QAA Subject Benchmark Statements
The QAA has published Subject Benchmark Statements on various academic subject areas. These statements are the outcome of a major project designed to make explicit the general academic characteristics and standards of honours degrees in the UK.
A link to the QAA's webpage on subject benchmark statements can be found here. The statements published which are relevant to Birkbeck can be found on this page.
As the QAA website states: "Subject benchmark statements set out expectations about standards of degrees in a range of subject areas. They describe what gives a discipline its coherence and identity, and define what can be expected of a graduate in terms of the abilities and skills needed to develop understanding in the subject."
The QAA has also published a small number of Masters level statements including ones in Business and Management, Chemistry
and Mathematics, Statistics and Operational Research
as well as a Foundation Degree Qualification Benchmark
.
The QAA has made a commitment to HEIs to review existing benchmark statements no later than five years after they were originally produced. Details of this process can be found here.
Recognition scheme for subject benchmark statements
From November 2004, the QAA put into place a new set of arrangements for promoting the drafting and publication of additional subject benchmark statements. This recognition scheme can be read online or via the PDF version (86kb).
Use of subject benchmark statements
Relevant programme directors and Heads of School are requested to examine how their bachelor/ Masters in Business and Management degree programmes comply with the benchmark standards.
You will note that the level of detail and of explicitness varies a good deal from statement to statement, reflecting the different approaches taken by the specialist subject groups which developed them.
The published benchmark statements will form a point of reference for internal and external reviewers for making judgements about the appropriateness of standards in any programme of study. The relevant benchmark statement should also be borne in mind when the learning outcomes of a programme, or part of a programme, are being specified.
The question of how Schools are reacting to these benchmark standards is incorporated into the internal review process.