Log in
Log in

QSN 19th Annual Conference 2026

Quality Without Apologies: What is Academic Quality in 2026?

Beyond metrics and algorithms: reclaiming purpose, judgement, and trust.

We will be returning to Conference Aston in Birmingham on Wednesday 16 – Thursday 17 September for our 19th Annual Conference!

📅 Please note the change from our usual Thursday–Friday format — the conference will run Wednesday–Thursday this year.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bookings

Bookings are now closed for this event.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

In a sector increasingly shaped by metrics, regulation, and artificial intelligence, the meaning of “academic quality” is under pressure. Is quality still what we think it is, and who is it for?

This conference brings together perspectives from regulatory practice, assessment, and policy to explore how definitions of quality are shifting in 2026. As data, dashboards, and algorithmic tools play a growing role in how quality is measured, there is a risk that its deeper purposes, protecting standards, supporting meaningful learning, and sustaining public trust, are obscured.

Moving beyond technical compliance, the discussion will return to first principles: the role of human judgement, the importance of clarity in standards, and the need to articulate quality confidently in a contested landscape. It will also examine emerging faultlines, such as differential outcomes, curriculum–assessment alignment, and the implications of AI for authorship and assessment, and ask whether current approaches remain fit for purpose.

At its core, this conference explores a clear argument: in a rapidly changing environment, quality matters more than ever, but only if we are prepared to define it, defend it, and refocus it on the people it ultimately serves.

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2026 Conference prices

  • Season Ticket – 1 place
    • 1x Includes, full conference package, conference dinner and one night B&B on Wednesday 16th
  • Season Ticket Plus – 2 places
    • 2x Includes, full conference package, conference dinner and one night B&B on Wednesday 16th
  • Standard – Registration can be purchased for ÂŁ550 per person
    • Includes, full conference package, conference dinner and one night B&B on Wednesday 16th
  • Non-member

______________________________________________________________________________________

Programme

QSN Annual Conference 2026 – Full Programme

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Breakout Sessions


Session
Speakers
A The changing size and shape of Academic Quality in UK Higher Education: Are we truly transformed?

Transformation has become a defining feature of UK higher education – but what picture emerges when we step back and look across the Academic Quality profession itself? Using a sector-wide snapshot of institutions across the UK, this workshop will identify emerging trends before asking the bigger question: what do these changes tell us about the identity, purpose and future of Academic Quality?

 Aminah Suhail,

Quality and Academic Development,

University of Essex
B Confident Partnerships: Growing Collaboration While Securing Standards.

 

As institutions increasingly look to partnerships to support strategic ambitions, quality professionals have a key role in helping organisations grow confidently and sustainably. Through practical examples and discussion, this session will explore how effective partnership oversight can enable innovation while maintaining trust in quality and standards.                      

 

  Phil Berry,

Director of Academic Quality,

Kings College London
C Lifelong Learning Entitlement– will it take us a lifetime to achieve?

 

 Richard Appleby,

Head of Academic Quality,

University of London

 
D Improving outcomes for students – the role of the student voice and the NSS.  Don Ramsden

Head of Academic Quality Enhancement

Laura Peebles Brown

Leeds Beckett University

 
E Quality connections – a further chance to network and connect with colleagues in an informal session.

A more open and flexible session available to those who would prefer a less formal opportunity to share Quality challenges and solutions. 

 

 QSN Executive 

______________________________________________________________________________________

Car Parking

Car Parking at Conference Aston: This must be booked online, prior to arrival. Please visit www.conferenceaston.co.uk/carparking where you can book and pay for your space online. You will then be sent an email permit to display in your windscreen and an entry code for the car park. Please ensure you book this, prior to setting off, as we cannot guarantee availability at the venue car park, on the day.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Contact

If you require any support please contact QSN@ahep.ac.uk . 

Event Details

  • Conference Aston - Aston University Address: Aston University, Aston St, Birmingham B4 7ET
  • 16-17th September 2026

Schedule overview

- Wednesday 16th September

11:00 am - QSN Executive Meeting

11:00 am - Arrival and Registration

12:00 pm - Lunch

12:50 am - Conference Opening

1:00 pm - "AI is your friend in QA, not your enemy”

1:50 pm - “What is the price of Quality - how can HE maintain and improve quality in the context of financial pressures?”

2:30 pm - “The pillars of academic quality assurance – still holding firm?”

3:15 pm - Refreshment Break

3:45 pm - "External Examiners: Expert Panel to Respond"

4:30 pm - 'UK Quality Code - Can it still Unify us?'

5:00 pm - Networking

5:30 pm - Evening Break

7:00 pm - Reception Drinks & Networking

7:30 pm - Dinner

- Thursday 17th September

8:00 am - Breakfast

8:45 am - QSN Annual General Meeting

9:30 am - Welcome to Day Two

9:30 am - Exhibitor Hotspots

9:40 am - 'What has Quality ever done for Higher Education?'

10:20 am - Parallel Workshop Sessions - Round 1

11:00 am - Refreshment Break

11:15 am - Parallel Workshop Sessions - Round 2

12:00 pm - Lunch

12:10 pm - “Quality beyond the UK – a look at challenges for the New Japanese Quality Assurance System Drawing on the UK Model: Insights from a Comparative Survey of the UK, the US, and Japan”

12:50 pm - Session with Vicki Scott, Senior Strategic Advisor, Edinburgh Napier University

1:30 pm - Reflections & Conference Close

The Full Agenda

Grab a hot refreshment and meet this year’s conference exhibitors.

Time to enjoy your lunch and for all new QSN members to meet the Executive Committee.

Welcome from the QSN Chair, Maureen McLaughlin, Head of Wales, Northern Ireland and Educational Oversight, The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education

Donald Clark, CEO, WildFire Learning

Professor Huw Morris, Tertiary Education, University Collge London

This session will have an explicit reference to the External Examiner conundrum

Delegates are invited to discuss their current practice of external examining and examine the following provocations:

  • “External examining is the wrong target for the government’s grade inflation concerns”
  • “If external examiners can’t stop grade inflation, what are we actually using them for?”

Eve Allcock, Executive Director for External Affairs, The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education

Join our conference sponsors for a refreshment break in the Exhibitor Lounge.

Eve Allcock, Executive Director for External Affairs, The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education

Richard Harrison, Deputy Secretary, University of York

Katie Akerman, Director of Education Policy, Quality and Partnerships, University of Chichester

Professor Phil Cardew, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Leeds Beckett University

Donald Clark, CEO, WildFire Learning

Gemma Long, Head of Degree Awarding Powers, Office for Students

Lauren Sloan, Office for Students

As the revised UK Quality Code hits publication in September 2026, what are the challenges and opportunities to proved sector common ground while recognising diverging practices?

Ruth Burchell, Quality and Standards Specialist, The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education

 

An opportunity for further networking and reflection on the day.

Evening Break and further networking in Exhibitor Lounge 

QSN Chair Maureen McLaughlin to open the dinner, followed by a Quiz led by QSN’s quiz master Rafe Smallman.

Grab a refreshment and come join us for the AGM, all members are welcome.

Welcome from the QSN Chair, Maureen McLaughlin, Head of Wales, Northern Ireland and Educational Oversight, The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.

Professor Osama Khan, Vice Chancellor, University of South Wales

Five workshop sessions facilitated by members of the QSN Executive in seminar rooms; with lightning talks and an opportunity to discuss, feedback and ask questions of presenters.  

 Workshop Schedules are outlined below; and repeated at 11:15

Workshop A: The changing size and shape of Academic Quality in UK Higher Education: Are we truly transformed? 

Aminah Suhail, Quality and Academic Development Manager Academic Section, University of Essex

Transformation has become a defining feature of UK higher education – but what picture emerges when we step back and look across the Academic Quality profession itself? Using a sector-wide snapshot of institutions across the UK, this workshop will identify emerging trends before asking the bigger question: ‘What do these changes tell us about the identity, purpose and future of Academic Quality?’

 

Workshop B: Confident Partnerships: Growing Collaboration While Securing Standards

Phil Berry, Director of Academic Quality, Kings College London

As institutions increasingly look to partnerships to support strategic ambitions, quality professionals have a key role in helping organisations grow confidently and sustainably. Through practical examples and discussion, this session will explore how effective partnership oversight can enable innovation while maintaining trust in quality and standards. 

 

Workshop C: Lifelong Learning  Entitlement– will it take us a lifetime to achieve?

Richard Appleby, Head of Academic Quality, University of London

 

Workshop D: Improving outcomes for students – the role of the student voice and the NSS

Don Ramsden, Head of Academic Quality, University of London & Evasys

 

Workshop E: Quality connections – a further chance to network and connect with colleagues in an informal session

QSN Executive

A more open and flexible session available to those who would prefer a less formal opportunity to share Quality challenges and solutions. 

 

Choose your next parallel workshop from the below schedule:

Workshop A: The changing size and shape of Academic Quality in UK Higher Education: Are we truly transformed? 

Aminah Suhail, Quality and Academic Development Manager Academic Section, University of Essex

Transformation has become a defining feature of UK higher education – but what picture emerges when we step back and look across the Academic Quality profession itself? Using a sector-wide snapshot of institutions across the UK, this workshop will identify emerging trends before asking the bigger question: ‘What do these changes tell us about the identity, purpose and future of Academic Quality?’

 

Workshop B: Confident Partnerships: Growing Collaboration While Securing Standards

Phil Berry, Director of Academic Quality, Kings College London

As institutions increasingly look to partnerships to support strategic ambitions, quality professionals have a key role in helping organisations grow confidently and sustainably. Through practical examples and discussion, this session will explore how effective partnership oversight can enable innovation while maintaining trust in quality and standards. 

 

Workshop C: Lifelong Learning  Entitlement– will it take us a lifetime to achieve?

Richard Appleby, Head of Academic Quality, University of London

 

Workshop D: Improving outcomes for students – the role of the student voice and the NSS

Don Ramsden, Head of Academic Quality, University of London & Evasys

 

Workshop E: Quality connections – a further chance to network and connect with colleagues in an informal session

QSN Executive

A more open and flexible session available to those who would prefer a less formal opportunity to share Quality challenges and solutions.

 

Grab a lunch bag and meet us in the Main Conference room for the next session.

Following a review of Japan’s 20-year-old institution-based accreditation system, a new tiered evaluation model, focused on quality enhancement at undergraduate and postgraduate level, has been introduced, drawing on the UK’s approach. This session presents an international comparative study of educational programme evaluation across the UK, US, and Japan, examining the merits and challenges of UK quality assurance and enhancement, and the impact of this for the future of Japan’s new system.

Professor Toru Hayashi, Professor, Kanazawa University, PI of this research project

Professor Satoshi Ozeki, Lecturer, University of Miyazaki

Professor Patrick Shorb, Kansai University of International Studies

Vicki Scott will bring her insights, experience and reflections on the current shape of Quality across the sector.

Registration for this event is now closed.

Meet Our Sponsors

evasys

For over 25 years, evasys is the leading provider of evaluation and insight solutions to the UK and Irish Higher Education sector. Not just a module and course evaluation tool, evasys customers are delivering a diversity of surveys such as Pre-arrival, First Year Experience, Student Satisfaction, Student Union Elections, Apprenticeship surveys and more.

Our senior team brings extensive first-hand experience having all worked in universities. This deep understanding of sector culture and workflows means we deliver implementations and ongoing support that are both efficient and aligned with institutional needs not matched by other evaluation providers. We’re proud to be working with new customers such as the University of York, the University of Sussex, Cumbria University, and the University of Cambridge Judge Business School.

evasys is a specialist Higher Education evaluation solution with AI powered comment analysis and extensive dashboard analytics underpinned by a team with HE expertise, which is why it is the dominant choice for UK and Irish universities.

We are by the sector, for the sector.

 

TimeEdit

TimeEdit is the Academic Operations Platform for higher education. Trusted by 250+ universities and colleges across the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, TimeEdit connects Curriculum, Workload, Scheduling, and Student Engagement on a single connected foundation, so the work flows the way it was always meant to.

Founded in Sweden in 1992, TimeEdit has spent more than 30 years building exclusively for higher education. Not as a vertical to serve, but as the only world it operates in. More than 3 million students navigate their academic year through the platform.

Academia runs on TimeEdit.

AHEP Consulting

AHEP Consulting is the consulting arm of the Association of Higher Education Professionals, committed to excellence in higher education management. Our consultants bring extensive experience across the sector, delivering projects and reviews that drive meaningful improvement and impact. We work closely with our clients to enhance professional service practices and strengthen sector performance. 

Our unique consultant model combines the expertise of HE professionals with the strength of AHEP’s network. Each consultant is an AHEP member with deep sector knowledge, allowing us to offer bespoke solutions that balance external insight with sector-specific understanding. By working collaboratively, we draw on diverse skills and perspectives to deliver inclusive, multi-faceted outcomes that reflect best practice and innovation in higher education. 

Explorance

Founded in Montreal in 2003, Explorance is a global feedback analytics company that helps organizations listen deeply, act confidently, and grow meaningfully. Explorance supports over 1,000 organizations in more than 50 countries, including 30% of the world’s top universities and 25% of the Fortune 500. Explorance offers purpose-built platforms such as Blue, MLY, MTM, and BlueX, along with expert services in change management and analytics consulting. With over 25 million users and more than 2 billion feedback data points, Explorance empowers institutions to enhance teaching effectiveness, employee engagement, and learning impact. With over two decades of innovation and a 95%+ customer retention rate, Explorance is recognized by Gartner, the QS Reimagine Education Awards, the Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards, and Great Place to Work®.
Visit Explorance.com or connect on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X.