Be part of the process!
Looks like it's up to me!
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Your university needs you! A quality management system is only as good as the people who implement it. There are different ways in which you can get involved.
How YOU can make a difference
As a member of Freie Universität, you know how to recognize high-quality teaching and education. You most likely have ideas about how these could be improved, too.
Why not join one of the university’s forums for helping to develop degree programs? You could contribute to discussions about evaluation findings, help to prepare peer consultations, or review and improve modules that have been identified as needing more input.
If our quality management system is structured to give everyone a chance to contribute, it’s more likely that it will reach the university's ultimate goal of a dialogue-based teaching and learning culture, and help to keep our degree programs accredited.
Your input is appreciated! We look forward to hearing from you!
Advisory Board for Quality Assurance in Teaching and Education
We welcome your expertise!
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The Advisory Board for Quality Assurance in Education is an independent body in which members of all departments and status groups regularly meet to discuss the quality assurance system and potential improvements. The group looks at whether specific instruments are still fit for purpose and examines the framework conditions for quality in studying and teaching.
The Board was set up by the Academic Senate of Freie Universität Berlin in June 2012, which granted it the power to make formal recommendations. Since its inauguration, the Board has acted in the role of a “critical friend”, advising and assisting on the principles of the quality management system. All members of the university can contact the Board if they have criticisms or complaints in relation to the quality management system.
At decentralized level
Time to shift perspective ...
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At a decentralized level, the curriculum committees (Ausbildungskommissionen) attached to the departmental and institute councils play an important role. At least half of the members of the curriculum committee must be students and the committees are often chaired by students as well. They are responsible for
- Drafting and reviewing degree program concepts
- Discussing evaluation findings and
- Making decisions on new quality assurance measures.
You can find more information about the role of the curriculum committees in the Teilgrundordnung (“Supplemental Rules and Regulations”) and on your department or central institute website.
Peer consultations offer another way to get involved
... and lend a hand where you can.
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In a peer consultation, external experts, students, and representatives from professional fields come together to discuss whether a degree program could be improved in terms of its content and subject relevance.
The dean’s office for your department will be able to tell you when the next peer consultation is planned for your degree and how you can get involved.
Peer consultations as a quality assurance tool are very popular with the departments and central institutes, and you can help to keep it that way!
The appointments procedure
Take part in the trial run.
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One of the key criteria when selecting new university professors is their teaching experience and their ability to develop innovative teaching ideas and formats. Next time we’re appointing, why not join the teaching session that forms part of the hiring process? Your input would be really valuable. Student feedback makes all the difference!
You can find out if any hiring is taking place by asking the student representatives for your department. The Freie Universität Appointment Guidelines (German) explain how students can get involved.
Believe it or not...other universities do exist!
If you would like to see how quality management works at other universities, you can train as a student reviewer with the student accreditation pool for free.
You will learn about the relevant quality management methods and instruments as well as finding out about the different ways in which they are applied, and use this training to help develop studying and teaching at Freie Universität Berlin.
Find out more about the student accreditation pool here.
Never-ending questions
There are many different ways in which students can contribute to the quality of degree programs.
The most helpful thing you can do is to participate in teaching evaluations. Your feedback helps us to continually review and improve teaching quality.
You can also take part in the central student surveys. These help Freie Universität Berlin understand how students experience their studies. Your ideas about our degree programs – for example, whether they are designed appropriately for student needs – are valuable. The survey outcomes provide Freie Universität Berlin with insights into how we can improve study conditions and to develop our support, counseling and advisory services.
The Unit for Teaching and Education Quality has provided more information about the central surveys here.
And last but not least ...
... we want to hear your thoughts! Share your ideas, comments, and suggestions at qm@fu-berlin.de. We’ll be sure to respond!