Vicky Collins and Sarah Mattin
Alignment with institutional quality assurance processes can help mitigate the risk of EAP provision occupying a marginal space, as well as providing a clear set of tools by which to maintain and improve quality. However, applying the processes and practices of the wider university can pose additional challenges for EAP provision which may have unique structures and time constraints. This paper identifies incremental stages of quality assurance (QA) activity at the module level and considers these in the context of designing a new pre-sessional English module ‘Preparing for Research and Enquiry’. Quality assurance responsibilities discussed in the paper include setting aims and learning outcomes, ensuring a high-quality student academic experience, ensuring that delivery of the module facilitates achievement of the aims, and monitoring performance of the module. Within this framework, the paper reports on activities such as task piloting with student writers, teacher observation, the design of materials for large scale delivery and benchmarking grading. The paper, therefore, discusses how a synthesis of incremental QA activity is achievable whilst operating within the constraints of EAP programmes, concluding with reflections on the positive impacts of this approach for students, teachers and course designers.