A
BILL
TO
Prohibit universities awarding Master’s degrees unless certain standards of
study and assessment are met; and for connected purposes.
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Minimum standards: report by QAA
(1)
On the day after the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must
instruct the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (“QAA”) to
publish a report no later than three months after the day on which this Act is
5passed setting out the measures necessary to establish a minimum standard of
academic achievement for all Master’s degrees awarded by institutions of
higher education in England.
(2)
In this Act “institution of higher education” has the same meaning as in the
Further and Higher Education Act 1992.
2 10Duties of Secretary of State
(1)
The Secretary of State must lay regulations before both Houses of Parliament
to establish minimum standards for Master’s degrees not later than three
months after the day on which the QAA publishes a report under section 1.
(2)
Regulations under this section are to be made by statutory instrument and may
15not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved
by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
(3)
Regulations made under this section may amend, repeal, revoke or disapply
any provision of an Act or of an instrument made under an Act (whenever
passed or made).
3 20Financial provisions
There shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament—
Master's Degrees (Minimum Standards) BillPage 2
(a)
any expenditure incurred under or by virtue of this Act by the Secretary of
State, and
(b)
any increase attributable to this Act in the sums payable under any other Act
out of money so provided.
4 5Short title, commencement and extent
(1) This Act may be cited as the Master’s Degrees (Minimum Standards) Act 2011.
(2) This Act comes into force on the day on which it is passed.
(3) This Act extends to England and Wales only.