Forthcoming changes to the Quality Manual
Assessment Framework
A new Assessment Framework has been approved by the Education and Student Experience Committee (ESEC) and have been published on the . The relevant sections of the Quality Manual are being updated.
Voluntary Interruption of Studies (VIS)
QSC is reviewing the university's current approach to VIS, with a particular focus on why retrospective VIS requests arise. As part of this work, consideration is being given to whether there are appropriate circumstances in which staff-initiated VIS submissions could help support students experiencing significant difficulty, without undermining student choice, fairness, or regulatory compliance. This is exploratory work and no decisions have yet been made.
‘Fit to Sit’ Policy
Due to PSRB requirements for some schools QSC is considering the introduction of a “fit to sit” policy for exams that Schools could opt in to. Under such a policy, if a student attends an exam, they are declaring that they are fit to do so and that the mark that they achieve should stand; as such, a subsequent EC claim for that exam would be inadmissible. The usual EC policy would remain applicable provided that the student did not attend the exam.
Academic Misconduct
QSC is reviewing the Academic Misconduct Regulations and Procedures to ensure they remain fit for purpose considering rapidly evolving AI technologies and their impact on academic integrity. A key focus of the review is around false authorship, and the types of cases that will involve automatic referral to an Academic Misconduct Panel.
Reassessment
Clarification of the timing of completion of First Sits and Resits is under review. That is, whether all first sits need to be completed before resits can be taken by the student or whether a student can take a combination of first sits and resits within the same assessment period. We are working to have this clarified ahead of the start of the 2026/27 academic session.
Recent changes to the Quality Manual can be found on the following page:
Recent changes