Professor invited to assist QAA Biosciences Benchmark Statement Review

THE University’s Dean of the School of Applied Sciences has been invited to assist the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education to review and update the benchmarks students should achieve in order to pass a biosciences course at university.

Professor Michael Ginger will join a high-profile group of experts within biosciences to advise the QAA on their 2022 Biosciences Benchmark Statement Review.  Benchmark Statements demonstrate what graduates should reasonably be expected to know, do and understand at the end of their studies and are used as reference points in the design, delivery and review of academic programmes.

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education is one of the world’s experts in quality assurance and works across all four nations of the UK.  It is the independent body entrusted with monitoring and advising on the standards and quality of UK higher education.  The QAA is dedicated to ensuring that the three million students working towards a UK qualification get the higher education experiences they are entitled to expect.

Biosciences Benchmark Statement

The Biosciences Benchmark Statement provides a description of the skills and attributes acquired by biosciences graduates that equips them for a career in biosciences or elsewhere, and an inventory of delivery and assessment methods, as well as benchmark standards.

It can also help prospective students who are thinking about studying a biosciences course, assist current students in discovering what their studies will involve and facilitates employers to understand the knowledge and skills that can be expected of a biosciences graduate.

This year Professor Ginger believes there will be some important issues introduced into the Biosciences Benchmark Statement which haven’t been made visible before.

“It’s imperative that the biosciences keep up with the times.  Top themes that will feature throughout this year’s QAA Subject Benchmark Statements will be those centred around equality, diversity and inclusion, accessibility, sustainability, entrepreneurship and enterprise,” said Professor Ginger.

“Being a member of the QAA Advisory Group will enable the University to continually improve upon our graduate outcomes by helping us best position our students for either highly-skilled graduate level employment or the highly-skilled next step with postgraduate education research programmes,” he added.

The biosciences are key subject areas encompassing all areas of biology including science courses whose primary focus is the biology of humans, other animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms. Degree courses in the biosciences range from generic courses in plant sciences and zoology to more specialised courses in, for example, genetics, biochemistry, biomedicine, or ecology.

The official updated Biosciences Benchmark Statement is scheduled to be available towards the end of 2022.