The UK’s independent higher education quality body has commended Edinburgh Napier University for a range of good practice, including its ‘strategic approach to widening participation and direct entry’ and its ‘support for developing students’ skills in employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship’.

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) appointed a team of five independent experts to review the University in October and December last year. In particular, the team commended the University in seven areas:

• Its strategic approach to widening participation
• Its support for developing students’ skills in employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship;
• Its approach to monitoring postgraduate student academic progress
• The systematic enhancement of leadership in learning, teaching and research;
• Its clear partnership working between academic and professional services staff;
• The effective development available for academic and support services staff; and
• The developing institutional approach to the use of data.

Professor Alyson Tobin, Vice Principal of Learning and Teaching, Edinburgh Napier University, said: “I am delighted that Edinburgh Napier University has been commended for our approach to widening access and for the support we give to our students to develop their employability skills. The report also highlights the opportunities our students have to engage in entrepreneurial and professional development opportunities to enable them to be successful in their future careers.”

QAA’s report also makes a number of recommendations, asking Edinburgh Napier University to:

• Ensure there are clear student representative structures in place at all levels and make sure there are effective arrangements in place for the recruitment, training and support for student representatives;
• Continue to develop mechanisms to enhance student engagement and respond to the student voice;
• Continue to develop support mechanisms for online learners, graduate apprentices, transnational education students and other groups studying off campus;
• Consider introducing a structured and longitudinal institution-wide induction for postgraduate research students;
• Ensure that all postgraduates who teach complete the mandatory course prior to commencing teaching;
• Progress implementation of revisions to the institution-led review process;
• Make external examiners’ reports accessible to all students; and
• Review the English language entry criteria and the proficiency of students on all transnational education programmes.

Edinburgh Napier University’s full QAA review outcome, with further details on all the above, can be found on the QAA Scotland website here.