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This page sets out the standards and processes for paper authors to submit a paper to QSC.  Changes to the quality manual can be requested by submitting a paper using the guidance and template documents below.

Where schools or departments are seeking permission to undertake an action that is outside of regulations, then an outside regulation request must be submitted. More information can be found via the following link:

How to submit an 'outside regulation' request to the Quality and Standards Committee

2.1 Quality and Standards Committee

The full responsibilities of QSC are set out in its terms of reference (see section 4.0). 

2.2 Paper Authors

Paper authors are responsible for:

• Drafting the paper, ensuring the paper meets the standards and requirements set out on this page;
• Ensuring that the paper for inclusion on the agenda is sent to the Academic Quality Assurance Team by the paper deadline. The Committee Secretary will confirm whether an item has been approved for inclusion on the agenda.

3.1 Requesting the Agenda item

Paper authors must ensure that the request for an item to be added to an agenda is sent to the Academic Quality Assurance Team via email to QSC@nottingham.ac.uk ahead of the paper deadline. Late requests for the agenda may not be able to be accommodated. 

Meeting dates and paper deadlines are published on the Education and Student Experience Hub 

When requesting an agenda item, ensure the following is included:

• Item title;
• Purpose of the item, what it is intended to achieve, and the action;
• The names of the paper author(s) and those who will present the item at the meeting (two presenters maximum);
• Time required for the item on the agenda.

3.2 Paper Standards & Requirements

All committees need to be given information in a form and of a quality that is appropriate to enable the committee to enable effective decision-making, oversight of performance, and escalation of risks.

All papers should:

• Be clear and concise: Papers should be focused, setting out only the facts that the committee needs to progress the action. These should be transparent, setting out the problem and the solution.
• Include Options and Recommendations: Set out the different options, if there are any, and what the author’s recommendation is to the committee.
• Specify the Required Action: Be clear what the committee is being asked to do and why and set out recommended option clearly. See the section below on actions;
• Consider the Audience: Written with the audience in mind, with the purpose of the report and the issue for the university being made clear at the start of the paper. Ensure the paper content is concise and factual.
• Use the following Content guidance: Authors are experts within their areas and are best placed to make pragmatic decisions about the information that needs to be included in papers:
  • Provide transparency of issues, challenges and impacts, and propose mitigation.
  • Identify the governance route to date and changes requested.
  • Include a timeline where applicable, with key milestones indicated;
  • If data is reported, include a commentary to support the data. Consider including what evidence the data provides, whether there are any particular areas of focus (i.e. particular Schools or departments), an action plan for addressing issues identified, and progress against the action plan.
• Be an Appropriate Length: Papers should be a maximum of 5 pages (excluding appendices), unless there are exceptional reasons for greater length (e.g. a paper that is ultimately going to be submitted to meet a compliance requirement or a full response to a public consultation that requires the committee’s input);
• Use the relevant cover sheets and Templates: All papers, presentations, and accompanying documents must use the relevant cover sheet
• Tables, data, statistics etc: Consider whether such information is necessary for the committee to be able to make a decision. If it is not necessary but illustrates helpful context, it can be placed in an appendix (see note on appendices below);
• Pictures and diagrams: These are generally not considered to be necessary. However, if the author considers a picture or photographs essential to highlighting a particular matter, it may be included in the appendix;
• Appendices: Must be relevant to the paper, referenced in the main body and kept to a minimum. Matters for approval should not be placed in an appendix.

3.3 Purpose of the paper:

The purpose of a paper should be concerned with the governance of Academic Quality Assurance and the purpose should be one or more of the following:

• Provide assurance relating to performance or risk; 
• Provide information and/or options for decision making; 
• Propose amendments to the Quality Manual

The paper author should make clear whether the paper is for:

• Awareness
• Decision
• Discussion

Papers should not set out information sharing or the ‘nice to know’, there are other fora for dissemination of this type of information such as the Quality and Standards Network or targeted emails to different staff groups.

3.4 Actions

Paper authors should think about the outcome they are seeking and be clear about what they are asking the committee to do, as follows:

3.5 Paper Sensitivity

The decision whether to classify a paper as unreserved or reserved lies with the Chair of the committee. The Academic Quality Assurance team can provide advice. 

Briefly, unreserved business covers items which are deemed to involve and likely to generate information in the resulting minutes which would not be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

Reserved business covers items which are deemed to involve and are likely to generate information in the resulting minutes, which would be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. An item should only be placed in reserved business if it is genuinely considered that it clearly meets at least one of the Freedom of Information exemptions as set out in the guidance.

3.6 Proposing a change to the Quality Manual

Amendments to the Quality Manual are approved by the Quality and Standards committee. A paper proposing an amendment must include a Quality Manual amendment cover sheet in addition to the paper cover sheet to ensure all relevant information is considered by the committee. 

A guidance and template document has been produced to assist paper authors in drafting new regulations. Please see section 4 below. Further guidance can be obtained if needed by contacting the Academic Quality Assurance Team 

3.7 Minor Amendments

Where there is a need for a non-substantive amendment to a Quality Manual page, a Minor Amendment Form may be submitted to the Academic Quality Assurance Team via email to QSC@nottingham.ac.uk

This can be found in section 4.0 below and lists some examples of when this may be appropriate.

The responsible colleague for the regulation must ensure that requested changes do not impact on the intention of the regulation, retain coherence and alignment with the regulation and (where appropriate) retain the collection of information reportable to QSC or its sub-committees.

Please note, a significant number of minor changes to a single section of the Quality Manual may be considered a major change and require a full QSC paper for consideration.

3.8 Submission of Papers

Paper deadlines are final and are required to ensure that the secretary is able to check, collate and circulate papers.

If a paper deadline is missed, the item may be deferred until the next meeting. Paper deadlines can be found on the Education and Student Experience Hub. Should an extension be required, the paper author should contact the Secretary via QSC@nottingham.ac.uk before the paper deadline.

3.9 At the meeting

When delivering the item at the meeting, paper authors should:

• Work on the basis the papers have been read beforehand;
• Present the executive summary and recommendations/conclusion.
• The number of those presenting an item should be limited. Names of those presenting the paper should be communicated to the Academic Quality Assurance Team at the point of paper submission. Additional colleagues should not attend on the day without prior agreement.

• QSC Cover Sheet  
• Quality Manual Amendment Cover sheet  
• Quality Manual Template and Guidance 
• Quality Manual Minor Amendment Form  

Quality and Standards Committee Terms of Reference