Quality assurance

There are a number of Senate Handbooks which govern the University’s academic provision.

General Student Handbooks

• Postgraduate Students' Handbook
• Undergraduate Students' Handbook

Student assessment and award Handbooks

• Assessment Rules for Postgraduate Taught Courses
• Research Students' Handbook
• Undergraduate Awards Handbook

Student support and investigation procedures Handbooks

• Academic Misconduct Handbook
• Academic Appeals Handbook
• Student Complaints Handbook
• Student Disciplinary Procedures Handbook
• Changes to Registration Handbook
• Student Welfare Handbook

Staff Handbooks for managing academic provision

• Managing Research Students Handbook
• Managing Postgraduate Taught Courses Handbook
• Managing Undergraduate Courses Handbook
• Admissions Handbook
• Examination Guidance Handbook
• Managing Non-Award Courses Handbook
• Positions of Responsibility in Learning, Teaching and Assessment
• Rescinding Awards Handbook
• Senate Reviews Handbook
• Setting up a New Taught Course Handbook
• The University as an End-point assessment organisation

Other Handbooks and policies

• Jiangsu University Cranfield Tech Futures Graduate Institute Handbook
• Handbook for External Examiners (taught courses)
• Handbook for Recognised Teachers
• Independent End-point Assessors Manual
• Apprenticeship Employer Complaints and Concerns Policy
• Health and Safety Handbook - Cranfield
• Health and Safety Handbook - Shrivenham

External examining forms

• External examiners expenses claim form (appointments post-2021) 
• External examiners expenses claim form (appointments pre-2021)
• External examiners report form

Annual reflective reviews of courses and focused reviews are conducted for internal quality assurance of academic provision.

Risk-based monitoring of all registered institutions is undertaken by the Office for Students through analysis of student progression and achievement data.

The University’s apprenticeship provision is monitored on a periodic basis by the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted). Ofsted undertook a successful monitoring visit in October 2022, and a full inspection in January 2024 which rated the University’s apprenticeship provision as ‘good’ in all areas.

In addition, over half of our taught courses are accredited by Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies, who periodically review courses to reconfirm course accreditation.

Robust committee structures are used to:

• Set up new courses;
• Set up academic partnerships;
• Monitor and act upon student feedback from internal and external surveys;
• Encourage student representation and participation;
• Ensure high standards through use of
  
  
  • external examiners,
  • industry links,
  • leading-edge research,
  • research-informed teaching.

The assessment of all postgraduate courses of the University are subject to agreed qualitative criteria.

We are committed to providing a positive student experience and capture feedback through a number of mechanisms including internal and national student surveys, to enhance the quality of our provision.

Survey feedback is reported on an annual basis and reviewed by Education and Research Committees, Senior Management and Departments heads, to enable a process of continuous improvement of the student experience.

Alongside our internal Student Satisfaction and Early Experience surveys, we capture the academic experience of our students through the national Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) and Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES), both run by Advance HE.

The success of our graduates is monitored through the national Graduate Outcomes survey which shows 93% of our graduates are in employment or further study within fifteen months of graduation, securing jobs in some of the world’s best known companies including Nissan, Oxfam, Airbus, Johnson & Johnson, Williams F1, Water-Aid, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Rolls-Royce, Veolia, Kraft and GlaxoSmithKline to name a few.

View our Erasmus Charter for Higher Education awarded by the European Commission.

Cranfield is committed to supporting our learners as they work towards fulfilling their academic and personal potential. Together as staff and learners, we form a community working to facilitate learning within a culture based on mutual respect in which individual rights and responsibilities, and diverse needs are promoted.

The Student Charter is a reference point for learners and staff to consider the nature of the rights and responsibilities of all those included within Cranfield’s community. It does not constitute a legally binding contract, but gives an overview of how we work together to establish and maintain our unique learning and living culture. Our Student Charter has been jointly developed by the University and Cranfield's Students’ Association (CSA).