What is STEP?

STEP (Scotland's Tertiary Enhancement Programme) is the new collaborative programme that will support Scotland’s tertiary sector to innovate in quality enhancement. It is designed to enable Scotland’s colleges and universities to work together to improve and enhance learning, teaching, the student experience and staff development across tertiary provision. It is one of the delivery mechanisms of Scotland’s Tertiary Quality Enhancement Framework (TQEF) and is underpinned by the TQEF principles.

The programme is sector-owned and jointly managed by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) and College Development Network (CDN).

At the heart of the programme are collaborative enhancement projects that will produce outcomes and outputs of value to the entire tertiary sector. The topic for the first cycle of STEP (2024-28), agreed through extensive engagement with colleges and universities, is 'Supporting diverse learner journeys'.

Supporting diverse learner journeys by...

Supporting transitions and navigating pathways

Strengthening engagement, community and belonging

Developing skills and capabilities for learning

Delivering tailored, targeted and personalised support

How will STEP work?

STEP runs on a four-year cycle that moves through three distinct phases - discovery, implementation and reflection - during which these projects are designed, delivered and evaluated.

Discovery

During the Discovery phase (year 1), staff and students will come together for a series of Discovery Days to establish collaborative partnerships and design projects that will form the core of the programme.

Between these days, Navigation Sessions will provide momentum, alongside additional supporting activities such as workshops, networking opportunities and professional development activity related to the topic.

In developing projects there will be a focus on collaboration, clarity of outcomes and anticipated impact, and the formation of a cohesive programme of work that involves every college and university in Scotland in at least one project.

Implementation

The focus of the Implementation phase is to launch and carry out the projects planned during the Discovery phase. Project leads and teams will be responsible for taking forward the programme of work identified in their proposals. In each of years 2 and 3, the following activities will also take place:

Three facilitated Implementation Days enabling project teams to meet in-person.
A Discovery Day to support development of further projects on emerging issues.
Annual conference to share updates, further develop networks and scan horizons.
Topic-related CPD for which a need has been identified.

Evaluation will be embedded within each project and undertaken on a continuous basis, with regular reports form each team updating on impact and progress against plans.

Reflection

The Reflection phase allows for the summative evaluation of the cycle, as well as its constituent projects and additional activities, considering not only the impact of the work, but the effectiveness of its delivery. As projects conclude, the Reflection phase allows for the dissemination of project outputs throughout and beyond the sector. The aim is to ensure that outputs and outcomes are embedded within the mainstream activities of colleges and universities to become ‘business as usual’.

Built into the Reflection phase is consultation for the topic for the next four-year STEP cycle. This process will involve colleges, universities, sector agencies and other stakeholders to ensure that the topic chosen addresses the most relevant issues for the sector at that time.