Dawn Edwards

Photo of Dawn Edwards

Clerk to the Board and Director of Academic Governance

PhD

Email: [email protected]

  • Strategic responsibility for academic governance, including academic standards and the quality of learning opportunities for students at the College
  • Responsible for the Academic Regulations of the College and student-facing policies and procedures including those relating to assessment and feedback to students, student engagement and the enhancement of the student experience, student conduct and student complaints.
  • Responsible for the National Student Survey
  • Clerk to the Board advising the Chair of the Board and members of matters relating to good governance and corporate responsibility

I joined the College in February 2010 as Head of Quality Assurance and Enhancement.  In 2015 I was appointed as Clerk to the Board of Governors and Director of Academic Governance and a member of the College’s Executive Team. 

I have overarching strategic responsibility for the College’s framework of policies, structures, relationships, systems and processes which collectively assure both the Principal and Board of Governors that academic quality and standards are maintained at the highest level and that the College complies fully with the requirements of the Office for Students.  I have worked extensively with and for the UK Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and the Higher Education Academy, now Advance HE for over twenty years.  I am the College’s key point of contact for the QAA, Advance HE and the Office for Students.

In 2015 I was awarded Principal Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in recognition of my sustained record of effective strategic leadership in academic practice and academic development nationally and internationally.  From 2011 to 2014 I was a core member of the Association of European Conservatoires (AEC) Polifonia Working Group on Quality Enhancement, Accreditation and Benchmarking, contributing to the development of a quality review process for European music higher education providers. 

My academic background is as a scientist. I obtained my PhD in physiology from University College, London, and following this worked at a postdoctoral research fellow at McMaster University, Canada, working with children with cerebral palsy.