A week can be a long time in the politics of higher education, and the four days of this autumn's Labour Party Conference saw the launch of a raft of dramatic developments.

The confirmation of the international student fees levy was of course accompanied by the politically canny announcement that revenues generated would fund the return of maintenance grants for students most in need – in subject areas seen as most needed by the UK economy (echoing the policy for the funding of the LLE).

The Prime Minister ditched Tony Blair's target of 50 per cent participation in higher education in favour of a more ambitious goal for participation in HE or "gold standard" apprenticeships. And we saw the Chancellor's promise to abolish youth unemployment by guaranteeing work or training for all 18-year-olds.

In these uncertain days, at least one thing is sure – that we are, fortunately or otherwise, living in interesting times. Higher education in the UK – and indeed globally – is experiencing profound transformation and uncertainty. Such seismic shifts – driven by economic pressures, technological disruption, evolving societal needs, and increasing scrutiny - are not merely external forces acting upon the sector; they are opportunities for reinvention, collaboration, and leadership.

In this blog, I’m going to consider what all this means for quality. And in thinking about this, I was caught by a fortuitous meme that LinkedIn offered me this morning. This took the form of a story narrated by someone I don’t follow. They were saying that in giving presentations about the value of quality assurance functions, they ask to borrow a pen from an audience member. Receiving the pen, they ask the owner how much they paid for it. And then the speaker examines the pen. Removes the lid, flicks the barrel, circles it around in their hand and, finally, writes with it. They then declare themselves satisfied with the quality of the pen and ask the owner how much more they would be prepared to pay for it, now that it’s been quality assured.

And this made me think of contemporary HE challenges because, of course, the concern that we at QAA share with the sector at the moment is how we ensure and demonstrate across the UK that quality is maintained, even while policy shifts and providers respond to financial challenges by re-forming, reshaping and restructuring. In the story above, of course nothing at all has happened to the pen. The ‘inspection’ simply confirmed that it is working. And at the crudest possible level, that's the problem with quality assurance that focuses only on checking outcomes – it doesn’t add value (which is not to undermine its power in identifying problems). And in times of such uncertainty, the question of ‘is this a valuable activity’ underpins many strategic decision-making processes.

Yet, at the heart of the story, and at the heart of the culture of quality improvement in UK higher education, lies a simple but powerful truth, famously articulated by W. Edwards Deming: “Quality isn’t a department; it’s a mindset.” 

It’s entirely clear that the HE sector is determined to continue and preserve the work of enhancing the quality of the student experience, and of educational outcomes and impacts even at this time of limited resources. Providers are working together and with us to make sure that, through the most effective initiatives and innovations, this high quality can be maintained and enhanced despite resourcing constraints – in line with policy objectives to ensure the consistency and improvement of what are described as the ‘teaching standards’ of higher education.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Higher education has long been a catalyst for societal progress, economic development, and personal growth. But in times of change, it’s essential to re-examine its core approaches. The sector must remain anchored in principles of quality, access, integrity and enhancement, even as it adapts to new realities.

The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) has played a central role in this effort, engaging with stakeholders across the UK to ensure that quality assurance remains relevant, responsive, and future-focused. Through consultation and collaboration, QAA helps the sector navigate shifting expectations while preserving its foundational values.

Let’s Dance

One of the most pressing priorities is the enhancement of the student experience. Despite resource constraints, institutions are committed to improving educational outcomes and impacts. This aligns with government calls to “raise the bar on teaching standards” and ensure consistency across the sector.

We at QAA continue to develop sets of our own materials for the enhancement of learning, teaching and assessment, through publications such as the advice and guidance which underpins the Quality Code.

We also support the development and dissemination of new initiatives through our Collaborative Enhancement Projects, which exemplify how pooling resources and sharing innovations can drive meaningful change. These initiatives promote partnerships across institutions, enabling the sector to respond to the fast-changing needs of industry, society, and students.

Deming’s philosophy is particularly relevant here. Enhancement is not a one-off project. It cannot be achieved simply through inspection or audit. It’s a continuous process rooted in a mindset of improvement. It requires extensive adoption of feedback loops, and a commitment to learning from both success and failure.

A New Career in a New Town

Governments across the UK have made widening access and improving outcomes for disadvantaged students an explicit goal. This is not just a matter of equity – it’s a strategic imperative for national development.

QAA’s long-standing role in regulating the Access to Higher Education Diploma highlights the transformative power of inclusive education. With over a million students registered, this provision has opened doors for countless individuals, reshaping lives and communities, and demonstrating at a powerful and yet personal level, the way that opportunities to engage in higher education can change so many people’s prospects and perspectives.

In Scotland and Wales, initiatives like credit recognition policies and tertiary education integration are helping more learners participate in, and transition more successfully into, higher education and apprenticeships, which then underpin broader and more robust opportunities for educational achievement. Scotland's Tertiary Enhancement Programme, run in partnership between QAA and the College Development Network, works collaboratively with staff and students from colleges and universities to develop enhancement projects supporting diverse learner journeys and promoting lifelong learning. This programme was launched last year and in its current cycle of work is already reaching extensively into universities and colleges across Scotland.

QAA has also recently worked with colleagues across the sector to facilitate the development of microcredential and credit transfer frameworks to underpin lifelong learning initiatives (which the UK government has deemed crucial to plans for industrial growth), as well as more flexible approaches to learning which support widening access to, and success in, higher education, and HE's civic engagement with its communities and regions.

We've also, of course, continued to update and develop our sets of resources designed to support efforts to close awarding gaps, another critical priority for providers, regulators and policymakers. These are all vitally important strands of work, often overlooked by the media coverage of transformations in – and the transformative effects of – higher education. They are demonstrations of the sector’s commitment to eliminating what the UK Education Secretary has called the "unacceptably large" gap in outcomes and to creating (again in Bridgit Phillipson's words) "a culture of lifelong learning and… more flexible models to help everyone access higher education".

These efforts reflect Deming’s emphasis on systems thinking. Access and success are not isolated goals—they are interconnected outcomes that depend on coherent policies, supportive structures, and a shared commitment to quality, embedded deeply in every change we effect.

The Man Who Sold The World

In March, the Secretary of State told the Sunday Times that "revelations of major misuse of public money and potential fraud by students in franchised universities [had] deal[t] a hammer blow to the integrity of higher education in this country".

 This proved to be a major moment in the ongoing debates about franchising whose intensity and fury have escalated since concerns were raised last year by the National Audit Office and the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee as to issues of fraud, value-for-money, quality and academic standards in some areas of partnership provision.

 Indeed, increased levels of public, press and regulatory scrutiny have recently focused upon the quality, value and integrity of both domestic and transnational partnerships.

There are always delicate balances to negotiate in such areas. Franchised provision can offer significant opportunities and stimuli for widening participation, and, as international student numbers have fallen and financial pressures have grown, such partnerships, both at home and overseas, can support the sustainability of validating institutions – as well as representing a sphere of outreach and influence, whether in relation to regional civic and industry engagement, or to the UK's soft cultural and intellectual power.

The sustainability of such provision rests of course on its reputation for quality and integrity. And so, much of our own recent work at QAA has come to focus on these important areas of provision. This summer we published our new set of Quality Code Advice & Guidance on operating partnerships and also hosted our series of partnerships fora involving stakeholders from across the sector. At the same time, our Quality Evaluation and Enhancement of UK Transnational Education (QE-TNE) Scheme continues to involve more than 70 UK institutions and to cover more than 70 per cent of our sector's entire TNE student population – and continues to develop and evolve to meet the new challenges facing this increasingly important area of provision.

 This isn't of course the only aspect of risk to educational outcomes, not merely because of the Education Secretary's "pockets" of "poor practice" but also because of forces often beyond an individual provider's immediate control.

We’re also faced with the challenges of maintaining academic integrity in the face of the suddenly endemic use of Generative AI in student assessments, which presents fresh challenges for maintaining fairness and rigor. QAA’s Academic Integrity Advisory Committee and its evolving guidance on AI are helping institutions adapt assessment practices while preserving trust in qualifications, a role whose importance has been acknowledged in parliamentary discussion of the issue.

In fact, we at QAA continue to develop guidance – and to create, curate and update a range of expert resources – to support our sector in addressing the proliferation of AI, perhaps the most urgent challenge faced by education, economies and societies across the world today.

Deming warned against the dangers of short-term thinking and superficial fixes. Integrity, like quality, must be systemic. It requires leadership, clear values, and a culture that prioritizes doing the right thing – even when it’s difficult.

A Better Future

The transformations facing higher education are complex and multifaceted. They involve institutional restructures, mergers, funding pressures, and technological disruption. But they also offer a chance to reimagine the sector’s role in society.

In all of these areas, and many more, it remains vital that we continue to generate and exchange ideas, to listen to each other's concerns and to share our knowledge, if we are to address the challenges they pose and to benefit from the opportunities they offer.

Our sector must explore and develop strategic solutions not only to underpin its resilience but to assure its continuing relevance and value, for governments, communities and industries, and, most importantly, for the generations of students with whom we work and whom our work is designed to serve.

 The chance to come together to do so through an event as expansive and forward-looking as this year's HE Transformation Expo allows us, I hope, to see this process of transformation not merely as something which is done to us – a set of external forces and irresistible dynamics imposed upon our sector and pressing us this way and that – but as a real opportunity for us to take a leading role in the ongoing transformations of our world, and to do our best to ensure that these changes work for the good of all – to ensure we're driving the rollercoaster, driving it to a better place, rather than just being tossed around by it.

Deming’s approach offers a roadmap. He believed that quality must be built into every process, not inspected in after the fact. He championed continuous improvement, collaborative problem-solving, and respect for people. These principles are not just relevant—they are essential.

To truly lead the transformation, higher education must embrace quality as a mindset. This means:

• Embedding quality in strategy, not just operations.

• Empowering staff and students to contribute to improvement.

• Using data and feedback to drive decisions.

• Fostering a culture of learning, not blame.

It also means seeing transformation not as a threat, but as an opportunity.

Let us not merely adapt to change. Let us shape it – with integrity, with purpose, and with a mindset of quality.