University of Winchester Student Union

Academic Affairs

Report for QAA's (The Quality Assurance Agency's) Institutional Audit of The University of Winchester, May 2009:

The Student Written Submission (SWS)

Our official document was written on behalf of students following research by us carried out in 2008-09. The SWS also refers to the National Student Survey (NSS) and the Student Satisfaction Survey carried out at Winchester.

See the document here (Acrobat file)

See appendices

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Students and staff links (University Portal)

The SWS was produced as part of the 'Institutional Audit' of our parent institution. The QAA (Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in England and Wales) audits all UK universities every five years. Identifying student views forms an important part of making sure quality of education is maintained at all institutions, as the standard of degrees and other qualifications should be equally high no matter where they are undertaken. If you would like to know more about the process of Institutional Audit or about academic standards and quality in general, please contact the Representation Co-ordinator, Academic Affairs Officer, or the Union President (see the contact us section of this site for contact info).

The last submission is also available - produced for the QAA for the audit in 2005 for (the then known as) University College Winchester.

See the Jan 2005 SWS Document

Institutional Audit: a quick overview (extract from "Quality Takes Time" booklet from the NUS)

More details on this process are available from the QAA's website here: http://www.qaa.ac.uk

Student Union Academic Support Contacts

Useful links:

More Student Union papers

StAR (Student Academic Representation)

The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) - Information on quality standards in HE from the agency responsible for standards (external website)

Student Union Policies and Documents section - Includes Winchester Student Union's 'Student Written Submission' for the last university audit (in 2005): an official document we produced on behalf of students through extensive research carried out in between Nov 2004 to Jan 2005. This important document covers many interesting areas and it was submitted to the QAA for the five-yearly 'Institutional Audit' of the University. Also included: University Guideliens for Student Representation.

Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) - The external agency for appeals / complaints. Important: it's a requirement to follow the university's academic appeals/complaints procedures first. Issues are usually resolved effectively within universities - we offer experienced support for you as a student and advice if there is a dispute. In case of problems students should contact University Student Services or your SU Officers. This agency is the later step if you still feel unfairly treated.

Resources for student reps...