PGR Policy, Strategy and Support

Information for Staff

Background

All higher education institutions in the UK are individually responsible for the quality of their educational provision.  However, to help ensure that quality is maintained and enhanced throughout the sector the Scottish Funding Council, through the sector’s Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), has developed and recommended a Quality Enhancement Framework (QEF) for use by all institutions.  This includes institutional responsibility for quality, incorporating institution-led/self-evaluation and review. The operation of a system of institutional self-evaluation and review demonstrates the University’s commitment to quality to students, external reviewers and other relevant stakeholders. 

The Review Panel

The Panel will be convened by Chris Pearce, Vice-Principal (Research) and will also comprise an internal academic member, an external academic member, an external professional services member, a student member, a Senate Assessor and the PGR Strategy Manager as clerk to the Panel.

Essentially, the process is:

• The Graduate School will provide the Panel with a completed self-evaluation questionnaire and supporting documentation. 
• This paperwork will be distributed for review by the Panel approximately one month prior to the Review date.
• Panel members will provide some brief comments about the submission and/or request any additional information they would like to review approximately two weeks prior to the Review.
• This will be followed by the Panel Review meetings during which the Panel will interview groups of staff and students from the Graduate School. 
• The Panel will draft a Report and Recommendations.  The Graduate School will have the opportunity to review the report for accuracy and the Head of College will provide a formal response to the Report. The Report will be submitted to the PGR Operations Committee, the PGR Executive, and the Research Planning and Strategy Committee (RPSC) prior to publication on the PGR Service website. 

Meetings with Graduate School and Subject Group Staff

The meetings with staff are central to the review process. The Panel will be looking for a balanced view of the Graduate School from these meetings, and hope that those they meet will tell them about the strengths and achievements of the Graduate School and why it is a good place to work and study, as well as about areas that could be improved or enhanced.

The Panel will hold meetings with academic staff and others who have pivotal roles in teaching, supervising and supporting students or staff. This may include: Postgraduate Convenors and administrators; supervisors; members of the Graduate School Board or equivalent; individuals with responsibility for student recruitment and careers advice; secretarial, technical and administrative staff who have specific responsibilities in support of teaching, learning, supervision and/or assessment; and up to three additional members of academic staff involved with research students who might not otherwise meet with the Panel to achieve a representative balance. The Panel would also like to include new supervisors to establish the support and preparation for their roles.

The meetings with staff are normally held after meetings with students in order to allow students’ views to be discussed with staff. Panels will not formally review students’ work. The Review Panel is grateful to staff for taking part and hopes that, once the process has been completed, all agree that it has proved useful.

If you have any queries about this process or would like any additional information, please contact your Graduate School Office or the PGR Service (pgr@glasgow.ac.uk).