QAA Code of Practice for the assurance of academic quality and standards in higher education — and its use in relation to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001

Section 3 of the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) Code of Practice for the assurance of academic quality and standards in higher education is about students with disabilities. It has been particularly welcomed as providing a useful tool for institutions in helping them to provide for their students. With the introduction of SENDA (The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001), HE Institutions should find it helpful that they have been adhering to the precepts of this section of the code since October 2000. This section of the QAA code is not the same as SENDA but, if institutions have embraced not simply the precepts but also the spirit, they are likely to remain within the law when SENDA becomes effective in September 2002. This short paper outlines some of the key features of the Code and how they are likely to impact academic departments.