International Quality Review is designed to analyse and reflect on non-EU providers’ approaches to quality assurance. It challenges and benchmarks existing processes against the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG) and helps to drive improvement and excellence. IQR enables your institution to demonstrate that your quality assurance systems meet international standards. A successful review results in accreditation by QAA International, providing trust and confidence for your students and international partners. IQR provides opportunities to:

IQR has five key stages including analysing and evaluating your own processes, taking part in an external review by QAA’s peer reviewers and follow-up action planning.

To apply for IQR, please call our Accreditation and International Team on +44 (0)1452 688800 or email us. If your application is successful, we will conduct a scoping visit. This allows us to assess if you are eligible for IQR and enables you to learn more about the process and requirements. If eligible, we then arrange and conduct the review. The only set cost for IQR is the application fee which is £1,000 GBP. The scoping and review visit costs are dependent on the size and complexity of the provider being reviewed. Please also refer to the IQR Terms and Conditions.

Connie Lai, Coordinator for Hotel Management and Tourism Event Management Programmes, Macao Professional Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM)

 

The Macao Professional Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM) is nestled in Macao, a city with a truly tourism-driven economy on the southeastern coast of China. We’re the only public higher education institution (HEI) solely dedicated to the provision of hospitality and tourism-related education in Macao, and so we (and Macao itself) have a vested interest in delivering quality education. For us, securing global accreditation from a reputable quality assurance agency to achieve the level of quality we want.

IFTM has developed a strong network in Europe throughout our 25 years, partially attributable to Macao’s colonial past, and this led us to choose a quality assurance agency that has a high standing both in Europe and internationally. Being an observer of the Asia-Pacific Quality Network (APQN), we knew that QAA International would have a sound knowledge of the way higher education operates in this part of the world.

As a result, we went through QAA’s International Quality Review, and were proud to be the first HEI in the world to successfully complete the process in 2017. Last year we passed the mid-cycle review and our validity was further extended to 2022. We also received international accreditation for successfully completing the IQR. The entire process was smooth and transparent, following a set of clear guidelines.

What are the Benefits of IQR & International Accreditation?

It will be different for everyone, of course, but we are very much motivated by the best practices identified in the IQR report; in particular to those pertaining to our interactive relationship with industry partners, effective organisation of internships, and the high-level of student engagement in our quality assurance process. At the same time, we have received useful suggestions for areas which can be enhanced.

In summary, International Quality Review provided us with a guided journey to self-evaluation, bringing the following benefits:

These benefits are pivotal to the long-term development of any HEI. In the case of IFTM, we can further expand our network, both locally and internationally, as our institution’s reputation, competitiveness and global image have been endorsed by a globally-recognised quality agency. IFTM currently has 113 non-local partners spread across 34 countries and regions, six of which are in the EU.

As IFTM moves towards a new milestone, marked by the launch of postgraduate programmes and the recently revised Institute Charter, we will continue to honour our mission statement of becoming an 'international tertiary institution of choice for tourism and service industry studies' by seeking global accreditation and quality assurance for both new and existing programmes. After all, quality is at the heart of education and it should not only be performed, but also be assured.