MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND STRUCTURAL ORGANIZATION FOR THE QUALITY ASSURANCE OF SPs ■ Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava ■ Faculty of Civil Engineering ■ Eva Jankovichová ■ Spain, Alicante, April 2013

Contents ● Policy Context of QA ● Principles and Procedures of Quality Assurance ● Quality Management System ● Implementation of QMS ● The Organizational Structure ● Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava ● Annex No. 1

Policy Context of QA In the Slovak Republic the responsibility for higher education as regards the competences of the State administration bodies falls under the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic ● which pursuant to the Act on Higher Education, ● creates conditions for development of HEIs and university education, ● takes responsibility for updating and development of legislation in the field of higher education.

Policy Context of QA Slovak Higher Education System offers ● an education on all three levels, in both forms of study - the part-time and full-time ● it is provided by - public (20), state (3), private (12), foreign (4) HEIs, - professional-type (21) and university-type (18)

Policy Context of QA ● The current system of the QA in the Slovak HEIs is based on the criteria implemented by the Accreditation Commission which is an advisory body of the Slovak Government. They start from internal the European Standards and Guidelines for QA (ESG) and create a base for the external accreditation process.

Policy Context of QA ● The European University Association (EUA) performed systematic evaluation of the Slovak HEIs based on requirements of the Ministry of Education of the SR as well as the Slovak Rectors´ Conference in Its aim was to motivate the HEIs to follow the best QA standards and practice and tailor them to their individual conditions.

Policy Context of QA ● The Academic Ranking and Rating Agency (ARRA) as an independent rating agency was established in Its main activities are aimed at the regular QA in education and research areas within Slovak HEIs.

Principles and Procedures of Quality Assurance ● Strategy, policy and procedures should have a formal status and be publicly available. ● In the definition of the policy is expected description: - the relationship between teaching and research at university,

Principles and Procedures of Quality Assurance ● In the definition of the policy is expected description: - strategies HEIs in the field of quality and standards, - organization the quality assurance system,

Principles and Procedures of Quality Assurance - responsibilities of departments, institutions, faculties and other organizational units and individuals in the field of quality assurance, - involvement of students in quality assurance, - methods of implementation, monitoring and revision of policy.

Quality Management System ● Quality assurance and quality assessment in HE over the last decade has become an integral part of higher management. ● Includes in particular: - the provision, - management, - monitoring, - evaluation

Quality Management System The main principles of quality management system of education at the Slovak University of Technology: 1. quality of SPs of education and student work can be continuously improved, 2. responsibility for the supply and delivery of quality education,

Quality Management System 3. assessing of quality education must be performed by a group of internal and external evaluators, It is possible to build on the principles: a) customer orientation, b) the principle of leadership, (management of universities and colleges ensure unity of mission, goals and direction for the development of the University)

Quality Management System c) involvement of all staff, d) process approach, e) system approach, (process integration creates conditions for synergistic use of existing resources of the University) f) continuous improvement of the educational environment and process,

Quality Management System g) decisions based on facts, arguments and feedback, h) relationships between all stakeholders (participants) of the educational process at the university (faculty). Source: [1] Principles of the QMS of Education on SUT in Bratislava, February 2006, p. 3

Implementation of QMS The sequence of steps: 1. Identify the stakeholders of the educational process. Who is the customer of university? It is possible in principle to define three types of customers: - customer is a student - customer is the labor market - customer is the State (Ministry of Education)

Implementation of QMS 2. Create a policy of quality education and formulate its quality objectives. 3. Determine the responsible persons and competencies. 4. Determine standards of education and establish criteria for quality of the educational process.

Implementation of QMS 5.Identify indicators and methods for monitoring, measuring and evaluating the quality of education. 6.Suggest content and timetable for the evaluation process and QMS and develop an evaluation scenario and procedures for faculty, departments and assessment teams. 7.Determine procedures (corrective action) for preventing and improving the quality of education.

The Organizational Structure At the university level: Rector - has the primary responsibility for the quality of education - appoints the Commission for the Quality Management System of education at the University (UC)

The Organizational Structure UK of QMS will be responsible for: ● overall concept of quality management at the University, ● coordinating the work of faculty committees for QMS, ● establish criteria of QE at university level, ● issue of the management guidelines for faculty and the review teams (internal evaluation) and ensuring the external evaluation.

The Organizational Structure At the faculty level: Dean - has the primary responsibility for the quality of education - appoints the Commission for the Quality Management System of education at the Faculty (FC)

The Organizational Structure FK of QMS will be responsible for: ● implementation of the quality management in the Faculty, ● coordinating the work of the commissions for SPs, ● support and coordinate the work of external evaluators, ● approval of the new programs.

The Organizational Structure Commission for study programs will be responsible for: ■ annual monitoring of the existing programs, ■ agreed periodic review of the existing programs, ■ preparation of materials for external evaluators,

The Organizational Structure Commission for study programs will be responsible for: ■ preparation of materials for approval of the new programs, ■ methodological instruction of departments, ■ create a database of questions for revision SPs ■ obtaining feedback and opinions from graduates, employers, etc.

The Organizational Structure The purpose of periodic internal and external evaluation of the educational process is: ● introduced in the universities and colleges usual standard and evaluation criteria of major foreign educational institutions, ● analyze whether education has the prescribed quality and encourage improvement of QE ● evaluate the students learning experiences

The Organizational Structure The purpose of periodic internal and external evaluation of the educational process is: ● exchange good practical knowledge between study programs in colleges and universities, ● publishing evaluation reports publicly available information on the quality of all grades forms of education that a university and a faculty offering.

The Organizational Structure Principles of evaluation of SPs: - is based on self-assessment, - used the most current documentation material, - is based on the existing or QMS created by the organizational structures, - is designed to guarantee objectivity and external aspects. Source: [1] Principles of the QMS of Education on SUT in Bratislava, February 2006, p. 5

Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava ● In 2012, Slovakia was among the first countries involved in the project AHELO, which has an ambition to compare the quality of higher education on five continents. ● In the project to quality assessment higher education AHELO have signed up 19 HEIs. Source:[2] prihlasilo-19-slovenskych-vysokych-skol /

Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava ● In 2012 the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava obtained the ECTS Label - is a prestigious certificate, - credit system is compatible with European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) - enabling two-way student mobility within EU universities and the wider European area

Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava ● All of the study programmes provided by the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, all exams and credits that students receive are in line with European Credit System and thus recognized abroad. ● Obtaining the ECTS Label is a signal of quality for domestic and foreign students. Source: [3]

■ Thank you very much for your attention. ■ Eva Jankovichová ■