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Purposes
and outcomes of developmental engagements: |
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Developmental engagements will take place
during the
transitional period. Institutions
May wish to use the opportunity to evaluate
their quality
assurance systems and their
programmes with a view to identify strengths
and areas
for further improvement. This
Part of the Handbook provides guidelines for
the engagements
and a provisional
Timetable. |
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In addition to internal projects, some of
which may
be funded by the QAAP, the Agency
will wish to arrange external peer reviews.
Institutions
are invited to participate in these
peer review engagements by submitting to the
Agency
their annual self-evaluation
report and discussing with the Agency the
appropriate
timing of a site-visit.
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These developmental engagements provide an
opportunity
for institutions to develop
and test, in co-operation with the Agency, the
effectiveness
of the institution’s quality
assurance systems, the robustness of the
evidence base
and the reports that they
generate in those systems. The Agency will
agree on
a suitable schedule, compose a
peer review team (annex A), appoint a review
chair and
invite the institution to nominate
a facilitator (annex C).
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The benefits to an institution of
participating in a
developmental engagement include,
in addition to the opportunities to test,
develop and
refine internal review processes:
the dialogue with peers; receiving external
structured
comment; and the written review
report, which should offer an agenda for
further improvement.
All of these may assist
further with the institution’s arrangements to
identify strengths and weaknesses, enhance
the programmes and disseminate good practice.
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The developmental engagements and the outcomes
will
not lead to accreditation.
However, the conclusions reached will include a
judgment
on: the extent to which the
quality assurance systems in place are
effective; and
the quality and academic standards
of the programmes.
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The outcome of each developmental engagement
is a set
of conclusions agreed by the
visiting review team, conveyed in an oral
feedback at
the end of the site visit (annex
J) and supported by a detailed review report
(annex
Q). The report will remain confidential.
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