions to strengthen their roles in supporting students and students’ associations to engage in the review process. Feedback was positive, with attendees noting they gained helpful knowledge about how to practically engage students in the TQER process; also that the training will help participants train and support students, LSRs and student officers better. All participants said they would recommend the training to colleagues.

Each event is made up of two sessions: (A) and (B). sparqs will assign institutions to the appropriate session depending on their TQER timeline. Both (A) and (B) sessions will run concurrently at each event.

Session A will focus on the aspects of the TQER before the review visits, including the Scoping Meeting, the Strategic Impact Analysis (SIA) and the Advance Information Set (AIS).
Session B will focus on the Initial Review Visit (IRV) and Main Review Visit (MRV), including how the meetings will typically run, who should be involved, how to prepare in order to contribute effectively, and the role of students’ associations in the review visits.

This training offers a valuable opportunity to strengthen student representation and ensure meaningful engagement in the TQER process. sparqs looks forward to strong participation from institutions, helping both staff and student officers feel confident and well-prepared to contribute effectively.