Commentary on Sections Part 2: Registration and Regulation of Tertiary Education Providers Assessment of quality in higher education Section 54: Assessment of quality of higher education
160.Subsection (1) requires the Commission to assess, or make arrangements to assess, the quality of higher education provided by each registered tertiary education provider and by those providers offering higher education provision on behalf of providers registered with the Commission. The duty applies to the assessment of higher education relating to the provider’s category of registration (subsection (2)). In addition, subsection (3) gives the Commission the power to assess, or make arrangements to assess, the quality of higher education provided by any tertiary education provider.
161.The Commission must publish the reports of these assessments (subsection (4)).
162.The Welsh Ministers may by regulations require assessments to be carried out at specified intervals and to publish the reports of these assessments within a specified period (subsection (5)). The Welsh Ministers must consult with the Commission before making such regulations (subsection (6)).
163.In this Part of the Act, references to an external provider relate to those providers who are responsible for providing all or part of a course of higher education on behalf of registered providers, but who are not registered providers in their own right (subsection (7)). The Welsh Minister may make regulations about who should be treated as an external provider (subsection (8)).