Quality and Standards Office

The Validation Process involves an examination of the fitness for purpose of a programme and the appropriateness of its standard. Following completion of the programme approval process, QSO, in liaison with the Programme Director, convenes a Validation Panel, which includes External Assessors who ensure comparability of the programmes with others being offered nationally. The resulting validation event is a chance for the Panel to scrutinise the plans for a new or existing programme. It is also a chance for a constructive dialogue between the Panel and the Presenting Team in order to benefit the programme. Programmes are normally validated until the next Periodic Departmental Review, thus providing opportunities for continuous improvement and enhancement.

QSO runs a large number of validation events each year. An indicative timetable for the period 2011/12 is available here.

Information for Programme Directors

Planning

Prior to the beginning of the Validation process, planning approval must be sought from the Academic Planning Committee. Please liaise with your Faculty Director of Quality for further guidance on the planning process.

Validation preparation

For full details of the process and a timetable of events please see the Quality Manual. If you are in the early stages of preparing for validation, and would like to discuss any aspect of the validation process or documentation with QSO staff, we would be happy to meet with you. Please contact Claire Anderson (extension 2560) to make an appointment. QSO is happy to answer any questions about the validation process.

In preparation for a Validation Event the following will be helpful:

Core Validation Documentation

Please use the templates below to produce your programme documentation. Your documentation is due in 6 weeks before the validation event. (This includes your nominations for two external assessors).

Please note: The templates below do not contain automatic formatting. If you experience any technical difficulties when using these documents, please contact the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit for advice.

Information for Validation Panel Chairs and Members

In preparation for acting as either a Validation Panel Chair or Member, the following will be helpful:

If you are an academic member of staff or a student representative interested in becoming a Panel Member, please contact Claire Anderson.

Minor modifications to academic programmes

Short Courses

Short courses are programmes below 40 credits and are normally approved by Faculty Quality Committees. Please see PPE44 The Oversight of Short Courses and liaise with your Faculty Quality Officer about approvals for short courses.