Quality & Standards
Pearl Academy is committed to maintaining its academic standards and enhancing the quality of its learning and teaching provision. Its approach to quality management is about finding ways of enhancing the learning opportunities made available to students, as well as assuring quality and standards. To ensure that this commitment is met, the Academy has established a multi-functional framework for managing academic quality and standards which is based on the following guidelines:
Ensuring that its academic standards are at least as high as those in comparable institutions, and meets external reference points such as the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications and, where relevant, the requirements of National and International Bodies
Assuring that the quality of the learning opportunities provided for its students enable them to meet the standards of the awards for which they are studying
Enhancing the quality of the student learning experience by reviewing its systems and the information generated by them to enhance the quality of the student learning experience
Actively engaging students in the assurance and enhancement of academic quality and promulgating good practice providing evidence of quality to stakeholders
To enforce the quality policy, Pearl Academy has set up a Department of Academics which is responsible for meeting the evolving academic needs of the schools and the academy in terms of its three key areas:
Quality enhancement and quality assurance through Academic Governance
Academic development
Educational research
The main objectives for setting up the department were to develop:
A robust academic development infrastructure to support staff to deliver an outstanding student learning experience at Pearl Academy
An efficient governance and quality management system to ensure the quality of the learning experience the Academy provides and its continual enhancement
Systematic approaches to generating evidence, through impact evaluation and institutional educational research, to underpin enhanced approaches to student engagement and learning and teaching
The department is comprised of the following two teams; both teams retain a distinct identity but with a strong interconnection to enable collaboration, joined-up approaches and evidence-based policy and practice in learning, teaching and quality assurance and enhance to ensure a high-quality student experience.
Academic Governance Office
Academic Development Office
The Office of Academic Governance leads centrally on quality management, which is implemented with the support of Heads of Schools. Additionally, the Heads of Schools lead on the management of courses across the faculty along with all local learning and teaching matters. Much of this activity is managed through key committees, implemented via guidance, policies and strategies.
The core functionaries of AGO is:
Collaborative provision: approval; validation; monitoring; modification; suspension/closure
Data/management information: module achievement; programme performance; student entry profiles
External examining: roles responsibilities; nominating, appointing and extending; training and support; reports; fees
Learning, teaching and assessment: learning, teaching and assessment strategy; assessment policy; mark descriptors
Managing academic quality: roles and responsibilities; committees; external quality requirements
Monitoring: annual module and programme processes
Periodic review: nominating panel members; involving students; writing the SED; the review event; outcomes and follow-up
Programme approval and management: approval; validation/revalidation; modification; suspension/closure
Schemes and regulations: undergraduate and postgraduate scheme and regulations; national credit frameworks; APL
Student voice: representation; participation in academic quality processes; satisfaction surveys
Support, contacts and resources: contacts; acronyms, terminology, useful formats; staff development
The AGO facilitate the system of academic governance through providing structures and processes for faculty and administrative participation in specific types of deliberations and decisions and has representatives across all the campuses of Pearl Academy for the execution.
Assuming the need, formally and pragmatically, to support academic guideline, the AGO representatives:
Provide support for faculty participation in academic governance in meaningful ways while recognizing important time constraints and are a source of critical advice for academic concerns of the faculty
Share relevant information with colleagues in their department, school or campus
Emphasize to faculty colleagues the importance of understanding academic governance and academic policies, practices, procedures and activities
Reporting on academic activities to the Head of the Department and within internal academic governance
