UK Higher Education

This chapter is about higher education in the UK and how it is assured. The chapter outlines the size and variety of provision which is included within the sector and details some of the history which saw the establishment of the Quality Assurance Agency for higher education (QAA) in 1997. The chapter illustrates the influence of some government reports on how the underpinning framework for assuring academic standards and quality of UK higher education was developed. The continual development of this framework is also considered, preparing for a period when students will be required to pay higher fees and institutions have reduced financial support from the government.