Academic quality and standards are crucial to the reputation of UK higher education, which is widely regarded as amongst the best in the world.

Universities UK and Higher Education Wales support this work in a number of ways. HEW works with the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), which reviews how universities manage their quality and standards, and the Higher Education Academy (HEA) which exists to help universities provide the best possible learning experience for their students. As well as participating and/or leading policy development in this area in Wales, HEW explains and promotes the ways in which universities work to safeguard quality, including through its work with the media and the Welsh Assembly Government.

HEW is also represented on the steering group for the National Student Survey, the results of which are published on the Unistats website.

The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and Institutional Review (IR)

The primary responsibility for academic standards and quality rests with individual institutions and HEW works with the QAA and HEFCW on the core principles, general requirements and key features of the Institutional Review: Wales process adopted for higher education in Wales from 2009/10. 

Institutional review is the means the QAA uses to review how effectively higher education institutions in Wales manage the quality and standards of their academic provision. After each review, a report is published that contains judgements on whether or not confidence can be placed in the institution's own quality assurance systems. The reports also contain features of good practice and recommendations for further action.

There has been a new IR process in Wales since 2009/10 and further details can be found in the QAA IR handbook at QAA Handbook for Wales 2009.

Further information is available on the QAA website.