Latest QAA Subject Review

Top Marks for the Faculty of Economics and Politics

The Faculty of Economics and Politics has received full marks in its recent Subject Review by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), scoring a remarkable 24 marks out of 24.

Economic historian, Dr Sheilagh Ogilvie, co-ordinated the Faculty's preparation for the review.

"This is a wonderful result that wouldn't have been possible without the co-operation and dedication of all those teaching economics in Cambridge and, indeed, our wonderful students," she said. "We are terribly pleased. We believe strongly that first-class research and first-class teaching go together, because they create an atmosphere of enthusiasm in which both teachers and students flourish. We thought we were doing well but this will be a tremendous boost to morale and we intend to build on this achievement in the coming years."

QAA Subject Reviews involve evaluating the institution's own self-assessment, analysing statistical indicators and then a week-long on-site inspection. A team of external assessors observe teaching sessions, talk to students and employers, inspect facilities and question the institution closely. The institution is then graded out of 24, a subject-specific report is published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and ultimately a league table is produced for that subject.

The University has had an outstanding record in the QAA review process since it was introduced in 1993. Both the effectiveness of the College supervision system, and the links between high quality research and teaching, have been noted repeatedly in the QAA reports on Cambridge.