Quality Policy

AUREN INSTITUTE - QUALITY POLICY
Document Code: AI-QA-POL-001
Version: 1.0
Status: Controlled Document
Effective Date: 1st January 2025
Approved By: Director
Document Owner: Head of Quality Assurance (HQA)

1. Purpose

This Quality Policy establishes the overarching quality assurance principles, governance, processes, and commitments through which Auren Institute ensures the quality and standards of its educational provision.

It confirms Auren Institute’s commitment to:

• maintaining a robust Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) system,
• assuring academic standards and the integrity of learner outcomes,
• ensuring that learning provision is fit-for-purpose, inclusive and learner-centred,
• monitoring effectiveness through evidence-informed evaluation, and
• continuous improvement, particularly within an online learning delivery model.

This policy is designed to support Auren Institute’s compliance with the MFHEA Framework and related quality assurance expectations, particularly in relation to online learning provision.

2. Scope

This Quality Policy applies to all educational, administrative, and support functions that influence the quality and standards of learning delivered under Auren Institute, including:

2.1 Learning Provision

• Accredited and/or regulated programmes (where applicable)
• CPD courses and professional development programmes
• Bespoke corporate learning solutions
• Online courses, eLearning, SCORM modules, and LMS-delivered learning
• Blended learning (where used)

2.2 Institutional Operations

• Programme design, development, approval and delivery
• Recruitment and management of staff/tutors
• Student/learner admission, progression and support
• Assessment, integrity, moderation and certification processes
• Use of digital learning platforms (LMS/VLE)
• Complaints, appeals, and academic misconduct processes
• External partnerships, suppliers, and content providers
• Continuous monitoring, review and improvement

3. Quality Policy Statement

Auren Institute is committed to delivering high-quality learning that meets the needs of adult learners, businesses, and stakeholders in Malta, the EU and internationally.

We will:

1. ensure all learning has defined, measurable learning outcomes that meet expected standards;
2. ensure teaching, learning, and assessment activities are aligned with learning outcomes and are supported by consistent academic standards;
3. provide an online learning environment that delivers structured, supported and interactive learning — not only access to digital content;
4. maintain transparent systems for learner information, support, progression and protection;
5. implement ongoing quality monitoring through reviews, audits, analytics, feedback, and corrective action;
6. embed continuous improvement into all academic and operational functions, supported by evidence and documented decision-making.

4. Institutional Quality Principles

Auren Institute’s quality culture is built upon the following principles:

4.1 Learner-centred excellence

Learning design and delivery must respond to:

• adult learning needs,
• workplace contexts,
• differing learning styles and abilities,
• inclusion and accessibility considerations.

4.2 Standards, integrity and fairness

Assessment and certification must be:

• valid and reliable,
• fair and transparent,
• evidence-based,
• protected from academic misconduct.

4.3 Online learning as a structured educational system

Auren Institute recognises that online learning must demonstrate:

• quality instructional design,
• learner engagement,
• tutor support and learning facilitation,
• interactive learning and meaningful feedback.

4.4 Accountability and transparency

Quality assurance must be governed by:
• clear roles and committees,
• documented processes and evidence trails,
• structured reporting and decision-making.

4.5 Continuous improvement

All provision is subject to:

• cyclical review,
• measurable KPIs,
• change control,
• corrective and preventive action.

5. The Auren Institute Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) Framework

Auren Institute adopts an IQA framework aligned to MFHEA standards, and adapted for online learning delivery. This framework is structured around:

1. Leadership & governance
2. Staff profile & professional development
3. Review and continuous improvement
4. Resources (academic, technical, digital)
5. Learner experience & support
6. Assessment & integrity
7. Learning outcomes
8. Curriculum design and programme management

Each domain includes:

• policy commitments,
• minimum evidence requirements,
• key performance indicators,
• review schedules and escalation processes.

6. Governance and Accountability

Auren Institute maintains governance systems that ensure proper oversight of quality, academic standards, learner protection and regulatory compliance.

6.1 Committee Structure (Minimum)

Auren Institute shall maintain the following bodies:

a) Senior Management

Responsible for:

• strategic direction and resourcing of quality systems,
• approval of institutional policies,
• ensuring compliance with external regulatory expectations.

b) Academic Management

Responsible for:

• academic standards and programme approval,
• assessment and integrity oversight,
• programme monitoring reports,
• approval of academic staff (where applicable),
• review and endorsement of external examiner/moderation reports (where relevant).

c) Quality Assurance Management

Responsible for:

• internal QA audits,
• monitoring of quality KPIs,
• CAPA (Corrective & Preventive Action) monitoring,
• review of complaints/appeals patterns,
• evaluation of learner feedback and improvement actions.

d) Digital Learning Standards Committee / Online Learning QA Group

Responsible for:

• LMS standards,
• instructional design quality,
• accessibility compliance,
• learning analytics usage governance,
• digital pedagogy and course build standards.

(Note: where Auren’s scale is smaller, roles may combine; however accountability must remain clear and recorded.)

6.2 Key Roles and Responsibilities

Managing Director / Head of Institution

• Ultimate accountability for overall quality and compliance
• Ensures adequate resources for QA and delivery
Head of Quality Assurance (HQA)

• Owner of the IQA system and controlled QA documentation
• Leads internal audits and quality reporting
• Maintains CAPA register and closure evidence

Academic Director

• Ensures academic standards and learning outcomes alignment
• Oversees programme-level design and academic monitoring

Instructional Design Lead

• Ensures all online courses comply with digital design standards
• Ensures learning engagement is embedded in design (not passive content)

Assessment Lead / Internal Verifier

• Oversees integrity, moderation, marking consistency, rubrics, and fairness

Learner Support Lead

• Ensures learner support systems and SLAs
• Oversees complaints first-line resolution and escalation

Data Protection Officer / Privacy Lead

• Ensures GDPR compliance for all platforms, recordings, learner data processing

7. Quality Assurance across the Learning Lifecycle

Auren Institute assures quality across the full lifecycle:

7.1 Programme/course design and approval

All programmes/courses shall be supported by:

• programme/course specifications,
• learning outcomes and level descriptors,
• content outlines mapped to learning outcomes,
• assessment strategy and grading criteria,
• delivery mode plan (online / blended),
• tutor selection criteria and staffing plan,
• learner support plan,
• risk assessment and mitigation plan (incl. integrity risks).

Formal approval must be recorded in an approval log.

7.2 Delivery quality assurance

During delivery, Auren Institute ensures:

• scheduled tutor interactions (asynchronous and/or synchronous),
• learning activities that promote practice and engagement,
• monitoring of learner progression through analytics,
• timely learner support response,
• structured feedback processes on assessments.

7.3 Assessment and Academic Integrity

Auren Institute ensures:

• assessment validity/reliability (standardisation + moderation),
• a transparent assessment brief and criteria,
• identity/integrity controls proportionate to course risk,
• clear academic misconduct procedures,
• documented appeals and resit/resubmission procedures.

7.4 Learner support, protection and guidance

Auren Institute commits to:

• pre-enrolment learner information transparency,
• LMS onboarding guidance,
• academic support and technical support routes,
• safeguarding and escalation route (if vulnerable learner concerns arise),
• equal opportunities and reasonable adjustments policy.

8. Resources and Online Learning Infrastructure Quality

Auren Institute ensures resources are appropriate to:

• the level and learning outcomes of provision,
• the mode of delivery (online-first),
• accessibility and inclusion.

This includes:

• ensuring LMS uptime and usability,
• maintenance of technical support channels,
• content version control and updating,
• protection of personal data and secure access controls,
• digital accessibility checks and corrective actions.

9. Monitoring, Review and Continuous Improvement

Auren Institute operates an embedded review system aligned with recognised quality cycles, in line with best practice QA frameworks.

9.1 Review Cycle

Course Run Review (after each cohort):

• learner satisfaction summary,
• completion rate review,
• assessment performance review,
• tutor reflection report,
• action plan logged.

Quarterly QA Review:

• KPI dashboard
• quality incidents
• CAPA updates
• complaints/appeals trends

Annual Institutional Review:

• academic standards review
• programme review reports
• resource sufficiency review
• platform performance and vendor review
• QA audit report and improvement plan

9.2 Key Quality Indicators

Auren Institute monitors:

• completion and dropout rates,
• learner satisfaction scores,
• support response time compliance,
• assessment pass rates and grade distribution,
• misconduct cases and outcomes,
• time-to-feedback on assignments,
• platform uptime and incident frequency.

9.3 Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA)

All quality incidents must trigger:

• root cause analysis,
• corrective action,
• preventive action,
• responsible owner and target date,
• closure evidence.

10. Stakeholder Engagement

Auren Institute actively collects feedback from:

• learners and corporate clients,
• tutors and assessors,
• external stakeholders where appropriate.

Feedback channels include:

• course evaluation forms
• employer/client satisfaction checks
• tutor consultations
• internal review meetings
• quality audits and external reviews

11. Quality Documentation and Control

All quality-related documentation shall be controlled and include:

• title, code, version number, owner
• approval authority
• effective date and review date

Obsolete documents are archived and withdrawn from active use.

Examples of controlled documents include:

• programme/course specification templates
• assessment templates and rubrics
• online course design standards
• tutor onboarding pack
• learner handbook
• complaints and appeals forms
• academic misconduct procedure

12. Public Transparency and Learner Information

Auren Institute commits to transparency and ensures publicly available information (website and learner handbook) includes:

• programme/course objectives and learning outcomes
• entry requirements (if relevant)
• delivery methods and learner expectations
• assessment methods, pass marks and resit rules
• certification arrangements
• complaints and appeals routes
• privacy and data rights information

This is particularly critical in online learning environments to ensure informed choice.

13. Policy Review and Continuous Improvement

This policy shall be reviewed:

• annually; and/or
• upon MFHEA feedback; and/or
• following significant changes to online learning platform, delivery model, staffing, or accreditation.

Policy revisions must be approved by the relevant authority and version-controlled.

Approval

Approved By: Stefan Gauci Scicluna
Name / Role: Head of Training
Date: 1st January 2025

If there are any questions regarding this quality policy you may contact us at info@aureninstitute.com
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