A self-evaluation report for five degree programmes drags on for months before the first page is written.
For the self-evaluation report, module handbooks, examination statistics and graduate numbers are gathered from campus management, document management and the evaluation system. Every figure needs a source, and every source has a different cut-off date. By the time everything is in one place, the first extracts are already out of date.
5programmes in the clusterThe re-accreditation covers five bachelor's programmes at once.
68module descriptionsEach is checked against the current version in campus management.
12indicators per programmeExamination statistics, graduate numbers and teaching evaluations supply twelve values.
31follow-up requestsAfter the first review, 31 pieces of evidence are missing or have the wrong cut-off date.
The quality officer starts the self-evaluation report with an extract that gives the source and cut-off date for each of the 60 indicators; preparation takes her 60% less time.
The 60% reduction in preparation time is this agent's headline figure. For this example, the cluster is assumed to have 68 module descriptions and 31 outstanding pieces of evidence; at another university both figures would differ.