Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book offers some thoughts and reflections on the nature, structure and function of the evaluation of staff training and development, with a focus on UK higher education. The related existing strengths of the sector are explored, notably with regard to teaching and learning and forms of quality assessment. Quality and higher education described as the academic audit unit (AAV), Burge and Tannock, the UK Higher Education Quality Council (HEQC). Quality is used here to refer the range of a student's experience to higher education, while standards refers specifically to the levels of achievement that are expected and attained by students in their studies. Higher education is, of course, very familiar with the process of validation and review. There is sometimes confusion as to the difference between validation and evaluation.