Southampton FOUGHT QAA Review… AND WON

Southampton University has successfully appealed against rulings made by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) concerning an institutional review.

Due to be published in January this year, after being submitted for review in September 2012, the University has raised an issue on the review, winning the appeal four months later, the Times Higher Education reports.

The QAA is the agency which regulates British universities, usually every six years, to make sure quality and standards are being met.

Southampton has been the first ever university to successfully appeal a QAA review.

A complaint by the University against the QAA reviewers is believed to be responsible for the successful appeal, although no reasons have been given for it. The contents of the review will not be made public until the next review is published.

Southampton is now entitled to a fresh review by a new team. Currently, the date of this review is unknown.

In the previous audit of 2008, the agency positively said this about the Uni:

Confidence can reasonably be placed in the soundness of the institution’s present and likely future management of the academic standards of its awards.

The University released this joint statement with the QAA:

The University of Southampton’s appeal against the findings of its QAA Institutional Review has been upheld. In accordance with QAA’s published procedures, the review and judgements will be set aside and a new review carried out by a new review team.The scope, nature and date of the new review have yet to be determined. The findings of the appeal panel will be published when the new review report is available.

See the THE article here and the QAA 2008 review here.