Quality assurance: Academic environments
Strong research and educational environments are the single most important requirement for high quality and are dependent on the quality culture at the departments or equivalent. These environments are primarily made up of teachers, researchers, students and leaders who actively promote research and education of the highest quality by creating good conditions and a collegial and reflective culture.
Introduction
The most important work on quality assurance and enhancement occurs in the University’s research and educational environments, in departments, in research groups, in teaching teams and in study programme committees. The quality system’s other components focus on creating good conditions for this work.
Teachers, researchers, heads of department, directors of studies, programme coordinators and students contribute to continual quality assurance and enhancement based on their knowledge, experiences and creativity. This occurs in light of knowledge development, other developments nationally and globally, and results from evaluations.
Work on quality assurance and enhancement can, for example, involve developing long-term recruitment strategies. It can also mean systematic work on ensuring that everyone active at the University is given good potential to carry out their work or pursue their studies, regardless of gender, ethnic background and other background factors. Holding employee dialogues and salary dialogues is another way to stimulate and recognise quality. These are just a few examples. In other words, all activities likely to increase the quality of research and education are part of the University’s work on quality assurance and enhancement. Both the management (department heads, research team leaders, directors of study or equivalent) and staff are responsible for engaging in activities that contribute to quality assurance and enhancement.
A good quality culture includes a desire and ability to systematically follow up operations to identify areas for improvement. This will be done differently in different settings, but the most important thing is that it takes place. To ensure that systematic follow-up of quality in research and education occurs in all settings, Uppsala University has university-wide routines for reviews of research and education, see Reviews and Evaluations. This also includes establishing and phasing out programmes and courses, see Renewal.
Quality assurance and enhancement in research
The quality of research is ensured first and foremost through peer review in local research settings and in the international academic community, see Reviews and Examinations.
Work on quality assurance and enhancement takes place in every research environment, every day. It is done jointly and by individual researchers. It takes place when initiating a research collaboration with leading international researchers in the field, or when making efforts to improve seminar activities at the department. It happens when researchers give feedback on each other’s research applications, when junior researchers are offered mentoring, or when good research practices are promoted in the research environment, see Academic Integrity. These are just a few examples.
The latest university-wide research evaluation at Uppsala University, Q&R17 (see Research and programme reviews), focused on prerequisites for research and identified both strengths and weaknesses. As part of the evaluation, a survey was conducted of all staff active in research at the University. Both departments and external panels received the results. Data was also used to carry out a deeper analysis that pointed to some environmental factors of particular importance for conducting high-quality research, see Conditions for conducting high-quality research: Results from a research evaluation survey at Uppsala University in DiVA. The researchers that feel their own environment creates conditions for high-quality research report more frequently that they receive constructive feedback on their research, have access to good support and infrastructure, have a good social environment and have a reliable funding situation.
Quality assurance and enhancement in education
Educational quality, in the sense that the students achieve the learning objectives, is ensured first and foremost through examinations (Peer Review and Examinations).
The programme descriptions and course syllabuses set the framework for learning and teaching. The document Teaching and Learning at Uppsala University, student rights with regard to teaching, examination and cheating, equal opportunities and working environment, and guidelines on student working conditions provide the framework for the students’ and teachers’ academic environment. These documents clarify what the students can expect of the University and what expectations are placed on them.
Quality assurance and enhancement also takes place continuously within the University’s educational environments (departments, courses, programmes). One example would be developing a new module in an existing course together with students, based on the results of a course evaluation. Another could be developing a new course that leverages the breadth of the University and addresses future knowledge needs. Quality assurance and enhancement can be a matter of strengthening the subject knowledge content of a programme by employing teachers with the right research expertise, or updating course literature. It can involve discussing educational development with colleagues, or the department head or director of studies enabling the translation of good development ideas into practice. Students contribute by participating in boards and committees as student representatives and by responding to course evaluations and participating in programme reviews. The study environment is also evaluated through course evaluations and in the University’s student barometer, see Reviews and Evaluations. Students can also become involved in developing new programmes.
Doctoral education combines research and educational environments. The Guidelines for Third-cycle Education at Uppsala University, together with the general syllabuses, provide the framework for doctoral education environments. The faculties’ annual follow-up of doctoral students’ individual study plans can identify deficiencies and determine improvement efforts. Quality assurance and enhancement in doctoral education can involve creating a supervisor forum for discussing challenges of supervision, improving work on individual study plans or establishing a research school together with other higher education institutions. All quality assurance and enhancement efforts that contribute to better research (see above) also benefit doctoral students and, ultimately, bachelor’s and master’s students through the research basis of education. Like bachelor’s and master’s students, doctoral students contribute to the quality of doctoral education by becoming involved as student representatives, for instance.
Student life and daily life in the city of Uppsala are also part of the academic environment. Bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral students are offered various types of support and service to improve the potential for success in their studies. University-wide support to students includes study and career counselling, IT services, a learning management system (Studium), library services, student health services, support for students with disabilities, and language support. Support is also provided within the disciplinary domains, e.g. study guidance specifically linked to different subjects and programmes.