Quality enhancement efforts in education and research
MDU’s quality enhancement activities are a joint responsibility for all organisational levels at MDU, employees, students and doctoral students.
The University's quality system comprises Rules of Procedure, process descriptions, processing arrangements and other governing documents that state who is responsible for what.
At university-wide level, the Faculty Board is responsible for the follow-up and evaluation of education at all levels, as well as for ensuring good conditions for high quality in research at the University. Each School is responsible for the operational quality efforts in the form of regular following-up and developing courses and degree programmes for example.
The quality policy
The quality policy is the orientational document that describes our view of quality as well as the basic principles and conditions that exist for achieving a quality enhancement system at MDU.
Quality enhancement activities
We work with continuous improvement by means of the four recurring stages:
- Planning and creating the conditions
- Implementation
- Evaluation
- Improvement
Quality enhancement efforts in education first-cycle and second-cycle level
Plan, create conditions and implement
The planning of the University's courses and programmes will ensure that the education offered meet the demands of students and the needs of the labour market, and that they can be carried out with good quality.
Several other factors also contribute to creating conditions for high quality in education. This applies, for example, to opportunities for students and teachers to receive support, as well as the physical and psychosocial study and work environment. Through both formal and informal student influence, students can participate in all stages of the quality efforts, both at an operational level and at a university-wide level.
Evaluate and improve
Course evaluations are carried out after each course instance and course analyses are done annually. For instance, this can lead to changes in the implementation of a course, a revised or a new course syllabus.
Programme evaluations and programme analyses are also carried out annually. This may, for example, lead to decisions on a change in a course within the programme or to more far-reaching changes in the form of the establishment of a new programme.
Each School documents the continuous, operational quality enhancement activities in the form of annual status reports, which the Faculty Board follows up in discussions with the responsible persons at each School.
In addition, the Faculty Board evaluates the individual degree programmes every six years, with the aim of ensuring quality and contributing to the development of the current programme. In conjunction with the evaluation, the Programme Coordinator is responsible for preparing a self-evaluation. Students have the opportunity to provide their own submission. External and internal reviewers submit their assessments.
Quality enhancement efforts in third-cycle education
Plan, create conditions and implement
All third-cycle subject areas at MDU have a general study plan that provides a comprehensive description of the education in the subject, the specific entry requirements that apply to admission, as well as the qualitative targets and qualification requirements that apply to degrees in the third-cycle subject area.
In addition, each research student also has an individual study plan that is established for the first time in conjunction with admission to the education. The individual study plan supports the planning of the education and contributes to the research student being given the correct conditions to reach the intended qualification.
Evaluate and improve
The individual study plans are followed up annually by the supervisor together with the research student.
Course evaluations are carried out after each course instance and the students concerned are informed of the compilation and any probable measures planned because of the course evaluation.
In addition, the Faculty Board evaluates the individual third-cycle subject areas every six years, with the aim of ensuring quality and contributing to the development of the current third-cycle subject area.
In conjunction with the evaluation, a self-evaluation is filled out by the responsible persons at the School.
Research students have the opportunity to provide their own submission. Based on what has been identified through the evaluation, the person responsible at the School will develop an action plan for the continued quality efforts.
Quality enhancement efforts in research
Research at MDU is evaluated regularly. In relation to the recent evaluation (MER21), carried out in 2021, the Vice-Chancellor appointed a Project Manager for the external evaluation of the University's research. The Vice-Chancellor also appointed a steering group consisting of a dean, pro dean and doctoral student representative. The steering group provided strategic leadership for the evaluation and support to the Project Manager.
The evaluation was carried out based on a model proposed by the Faculty Board that took the national evaluation system for research into account. As in the previous evaluation (MER14), the evaluation comprised a self-evaluation, external assessment by international expert panels and bibliometric analysis.
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