Compassionate Communication in Scotland’s Tertiary Sector

About this conference

QAA Scotland is pleased to announce this one-day event on the topic of compassionate communication.

The event will launch the first set of QAA Scotland’s sector resources on compassionate communication, developed in collaboration with staff and students from across Scotland’s tertiary sector. This event also provides an opportunity to hear existing practice from across Scotland’s colleges and universities and to shape the ongoing development of sector outputs, to be published across 2026/27.

The event will include:

• A session outlining themes from QAA Scotland’s national series of roundtable events, exploring what compassionate communication means to staff and students in Scotland’s tertiary sector, why it is important; and how it can be successfully embedded in our colleges and universities.
• A series of presentations from Scotland’s colleges and universities, sharing institutional case studies related to compassionate communication.
• An interactive workshop to develop a resource on Co-Creating Compassionate Communications with students, co-facilitated by Student Partnerships in Quality Scotland (sparqs) and QAA.

Compassionate communication is an approach adopted by institutions to improve their interactions with students. It involves clear, empathetic, and supportive communication and is aligned with the values of kindness, respect, timeliness, and inclusivity. This approach contains a commitment to ensuring that policies and communications are delivered thoughtfully and with an understanding of student needs.

QAA Scotland has been asked by the Scottish Funding Council to include a focus on compassionate communication in the National Review of Awarding Arrangements. QAA Scotland has subsequently identified this as a relevant and timely priority area for the whole of Scotland’s tertiary sector, within the context of a student population significantly impacted by mental health challenges; a continued focus on digital education and what student support looks like in online spaces; and ongoing considerations of the use of AI in communications with students. 

In 2024, the Higher Education Mental Health Implementation Taskforce created a set of principles for Compassionate Communication, owned and maintained by the Academic Registrars’ Council. These principles are a key reference point for this project. 

This project aims to facilitate the sharing of good practice and to support institutions to enhance their activities in this area, in order to improve the student experience for all learners in Scotland’s tertiary sector.

Who this event is for

This conference is open to staff members and students in Scotland’s colleges and universities.

Within this wide range of roles, we would include

• professional services
• academic staff
• quality professionals
• students' association officers and staff

We would particularly welcome attendance from those engaged in processes where compassionate communication is most needed. These include: 

• Extensions, appeals and mitigating circumstances. 
• Academic and student misconduct.
• Cases where students need to repeat a year, take an interruption of study, or can no longer continue on their course.
• Reasonable adjustments.
• Communicating module, end of year and final qualification results.
• Finance and accommodation.
• Reporting abuse, harassment, and discrimination.
• Fitness to practice/study.
• Complaints.
• Admissions.

Please note the online registration closes on 24th September 2026. Please email events@qaa.ac.uk if you would like to register after the online registration has closed.