How can we improve our degree programmes?
Decentralised Qualitymanagement
The Faculty of Social Sciences’ decentralised quality management system is designed to continuously improve teaching and learning. Key elements of this system are the quality review meetings, which are closely integrated with the Faculty’s established bodies. In these quality rounds, students and teaching staff discuss, together with the Dean’s Office for Academic Affairs, appropriate measures to maintain and enhance the quality of the social sciences degree programmes. Quality rounds have been taking place since 2019 as part of the planned introduction of system accreditation at the University of Göttingen.
A distinction can be made between large and small quality rounds:
The main task of the small quality round is to determine, through data-based analysis of the degree programmes and assessment of the accreditation criteria, which topics are to be discussed in the large quality round. Small quality rounds are attended by at least one person from each status group (students, academic staff and mid-level academic staff), the programme coordinator, the equality officer, staff from the Dean’s Office for Academic Affairs and, where applicable, the Examinations Office.
The large quality rounds take place approximately every two years and address the objectives set out in the small quality rounds, as well as potential structural and content-related changes within the degree programmes. They also develop appropriate measures for improvement. All teaching staff and students on the respective degree programmes, staff from the Student Advisory Office and the Examinations Office, the Equal Opportunities Officer, the Student Council, and, depending on the topic, other internal and external stakeholders are invited to the large-scale quality review meetings.
The faculty’s governing bodies are involved in that the Dean’s Office for Academic Affairs regularly, and at least once per semester, informs the Programme Committee about the status of implementation of planned and ongoing measures. The Programme Committee reviews the status of implementation of measures and draws up recommendations for the Faculty Council, in particular regarding amendments to regulations and other measures requiring a decision by the Faculty Council.
Decentralised quality management within the faculty is integrated into the system accreditation processes at the University of Göttingen. System accreditation refers to the systematic certification of degree programmes with the aim of quality assurance and the further development of academic programmes. In doing so, the University of Göttingen complies with the requirement that state-recognised higher education institutions in Germany must have their degree programmes accredited on a regular basis. To this end, a higher education institution must demonstrate that it systematically implements formal and subject-specific criteria.