St Andrews first university in Scotland to take part in new quality review   

The University of St Andrews is to be the first higher education institution in Scotland to participate in the upcoming Tertiary Quality Enhancement Review (TQER), undertaken by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA).

This external review will assess the University’s quality assurance and enhancement processes, with a central focus on improving the student learning experience and fostering student success. 

TQER provides an independent evaluation of the University’s approach to academic quality, measuring its effectiveness against the Tertiary Quality Enhancement Framework (TQEF). This framework highlights key priorities, including excellence in learning and teaching, student success, meaningful student engagement and partnership, and a commitment to continuous improvement.

Vice Principal Education (Proctor), Professor Clare Peddie, said: “Welcoming this review will give us an opportunity to reflect on how well we, at St Andrews, support our students to achieve positive outcomes in education and student experience.

“We appreciate the deep exploration of our work by expert peer reviewers which will help to highlight how we meet the expectations of our students, their future employers and society and where we can further enhance our provision”.

Students’ Association Director of Education (DoEd) Hitanshi Badani, said: “The last institutional review of our University received many commendations and flagged just one recommendation that would have been meaningful to every single student on or off campus: our feedback mechanisms. The Students’ Association and the University have been working in partnership to use that recommendation to pilot several changes.

“The end-of-semester Module Evaluation Questionnaire system was reviewed with the goals of making it more user-friendly; closing the feedback loop and informing students on how survey data has been actioned and is being written into policy; a new mid-semester survey sent out by class reps is being standardised; and we are procuring a better digital platform to gather feedback; and our overall approach to surveys is shifting towards low quantity, high quality.

“This is a great example of the real-time effects that participating in an institutional review might have – it will drive our academic experience towards positive change through data and recommendations.

Addressing students, the DoEd continued: “This year, the new review method centres the student perspective in evaluating the quality of our academic standards. As your Director of Education, I am tasked with ensuring that the University’s consideration of student experiences is accurate, realistic, and representative.

“To ensure this, the University, the Students’ Association, and external bodies will be engaging with representatives and the wider student body in consultations.

“If this opportunity presents itself, please do participate and take some time to be honest and transparent in your reflections. Though you may not still be in St Andrews to see it, your thoughts might change how future students receive their education.”

The external review team is set to begin its assessment in March and April, with findings to be published in a final report by October 2025. The report will include qualitative feedback, commendations, and recommendations for further enhancements. The University is committed to acting upon these recommendations and will provide a follow-up report detailing its response and future improvements. 

As part of its commitment to transparency and accountability, the University of St Andrews will publicly share the final review report, reinforcing confidence in its approach to academic quality and student success.