QAA, the Quality Assurance Agency recently (on August 1, 2012) introduced a quality mark for UK’s higher education institutes. By introducing this scheme, QAA wants to ensure that students and their parents get a fair idea about the quality and standard of education in any UK educational institute.

Under this scheme QAA will be reviewing UK educational institutes and if review came out in favor of a certain college/university then it will be granted the QAA quality mark. The college or university that will subscribe to QAA’s logo would have to score positive reviews on every level. To get QAA quality mark, educational institutes would have to attain good reviews from Institutional Review in England and Northern Ireland, Institutional Audit in England and Northern Ireland, Enhancement-led Institutional Review in Scotland and Institutional Review in Wales. Educational institutes would have to adhere to terms and conditions of QAA after being awarded QAA logo for use.

The Eligible subscriber will be able to display QAA’s quality mark on its prospectus or website, as per terms and conditions of the agency. The Eligible subscriber would also have to abide by all the legal terms and conditions of the QAA and the use of its registered trademark.

Also, eligible subscribers should understand that they have been granted the permission to display their QAA quality mark status in the United Kingdom only. And this permission doesn’t get automatically extended to Eligible subscribers’ overseas partners.

According to CEO of QAA, Anthony McClaran, this scheme will be quite beneficial for the students, nationally and internationally, as the logo will inform them about quality of higher studies in that particular institute in UK. And this will further reassure them that they are investing their money wisely.

So far only some selected educational institutes have been reviewed by the QAA and have been granted the quality mark.

In today’ age where higher education is being sought by natives and non-native students with great interest, this new scheme could help prospective students to judge the quality and standard of education provided at the institution they are seeking admission. If the scheme worked out just the way QAA has expected then it can be a successful tool in analyzing quality of UK’s educational institutes.

You can view the list of approved list of subscribers, FAQs for subscribers and terms of QAA by following this link http://www.qaa.ac.uk/AboutUs/corporate/Policies/Pages/logo-licensing.aspx.

Priyanka Sharma