New follow-up processes
New follow-up processes for education programme quality
Holistic assessment replaces the observation checklist; objectives replace action plans
Revision of processes in the quality system adopted
After the adoption of a new Policy for quality in education at SDU (opens in a new tab), the Council for Education and the Executive Board are now to approve a revision of how to follow up on the goals of the policy in general. The new processes will come into effect in the New Year at the same time as the new policy.
The changes will mean that processes are simplified and coordinated but without compromising the high standards for documentation and follow-up in the quality system. Another important goal has been to support the move towards a culture of quality with a focus on development and trust in decentralised actors, which is set out in the new policy.
The basic ideals regarding dialogue, documentation and transparency are carried over from the existing follow-up processes. There will also continue to be a systematic, data-based inspection of the quality of teaching and education programmes that supports follow-up and development work across management levels and the organisation.
These changes are coming
The new process includes a number of important changes in relation to follow-up on key performance indicators and requirements for the documentation and content of status meetings:
- The observation checklist will be replaced by a holistic assessment: Going forward, it must be specifically agreed at status meetings how to follow up on unsatisfactory key performance indicators based on an overall assessment, as the logic and automation of the observation checklist is no longer considered an appropriate management tool.
- The programme report will be discontinued as an independent element: To minimise unnecessary work, a new programme report format will be introduced. In the new process, there will be no requirement for a summary report in addition to the written documentation created in connection with the preparation and organisation of status meetings.
- Agreements on objectives instead of action plans: To promote a focus on results and support targeted development processes, the previous agreements on action plans for status meetings will be replaced with agreements on objectives and how to follow up on the results of the period.
- More focus on systematic development work: Action plans are to be created after the status meetings as part of the development work. The focus should be on planning initiatives that include clear success criteria for evaluation and further action.
In addition to these changes, simplification will be achieved through the merging of a number of key sub-processes at the rectoral level and in the Central Administration. It is therefore expected that fewer administrative resources will be needed for support in the future.
Implementation begins January 2025
The next cross-university information-gathering process will start in January 2025. It will follow the new description in which the information-gathering process is compressed so that it can be completed in two quarters. This will ensure a faster flow of information between management levels and create a good framework for planning and evaluating initiatives before the next information-gathering process begins in January 2027.
The new process will also make it possible to coordinate the status meetings with the discussions on the education portfolio and capacity figures that will be necessary as a consequence of SDU’s framework for admissions in Odense, BA admissions, admissions of EU citizens and, from 2028, admissions to 120-ECTS master’s degree programmes (full-time).
Would you like to know more?
- See slides (PDF, in Danish)from the presentation at the Rectorate’s programme management meeting on 11 November 2024 about the upcoming changes in follow-up processes, among other things.
- A description of the new process for following up on programme quality at SDU will become available on this test page (in Danish, opens in a new tab)in December.
- If you are curious about the new educational quality policy or the revision project, you can read more on the project's homepage here on SDUnet (opens in a new tab).