Welcome To DQB

In England, the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 allows for an organisation to be designated by the Secretary of State in order to provide assessments and advice for the Office for Students on quality and standards in higher education. This role is known as the ‘Designated Quality Body’ (DQB). The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) held this role from April 2018 to 31 March 2023. This website contains information on the assessments of higher education providers conducted by QAA as the DQB in that period.

QAA announced on 20 July 2022 that it would no longer consent to be designated after 31 March 2023. QAA’s statement can be found on the QAA website, and the notice of removal of designation on the Government website.

On this website you can find:

During the period of designation, the DQB undertook assessments to serve three purposes:

  1. To provide assessments of the quality of, and the standards applied to, higher education provided by:
    • institutions that had applied to be registered on the OfS Register, for the purposes of the OfS determining whether they satisfy any initial registration condition applicable to them relating to the quality of, or the standards applied to, higher education provided by them; and
    • registered higher education providers to satisfy any ongoing registration condition relating to the quality of, or the standards applied to, higher education provided by them.
  2. To provide advice regarding the quality of, and the standards applied to, higher education provided by a provider before the OfS made a decision regarding:
    • an authorisation to grant taught awards or research awards (degree awarding powers)
    • a variation or revocation of an authorisation to grant taught awards or research awards.
  3. To provide external quality assurance for end-point assessment organisations offering integrated higher and degree apprenticeships.