Medr launches consultation on provider quality performance measures

Medr has today launched its consultation on new Quality Performance Measures as part of its approach to regulating tertiary education and training providers in Wales.

This consultation introduces the individual measures and outlines how Medr proposes to use them within the context of its regulatory framework.

The Quality Performance Measures are intended to support consistency in how Medr assesses compliance of the tertiary education sector with the quality and continuous improvement regulatory condition.  

The measures will support Medr doing this in a holistic way, and will enable a shared contextual understanding of performance which it will use to inform conversations with providers and to understand continuous improvement priorities across the sector.

Medr’s ambition is to support the continuous improvement efforts of providers by sharing this information, and the measures will also provide a rich source of information for providers themselves to understand their performance both within the wider sector and contextually.

James Owen, Chief Executive of Medr, said:

“This consultation represents a pivotal point in our regulatory journey and follows the successful launch of our regulatory framework in August 2026. We are incredibly grateful for the constructive, informal engagement on our proposals to date and feedback provided through previous consultation responses.

“These proposals, informed by advice from our Quality Committee, will allow us to gain a better picture of performance within the sector, building towards a coherent approach to how data and evidence are considered within tertiary education in Wales.  

“We welcome all views on these proposals to ensure they are fit for purpose and that they will ultimately help Medr, providers and stakeholders to better understand what is happening across the sector and ensure a good quality experience for our learners.”

Consultation on provider quality performance measures for tertiary education

Notes

What do the performance measures include?

The proposed measures reflect the areas set out in Medr’s Quality Framework, including completions, progression and destinations.

The consultation also sets out Medr’s benchmarking methodology, which produces a benchmark across most of the measures for providers to understand what their contextual performance looks like when factors such as activity level, level of highest qualification achieved prior to learning programme, subject of study, entry qualifications, and age, are taken into consideration.

The Quality Performance Measures are focused on provider level performance in the areas set out in the consultation. Medr will carry out separate work to articulate its long-term sector level ambitions and how it will measure our progress towards those ambition, for example, as part of its work developing the National Plan for the Welsh Language in Tertiary Education.

How will Medr use the measures?

Medr will use the measures as part of its wider analysis of performance information to inform assessments of provider compliance with the regulatory framework. They will also help Medr to understand continuous improvement priorities across the sector, and identify any issues or trends in data which it may need to discuss with a provider. Any issues it identifies with performance or trends will normally result in a conversation with a provider, to enable it to contextualise the outcomes.

Medr does not propose that these measures enable a threshold or trigger point approach, but rather the data informs its work understanding and engaging with quality and continuous improvement across the sector.

As the measures will be published, the proposals will be helpful for tertiary education providers to inform their own continuous improvement priorities.

What does this mean for learners?

The information will be publicly available, which will mean learners can make informed choices about their educational pathways. Learner voice is a key measure which will inform Medr’s quality and continuous improvement activity.