Forthcoming changes to the Quality Manual
Assessment Framework
A new Assessment Framework has been approved by the Education and Student Experience Committee (ESEC) and have been published on the Educator Academy SharePoint page. The relevant sections of the Quality Manual are being updated, and we anticipate publishing these in March 2026.
Course Structure Principles
A set of design principles which will apply to all new courses and new courses by change, have been approved by ESEC. These came into effect from February 2026 for new courses, new courses by change and changes outside regulations. They have been published on the Educator Academy SharePoint site. The relevant sections of the Quality Manual are being updated, and we anticipate publishing these in March 2026.
Voluntary Interruption of Studies (VIS)
QSC is reviewing the university's current approach to VIS, with a particular focus on why retrospective VIS requests arise. As part of this work, consideration is being given to whether there are appropriate circumstances in which staff-initiated VIS submissions could help support students experiencing significant difficulty, without undermining student choice, fairness, or regulatory compliance. This is exploratory work and no decisions have yet been made.
Views are invited from colleagues using the forms below:
VIS comments Form
‘Fit to Sit’ Policy
Due to PSRB requirements for some schools QSC is considering the introduction of a “fit to sit” policy for exams that Schools could opt in to. Under such a policy, if a student attends an exam, they are declaring that they are fit to do so and that the mark that they achieve should stand; as such, a subsequent EC claim for that exam would be inadmissible. The usual EC policy would remain applicable provided that the student did not attend the exam.
Terminology used in the Quality Manual
A review of the Quality Manual is being undertaken to standardise terminology where appropriate. For example, we use several terms synonymously such as:
- Qualifying Year/Level4/Year 1
- Part I/Level 5/Year 2
- Part II/Levels 6/Year 3
- Year/Part/Stage of course.
Consultation across all campuses will take place to define standard terminology.
Views are invited from colleagues using the forms below:
Terminology comments Form
Academic Misconduct
QSC is reviewing the Academic Misconduct Regulations and Procedures to ensure they remain fit for purpose considering rapidly evolving AI technologies and their impact on academic integrity. A key focus of the review is around false authorship, and the types of cases that will involve automatic referral to an Academic Misconduct Panel.
Views are invited from colleagues using the forms below:
Academic Misconduct comments Form
Reassessment
Clarification of the timing of completion of First Sits and Resits is under review. That is, whether all first sits need to be completed before resits can be taken by the student or whether a student can take a combination of first sits and resits within the same assessment period. We are working to have this clarified ahead of the start of the 2026/27 academic session.
Recent changes to the Quality Manual can be found on the following page:
Recent changes