Quality system for education at UiB

UiB's systematic work on quality in education is anchored in the university's strategy for 2023-2030, Knowledge that shapes society. The strategy provides direction for UiB's work on developing the range of study programmes and the quality of education.

As a public institution, UiB shall contribute to sustainable and democratic development and be an attractive and inclusive place to study. The cornerstone of quality in education is that it is research-based and closely linked to the development of knowledge. UiB has a national responsibility to offer education across a wide range of disciplines. Our degree programmes shall promote independence, cooperation, critical thinking and creativity. UiB shall educate graduates who can shape the society, working life and business sector of tomorrow, with perspectives from different disciplines. We shall give students an academic foundation that lasts a lifetime and that helps create competent and reflective citizens.

The quality system shall ensure that UiB manages its education across all disciplines in accordance with UiB's strategic ambitions, regulatory requirements and national requirements. At UiB, the following principles are particularly important to our understanding of quality in education:

• teaching puts the student's learning at the centre
• the content, methods and form of the education are research-based
• students' actual learning outcomes correspond to the learning objectives and are reflected in the final assessment
• the education is relevant to the needs of students and society and provides a good foundation for lifelong learning
• students have influence over the planning, delivery and revision of their education
• degree programmes and courses are continuously evaluated and further developed
• lecturers have disciplinary and educational competence and contribute to collegial cooperation to strengthen the quality of education
• students take part in a stimulating learning environment with appropriate physical and digital learning arenas.

Quality work can be described as a continuous process, in which the elements plan, carry out, evaluate and further develop are repeated within all activities at all levels. Shortfalls in quality shall be identified and addressed through systematic follow-up and documentation of the measures implemented. Experience from successful quality work shall be shared and used for further development. Students shall be involved in all phases of the quality work.

Figure 1: Systematic quality work in education at UiB

The quality system for education shall ensure that UiB meets the requirements for systematic quality work set out in chapters 2 and 4 of the Studies Supervision Regulations (studietilsynsforskriften), in section 2-1 (2) and sections 3-1 to 3-3 of UiB's Regulations on Quality in Education (studiekvalitetsforskriften), and in section 3-5 and section 10-1 (3) of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges. This includes requirements that:

• Arrangements are in place to systematically check that all study programmes, both new and established, satisfy the requirements of sections 3-1 and 3-2 of the Regulations on Quality in Education, and chapter 2 of the Studies Supervision Regulations.
• The knowledge gained from quality work is used to further develop the quality of study programmes in accordance with section 2-1 (1) of the Regulations on Quality in Education.

Quality work shall be anchored in the institution's strategy and management. It shall help promote a culture of quality among all staff and students, cf. section 4-1 (1) and (2) of the Studies Supervision Regulations. The development and assurance of quality work shall be documented.

At UiB, the systematic work on quality in education follows two lines that influence each other: development and control. Together with the support systems described in section 2.3, the processes described in sections 2.1 and 2.2 shall ensure that the range of study programmes and the quality of education are continuously developed further, and that the requirements for accredited study programmes are met.

Quality development requires regular interaction and dialogue between students, lecturers, academic communities, administration and partners at all levels: course, degree programme, department, faculty and institution. Central to this work are the lecturers' and course coordinators' own experience, knowledge and reflections. Quality development is based on the continuous trialling, evaluation and revision of academic content, teaching methods and assessment methods. The development work focuses on what promotes student learning, and provides a meaningful correspondence between learning objectives, learning activities and assessment in courses and degree programmes. Collegial arenas for interaction and the sharing of experience are important for building educational competence and ensuring relevance and good correspondence throughout the degree programmes.

The faculties have schemes for recognising the merits of lecturers who document systematic quality work with a focus on student learning, the development of teaching practice, a research-based approach, and a collegial attitude and practice.

UiB advertises incentive funding annually to support development projects that contribute to increased quality of education. UiB has its own institutional prize for quality of education, the Owl Prize (Ugleprisen), which is awarded each year to an academic community or an individual who can document particularly successful measures for quality of education.

Further guidance, tips, examples, templates and guidelines

Merit scheme for excellent teachers at UiB (in Norwegian)

The range of study programmes and the quality of education at UiB shall be checked at regular intervals. Every course shall be evaluated at least every three years, while every degree programme and one-year programme of study shall be evaluated for re-accreditation at least every six years. One-year programmes that are part of a bachelor's programme may be evaluated as part of that programme.

Re-accreditation is an academic assessment of whether a higher education institution or a study programme meets the standards and criteria set by the Ministry and NOKUT. UiB is self-accrediting, which means that the university can itself decide to establish degree programmes without applying to NOKUT for accreditation.

The evaluations shall ensure that the study programmes maintain high quality and satisfy the requirements specified in section 1.2, as well as in national guidelines and framework requirements for the studies, where these exist. The evaluation shall also ensure that the study programme is academically and pedagogically up to date.

Support for quality development

A central learning design group, with representatives from the Programme for University Pedagogy (UPED) and UiB Learning Lab, offers guidance on designing new study programmes, developing quality in existing study programmes, and redesigning degree programmes.

In addition, the faculties shall have their own schemes to ensure that academic communities can receive guidance on quality development in education based on the particular nature of their subject.

Support for quality control

A central quality committee and faculty-level quality committees shall assess whether new and established degree programmes, respectively, meet the requirements for accreditation. Academic management and students shall be represented on the committees.

The central quality committee is appointed by UiB's Education Committee. The committee is responsible for assessing whether new study programmes comply with current legal and regulatory requirements, and for assessing whether new study programmes are consistent with UiB's strategic ambitions for quality in education and the faculty's long-term plan for its portfolio of study programmes. On the basis of this assessment, the committee gives a recommendation on the establishment of the study programme to the Education Committee, which in turn gives a recommendation to the University Board.

The faculty-level quality committees are appointed by the faculties and are responsible for assessing whether evaluated degree programmes and one-year programmes comply with the regulatory requirements, and for giving their assessment of this to the faculty board. The faculty board decides on re-accreditation or issues instructions for improvement.

External peers and representatives from working life

National regulations require external peers and representatives from working life to contribute to evaluations, cf. section 2-1 (2) of the Regulations on Quality in Education. These are also relevant sources for the systematic gathering of information to assess the quality of all study programmes, cf. section 4-1 (4) of the Studies Supervision Regulations.

All degree programmes and one-year programmes at UiB shall have appointed persons from outside the institution who contribute to quality development and quality control: an external peer from a higher education institution and a representative from working life (business, public administration, research, cultural life, etc.). The same person may be appointed to several programmes and study programmes.

The external peer shall also contribute to the central quality committee in connection with the establishment of new study programmes.

Further guidance, tips, examples, templates and guidelines:

• External peers and representatives from working life (in Norwegian) Further description and guidelines.
• Further guidelines for external peers and representatives from working life (in Norwegian)

Responsibility for the systematic quality work in education follows the academic roles described below. The figure shows the functions that have a formal responsibility in the systematic quality work at UiB.

Figure 2. Roles of responsibility in the systematic quality work in education

Faculties and programmes that are organised differently from the main model shown in the figure shall ensure that all areas of responsibility in the systematic quality work are handled appropriately. The person responsible may delegate the work.

Every course shall, in the semesters in which it is taught, have an appointed course coordinator. The head of department appoints the course coordinator. All degree programmes and shorter programmes of study, such as one-year programmes, shall be led by a programme board with a chair. The head of department appoints the programme board and its chair.

Course coordinator

Is responsible for:

• delivery of the course
• ongoing assessments and contributions to the academic development of the course and its place in the degree programme
• course evaluation at least every third year according to the set plan
• following up input and feedback from students and communicating this back to the students

Chair of the programme board

Is responsible for:

• the quality and coherence of the degree programme or one-year programme, and that regulatory requirements are met through the ongoing and systematic quality work
• preparing a plan for course evaluations for courses included in the degree programme
• programme evaluation and evaluation of one-year programmes according to the set plan
• preparing a plan for, and obtaining input from, students and external peers and representatives from working life in the evaluations, and ensuring that the evaluations are followed up

Head of department

Is responsible for:

• preparing and further developing a long-term plan for the department's portfolio of study programmes
• a coherent plan for evaluating courses, degree programmes and one-year programmes, and following these up, so that the department's portfolio of study programmes complies with legal and regulatory requirements
• facilitating work on developing quality in education, for example through conversations, dialogues and meetings on quality of education, and sharing experience from successful quality work for further development
• facilitating competence development for lecturers and educational leaders in quality of education work
• routines for transferring knowledge when programme management or course responsibility passes from one member of staff to another
• the department's annual quality report
• ensuring student involvement in processes and decisions that affect degree programmes and the learning environment

Dean

Is responsible for:

• ensuring that the faculty's portfolio of study programmes complies with legal and regulatory requirements
• preparing and further developing a coherent, long-term plan for the faculty's overall portfolio of study programmes, consistent with UiB's strategic ambitions
• drawing up an overall timetable for the systematic review of the faculty's degree programme portfolio, specifying the years for the various programme evaluations and their follow-up
• presenting cases on re-accreditation, establishment and discontinuation of degree programmes to the faculty board, and forwarding applications for the establishment and discontinuation of degree programmes to the University Board
• ensuring improvement of degree programmes following programme evaluations, based on the recommendation of the faculty's quality committee
• ensuring good support for lecturers and flexible frameworks for varied teaching and assessment methods
• holding dialogue meetings on education with the departments and taking part in the dialogue meeting on education with the university management
• preparing an annual quality report presented to the faculty board, based on dialogues with the departments
• ensuring student involvement in processes and decisions that affect degree programmes and the learning environment
• ensuring that contact with working life and society is maintained and that the relevance of the education to working life and society is made visible

Rector

Is responsible for:

• the quality system for education
• the university's overall portfolio of degree programmes and courses as a whole, and that these comply with legal and regulatory requirements
• facilitating a collegial culture of cooperation on quality of education, work on student-active learning, and contact with working life
• dialogue meetings on education with the faculty management, based on the faculties' quality reports
• the university's annual quality report, based on the quality reports from the faculties, presented to the University Board
• presenting cases to the University Board on the establishment and discontinuation of degree programmes, following applications from the faculties
• ensuring student involvement in processes and decisions that affect degree programmes and the learning environment

The purpose of the development part of the quality system is to promote collegial cooperation on developing quality in education. This is based on continuous dialogue and work on quality of education at the units, long-term and strategic development of the range of study programmes, a research-based approach, and the sharing of experience from quality development measures. The work is supported by ongoing assessments at course and programme level, regular feedback from students, annual quality reports at department, faculty and central level, and annual dialogue meetings on education between department and faculty management, and between faculty and university management.

Development work involving ongoing evaluation should be documented for the unit's collective memory and further work on quality development. This work forms the basis for the department's quality report. There is no specific requirement for annual reporting on courses and degree programmes.

1. The department management prepares an annual quality report to the faculty management giving a brief description of the development work on quality of education and priorities at the department.
2. The faculty management holds annual dialogue meetings with the department managements, based on the departments' quality reports, and prepares a quality report for the faculty.
3. The university management holds annual dialogue meetings with the faculties, based on the faculties' quality reports. On this basis, UiB's annual quality report is prepared and presented to the Education Committee and the University Board.

The following topics shall be covered in the faculties' and UiB's overall quality reports, in addition to any requests from the university management:

• follow-up of the previous year's quality report
• main conclusions from dialogue meetings
• completed and planned course and programme evaluations
• any changes to the faculty's long-term plan for its portfolio of study programmes and priorities, linked to the university's strategy and the development agreement with the Ministry of Education and Research.

The scope of the quality reports from departments and faculties may vary, and faculties may hold dialogue meetings with several departments at the same time.

Further guidance, tips, examples, templates and guidelines:

Quality reports: processes and examples (in Norwegian)

The faculties shall have academically justified, long-term plans for a coherent and broad portfolio of study programmes covering all their disciplines. The plans shall be consistent with UiB's strategic ambitions and shall be revised as needed. Any changes to the plans for the portfolio of study programmes are described in the quality reports.

Further guidance, tips, examples, templates and guidelines:

• Incentive scheme for quality of education (in Norwegian)
• The Owl Prize - internal prize for quality of education (in Norwegian)

The process of evaluating and re-accrediting established study programmes aims to safeguard and strengthen the quality of UiB's degree programmes and to ensure that the overall range of study programmes satisfies the quality requirements described above.

In addition to evaluations of courses and studies, the control part of the quality system also includes the establishment and discontinuation of study programmes.

Schematic description of the cyclical processes for quality control in education:

Figure 3: Schematic description of the cyclical processes for quality control in education

Course evaluation

Every course shall be evaluated at least every three years, or every third time the course is taught (for courses taught less often than once a year).

Course evaluation shall include:

• information on the follow-up and any adjustments made since the last course evaluation
• an assessment of the academic content, its link to research in the field, and its correspondence with the degree programme(s) the course is part of
• an assessment of pedagogical choices, the correspondence between the course's learning outcomes description, teaching, learning and assessment methods, and a reflection on student learning and completion as a result of these choices
• results from student evaluations and any other feedback relevant to the course
• an assessment of the correspondence between students' workload and the credits awarded.
• where the course includes placements or other arrangements for contact with working life, whether the arrangement is working satisfactorily shall be evaluated.

The course coordinator has the academic responsibility for carrying out the course evaluation. The course coordinator submits a report summarising the results and, where relevant, proposals for improvement measures. The report is published together with the main results from the student evaluations and a plan for how the report will be followed up. The head of department has overall responsibility for following up the evaluation report.

Programme evaluation

Every degree programme and one-year programme of study shall be evaluated at least every six years. Programme evaluation shall ensure that the requirements of the Regulations on Quality in Education and the Studies Supervision Regulations are followed. UiB has drawn up a template that is recommended for use.

The programme evaluation shall result in a report that assesses whether the conditions in sections 3-1 to 3-3 of the Regulations on Quality in Education and chapter 2, cf. also section 4-1 (3), of the Studies Supervision Regulations, are still met by the degree programme, with particular attention to changes since accreditation or the last re-accreditation.

The following points shall also be covered:

• a summary of how the previous evaluation was followed up
• compliance with any national framework plans and guidelines for the programme
• input from students and external peers and representatives from working life
• an assessment of recruitment, completion, graduate output and contact with working life

The report shall include proposals for improvements where these are needed. The chair of the programme board is responsible for coordinating the evaluation work and submitting the report.

Evaluation of placements

A placement may occur either as a separate course or be integrated into a degree programme. Placements may take place at an institution, school, organisation or company in Norway or abroad. The academic responsibility for a placement is the same as for courses and degree programmes. An agreement on cooperation on the placement shall be entered into between the department/faculty and the placement provider.

Responsibility for quality assurance of the placement and the external partner where it takes place lies with the academic community that owns the course or programme concerned. Students shall evaluate their placement once it has been completed.

Re-accreditation of degree programmes

Once the programme evaluation has been carried out, the faculty's quality committee shall assess whether the evaluated degree programme can be re-accredited, meaning that the degree programme still satisfies the legal and regulatory requirements for study programmes.

The quality committee shall give the faculty board a recommendation on whether the programme can be re-accredited, or recommend improvements considered necessary for the programme to be re-accredited. On the basis of this recommendation, the faculty board decides either that the programme can be re-accredited without changes, or instructs that changes be made to the degree programme to satisfy regulatory requirements, with a deadline for completion. The faculty or department will then be instructed to carry out the necessary changes and improvements within the given deadline, so that the quality of the programme is restored.

Evaluation of interdisciplinary and cross-faculty degree programmes is carried out in cooperation with the faculties or departments involved. The unit where the degree programme is placed is responsible for coordinating the cooperation.

The programme board is responsible for ensuring that all disciplines, faculties and units involved are sufficiently informed of and consulted in the programme evaluation, and for ensuring that the local quality committee has all available information in the re-accreditation process.

UiB's central quality committee may, on its own initiative or upon special request, also carry out assessments of existing degree programmes.

Further guidance, tips, examples, templates and guidelines:

• Evaluating quality of education (in Norwegian), incl. templates for course evaluation, programme evaluation and guidance
• In the Quality of Education Database (in Norwegian), the results of all systematic quality work are published

The faculty board may decide to apply to the University Board to establish or discontinue a study programme. Both the establishment and discontinuation of study programmes shall be consistent with UiB's strategy and with the owning faculty's current long-term plans for its portfolio of study programmes.

An application to establish a new degree programme shall show that the requirements set out in the Regulations on Quality in Education and the Studies Supervision Regulations are met. The central quality committee assesses whether national regulatory requirements are met for new study programmes.

The case process shown in the figure is normally followed when establishing new degree programmes. The templates for establishing a programme and for the application shall be used for all new programme establishments.

Figure 4: Case flow for establishing a degree programme

The faculty board decides to apply for the establishment or discontinuation of a degree programme based on the faculty's strategic plan for its portfolio of study programmes. The final application to establish a new degree programme shall be assessed by the central quality committee, which gives its recommendation on establishment to the Education Committee. The Education Committee gives a recommendation on the establishment and discontinuation of degree programmes to the University Board. The University Board makes the final decision on establishment and discontinuation.

Further guidance, tips, examples, templates and guidelines:

• Support for establishing new degree programmes (in Norwegian), including templates for establishment

The rules for the establishment, operation, quality development and evaluation of inter-faculty programmes are identical to those for other study programmes at UiB. Importantly, a clear division of responsibilities is to be established between faculties when several are involved.

The administrative responsibities for the programme must be assigned one faculty which in turn appoints a programme board. Other departments and faculties contributing to the programme are to be represented on the programme board. Members are obligated to report from the programme board meetings to their own department/faculty management. Through participation in the programme, collaborating academic communities are obligated to provide teaching according to the established schedule in the courses that are included in the programme description for the entire programme period. Collaborating faculties should take into account that courses included in interfaculty programmes place greater demands on scheduling and timetabling.

The Learning Environment Committee (LMU) at UiB is appointed in accordance with section 4-3, point 3 of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges. LMU is an advisory body responsible for following up matters relating to the university's physical and psychosocial learning environment. LMU prepares, updates and follows up UiB's action plan for strengthening the learning environment.

LMU is briefed twice a year on the scope and type of reports concerning the physical and social learning environment. The reports come from Si fra, the HSE non-conformance reporting system, and other channels.

Si fra (Speak up) is a system for students and staff who wish to report negative or positive conditions relating to the learning environment. The system includes routines for receiving, processing and reporting on the reports submitted. Reports are submitted electronically via an online form. The reports are processed by dedicated intake groups at faculty level, who direct the follow-up of cases to the appropriate body. Cases marked as serious are first handled at institutional level, before any forwarding to faculty level.

UiB awards the learning environment prize annually, following a decision by LMU. All students or student organisations may nominate candidates. The purpose of the prize is to recognise environments or individuals at UiB who have succeeded in creating particularly good conditions for learning through academic, pedagogical and social effort, or through facilitating the overall learning environment.

The Student Ombud is an independent support person whose task is to give students at UiB advice and help in matters relating to their study situation. The Student Ombud shall ensure that cases receive correct and proper handling, and that students' rights are safeguarded. The Ombud is bound by a duty of confidentiality, and contacting the Ombud is non-binding.

UiB and all the faculties are responsible for ensuring that the expertise represented by student democracy through subject committees, student committees, student councils, etc. is used in the work on quality of education at every level of the organisation. Student participation is integrated into all processes of importance to quality work. Students are required to be represented by at least 20% of the members on all decision-making bodies.

The faculties and the university's central administration are responsible for the support systems and infrastructure for teaching activities. Important support systems in this context are the services provided by the University Library, the Division for Student Affairs, the Estate and Facilities Management Division, and the IT Division.

UiB offers a mentoring scheme to all first-year students on degree programmes. The purpose of the mentoring scheme is to help new students become academically and socially integrated into their studies and study environment more quickly, and to make the transition from upper secondary school to university easier. The mentors are experienced students on the same degree programme as the first-year students. Mentoring schemes are usually organised as fixed groups in which students and one or more mentors meet regularly, but there may be variations in how the faculties organise the scheme.

Further guidance, tips, examples, templates and guidelines:

• Establishing and running a mentoring scheme (in Norwegian)