Centre for Research into Quality
University of Central England
The (Centre for Research into Quality) CRQ at the University of Central England (UCE) has extensive experience in delivering high quality higher education policy research at institutional, national and international levels, informed by researching perceptions of the various stakeholders in higher education: students, staff, employers and professional bodies.
CRQ conducts the Student Satisfaction Survey – large-scale quantitative research carried out on an annual basis within UCE. It explores the student opinion of the total student experience at UCE. The Student Satisfaction approach, pioneered by CRQ, has been published in the Student Satisfaction Manual (1997) and has been adapted to explore the views of a variety of stakeholders, eg staff and professional placement supervisors. At UCE, the student and staff satisfaction surveys are used by decision makers as a management tool, shaping policy at an institutional level. A new area of work for CRQ is prison policy in the areas of HIV/Aids, drugs and suicide. CRQ has also gained a reputation for its involvement in all types of social research. The professional research team has extensive expertise in both quantitative and qualitative research techniques, including large-scale surveys, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviewing.CRQ is committed to policy-related research and will continue to develop research and consultancy in the fields of prison policy, prisoners' health, HIV/AIDS, drugs, probation and suicide and mental health. The centre undertakes research in these areas in the UK, Western Europe, and Central and Eastern Europe.
Dr Morag MacDonald has been involved in research in the area of criminal justice for the last 10 years specialising in the area of Prisons focusing on drugs, HIV and health care. This year she has joined the Centre for Criminal Justice Policy and Research based in the Law and Social Sciences Faculty and looks forward to developing collaborative research both nationally and internationally with the centre.