Once an institution has been approved as a partner of UEA, the process of validating individual courses and the management and monitoring of those courses begins. To enable this to happen UEA establishes a Joint Board of Study with each of the partners with which the University has a validation relationship. The Joint Board of Study operate to common principles, reflecting the different missions of the partners concerned and the scope of UEA's validation activity at each.
The QAA Quality Code’s Expectation for Quality (2018) states:
When working in partnership, the awarding organisation retains responsibility for ensuring that all aspects of the student’s academic experience from admissions through to outcomes can be considered high quality. The awarding organisation is also responsible for ensuring that enhancement opportunities are available to students.
One of UEA’s key mechanisms for doing this is the Joint Board of Study which monitors academic standards and quality and ensure consistency with equivalent programmes at UEA through the consideration of a number of areas, including:
- New course proposals;
- External Examiner reports and responses;
- Overview of quality enhancement activities
- Course modifications;
- Annual UEA Academic Link reports;
- Outcomes of course validation, revalidation and institutional review events;
- Academic Appeals and Complaints; and
- Management Information