HEFCE today said that under a revised method of quality assurance being developed, providing authoritative and accessible information will be key to the quality assurance process, and a separate consultation will be launched on the types of information that institutions will be required to provide for prospective students.

As you can imagine, this ties in with the work I’m carrying out on developing an online resource for prospective applicants. Aaron Porter, NUS President, summarised it nicely:

‘Providing accurate information about the quality of university courses is central to improving student decision-making. We welcome the importance that the new quality assurance system places on up-to-date, consistent and reliable information.’

And it was nice to see that our Minister, David Willetts, is on the same page:

‘The quality of teaching is a key priority for Government. Our quality assurance system must be fit for the future and aim to improve the student experience. We need a better system that gets more information to prospective students.’

I hope that the need for accessible, accurate, up-to-date information for prospective students will encourage agencies and institutions to work with me on producing the online resource. Obviously it’s time has come!