In order to act efficiently when it comes to the teaching staff, students, and entrepreneurs, as well as schools and support units, versatile management, planning, decision-making and communication skills are needed. And this was precisely what the programme managers got to practise during a lively strategy game.   

At the end of the strategy game, we analysed results and learning curves. The four key steps for successful functioning of a study programme team are:

Collaboration

• Actively collaborate and constantly communicate with all parties – teaching staff, students, employers, colleagues, etc.

Engagement

• The more the teaching staff are involved in developments, the more they can contribute and understand the need for changes. Together we reach further and get more done! The outcome is good for everyone!
• Listen to your team members – they have great ideas! If you do not like an idea right away, do not throw it away immediately. Try to focus on how things can be done, instead of how they cannot.

Planning

• When planning, analyse the situation, map possible danger points and opportunities. Be solution-oriented.

Communication

• Share important information with the team so that everyone knows what is going on and what their role is.

 

When it comes to the quality of a study programme, the main question is: how to measure the health of a study programme. How do we know how our study programmes are performing? What is the evaluation process and the key quality indicators for our study programmes?

Currently, we assess the health status of the study programmes through a self-evaluation form completed in the SIS. This approach is troublesome for the programme manager and it is unclear what happens next with the completed self-evaluation. We want to implement a more comprehensive system of internal evaluation of study programmes, agree on the process and metrics, and make it user-friendly.

The seminar discussed the process of internal evaluation and held a heated debate on whether ‘Self-evaluation of the study programme supports the implementation of a learning-centred programme”. Although there were arguments on both sides, it was agreed that self-evaluation of the study programme supports the implementation of a learning-centred study programme. In order to distribute the internal evaluation activities more widely, the messages to be used when speaking about the internal evaluation to the teaching staff, students and programme councils were agreed upon.

The university's responsibility is to ensure a regular and effective system for monitoring the study programmes and quality, which

• gives feedback on how well the study programmes meet the needs of students, society and the labour market, and 

whether the developments made are appropriate in terms of the university's goals; 

• helps maintain continuity, to set new goals, and make strategic decisions; 
• supports the development of a learning-oriented quality culture at the university – enables the sharing of best practices and learning from each other;
• supports passing external assessments.

Next steps

• Development and piloting of the study programme analysis tool autumn 2023 – Office of Academic Affairs in cooperation with programme directors;
• introduction of updated internal evaluation of study programmes in autumn 2024.