INTRODUCTION
All sections of this Code should be read in conjunction with the QAA’s Code of Practice, in particular the following sections:
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Section 2 ‘Collaborative provision and flexible and distributed learning (including e-learning)’
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Section 3 ‘Disabled Students’
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Section 4 ‘External examining’
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Section 5 ‘Academic appeals and student complaints on academic matters’
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Section 6 ‘Assessment of students’
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Section 7 ‘Programme design, approval, monitoring and review’
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Section 8 ‘Career education, information, advice and guidance’
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Section 9 ‘Work-based and placement learning’
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Section 10 ‘Admissions to Higher Education’
Section 1 ‘Postgraduate research programmes’ should be read in conjunction with the Postgraduate Code of Practice referred to above.
The College Code is itself annually reviewed to ensure that it remains congruent with the Precepts of the QAA’s Code of Practice; that it continues to support the mission and strategic objectives of Birkbeck; and that it remains current and valid in the light of changing circumstances.
This Code provides an integral part of the aims of Quality Enhancement at Birkbeck. These are as follows:
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To meet and, where possible, exceed the needs of students and staff in pursuit of the College's aim to provide quality, research-led teaching to a diverse student body, which is mature and predominantly part-time, over a broad range of subjects.
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To increase emphasis on transferable skills and employer engagement, as well as continuing to promote widening participation.
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To strengthen and integrate the effectiveness of the support and learning environment including the infrastructure and resources to deliver the College’s overall mission and priorities. This includes a commitment to the professional development and career enhancement of all staff.
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To adopt an approach of integrating as far as possible enhancement measures and methods into routine procedures, to reinforce both the philosophy and the practice of quality enhancement.
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To ensure consistency of Birkbeck’s quality procedures with national requirements set by the Quality Assurance Agency and other channels of policy.
Birkbeck's approach to academic quality assurance/enhancement is in line with the aims and objectives and the mission of the institution, and will continue to include strong input from both students and staff.
Academic quality assurance/enhancement at Birkbeck figure strongly and significantly in institutional annual operating statements and reviews of performance against those operating statements, and also in the College's Strategic Plans. Quality therefore forms a distinguishable and identifiable component of all aspects of College activity from the level of the individual to the governing body.
The College’s approach to developing its quality assurance/enhancement arrangements is proactive in regard to the fulfilment of its aims, as well as reactive in response to QAA and other national requirements.
The College is responsive to the culture of accountability in higher education, and aims to implement explicitly defined and formalised policies alongside its traditional culture of intimacy and informality.
In the context of a sound framework for quality, Birkbeck’s agenda thus remains active and positive, underscoring the commitment to quality and both maintenance and enhancement of academic standards which is a distinctive and primary element of the Birkbeck culture.