Scots finish quality audit

The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council this week marked the end of its teaching quality assessment cycle with a report on results of the six-year process.

Out of 315 teaching assessments, more than 80 per cent were rated excellent or highly satisfactory. Less than 1 per cent of teaching was rated unsatisfactory and achieved satisfactory or above when reassessed.

SHEFC said strengths included organismal biology, French studies, dietetics and nutrition, geology, sociology, medicine, veterinary medicine, geography, physiotherapy, social policy and administration, and pharmacy.

SHEFC chairman, Chris Masters said: "Quality assessment has demonstrated that there is a strong culture in Scotland of maintaining high standards and continuously improving the quality of our higher education, in spite of the rapid expansion of the system over the past ten years.'' SHEFC is now contributing to pilot projects by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education to help set up an assessment system for the whole of the United Kingdom.