Meetings - Planning for the Review

• 6.1 All Reviews - Planning for the Review
• 6.1.1 The emphasis of each review should be on a constructive dialogue and exchange of ideas rather than a critical or negative approach.
• 6.1.2 The Panel Secretary should contact staff in the Department/programme team under review to ask them for a range of possible dates for when the review may be held, with the student meeting taking place the evening before, where possible (see below, 6.2.2 and 6.3.1). 
• 6.1.3 The process of review should be initiated by a planning meeting attended by all members of the Panel at which the items to be raised for discussion should be identified from the documentation presented.  This should be held in the time between the documentation being sent to the Panel and the review meeting itself, wherever possible, a month in advance.  The external subject specialist should be asked to attend this meeting, but whilst extremely helpful, this should not be a requirement of their role.  However, at a minimum they should be expected to submit their initial comments on the review documentation to the Panel Secretary in time to be fed into this meeting. 
• 6.1.4 The context for the review, timetable, full agenda and any further documentation required should be established at the planning meeting.  The focus of the review should be on quality enhancement.  As such, the Panel should identify any quality assurance queries or concerns arising from the documentation at the planning meeting to be raised with the Department/programme team for a response.  The responses received should then be considered by the panel in advance of the review itself.  These matters should usually be dealt with by correspondence but, in some cases and time permitting, at a meeting between the Panel Chair, Panel Secretary and the member of staff from the Department/programme team coordinating the review.  Any outstanding assurance matters may be discussed at the review itself, if required.   
• 6.1.5 A full agenda of quality enhancement matters for discussion should also be compiled at the planning meeting and through correspondence with any members of the Panel who are unable to attend.  In drafting the agenda, matters to be raised should not be attributed to individuals but rather grouped by issue under the agenda headings.  The final agenda and timetable should be passed to the Department/programme team prior to the review itself (usually within two working days in advance of the event) in order to assist their preparations.
• 6.1.6 A successful review should be characterised by constructive dialogue which is supportive of the goals of the Department/programme team as detailed in the review documentation.  It is important that the discussion should focus on achieving the following:
• • an understanding of the context in which the Department/programme team operates
• • an understanding and appreciation of its goals and the strengths of the provision
• • the identification of areas where enhancements have and can be made in the future and recommendations for how these might be achieved
• 6.1.7 In seeking to achieve the above, the Panel may ask the Department/programme team to explain their understanding of what they do.  They may therefore ask the Department/programme team to:
• • explain elements of the Self-Evaluation Document and supporting review documentation
• • provide an explanation of data and what use is made of this
• • explain how the assurance and enhancement of quality and standards are achieved (e.g. how student feedback is elicited and what use is made of this)
• • identify the reasons for particular decisions having been made (e.g. with reference to external reference points such as Subject benchmark statements or to address areas of concern)
• • provide evidence in support of what is said (e.g. by reference to external examiners' reports, School Teaching and Quality Enhancement Committee minutes)