Leadership and Governance : Academic Governance at AUB

Academic Governance at AUB

Academic Board is the sovereign academic body of the University.

The Board of Governors will assure itself that Academic Board is discharging its responsibilities in a way that's robust, timely, fair and effective. The Board will operate in accordance with the CUC Code of higher education governance. Governors don't have the power to make academic decisions or to overrule the decisions of Academic Board.

Academic Board responsibilities

In general terms, Academic Board is responsible for policies and procedures relating to the admission of students; teaching, learning and assessment; the academic regulations (including those relating to allegations of academic misconduct and appeals against assessment outcomes); and for the quality management framework. The quality management framework is that body of policies and processes which, taken together, provide assurance about the academic standards of awards and the quality of the student experience. This includes the approval and regular review of courses of study.

Academic Board also has oversight of the arrangements for students on courses of study with a collaborative partner which lead to an award of AUB, including a joint or dual degree; and for students at AUB whose course is validated by an external body.

It determines research policy and confirms the academic direction of the University.

Annually, Academic Board prepares a Degree Outcomes Statement (DOS), which outlines the University's degree classification profile and reports on any matters of interest. The statement covers our assessment and marking practices, academic governance, our classification algorithm and more.

Academic Board cannot delegate its responsibility for the standards and quality of academic awards. However, it can devolve operational responsibility for all elements of its duties to committees established for that purpose.

AUB’s arrangements for quality management are set out in its Quality Assurance Handbook. The first part of this document summarises the various elements and how they interact to provide valid and reliable assurance.

View the Handbook

AUB has a comprehensive Learning, Teaching and Assessment Framework (LTAF) which sets out its approach to learning and teaching and the academic regulatory framework. Section 3 of the LTAF offers a roadmap and advice about specific issues. This is supplemented by the following:

Arts University Bournemouth's research impacts positively on society, industry and our stakeholders.

AUB’s outstanding results gained from REF 2021 demonstrate our continued desire to grow our research output, showcasing how work from across the creative sectors can have a huge impact on the world; from works of cultural and industrial significance, to that of work protecting and raising awareness for minority and under-represented groups in society.

More than 12% of the AUB’s research has now been classed as ‘world-leading’ with a further 42% being classed ‘internationally excellent’, according to REF 2021.

The University’s research activity includes online and digital work, as well as exhibitions, photography, museum curation and published work, and represents research across areas of art and design, performing arts, and film and screen studies.

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Arts University Bournemouth achieved taught degree awarding powers in 2008. Using these powers, the University is permitted to award degrees that are delivered and assessed at another provider.

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