The study programme fosters an active dialogie with internal stakeholders, especially the students, and involves them in all aspects of education policy and quality assurance. The study programme involves external stakeholders (e.g. the professional field, alumni, policymakers, (inter)national experts, etc...) by collecting feedback on at least (a) the programme-specific learning outcomes (incl. profile), (b) the content and organisation of the curriculum, and (c) the assessment and exit level. In addition, the study programme seeks out international academic peers to review the programme's quality in terms of content. The latter is a basic requirement defined by the Flemish Quality Code and transposed to the Ghent University context as the so-called programme review.

What? 

Each study programme (committee) is a hub for informal feedback between students (student representatives), the teaching staff, programme management, work placement supervisors, alumni, etc. While informal channels have their merit, it is also crucial to engage in formal dialogue with relevant stakeholders. A study programme (committee) ensures the participation of students, lecturers, the professional field and/or alumni and international peers in their policy-making. It adopts an approach suitable for its context and uniqueness, while also adhering to the relevant faculty and university-wide frameworks.

Internal Stakeholder Involvement: Students

A programme committee actively engages with students on all aspects of teaching (orientation, organisation, content, guidance). The Education and Examination Code determines that Programme Committees should have a student delegation, accounting for at least one-third of the members. It is advisable to foster student participation in other advisory bodies or ad hoc task forces as well. The Programme Committee recruits prospective student members through clear communication on the opportunities, expectations and the importance of student participation in education policy.  A convincing strategy to recruit prospective student representatives is to explicitly promote improvement actions that are the direct result of student feedback. 

Internal Stakeholder Involvement: Lecturers

The Programme Committee communicates transparently on the organisation of the education practice and the education policy with all the teaching staff involved.  For that purpose, it makes meeting minutes of the various consultation rounds and the education monitor readily available to whom it may concern.    

In addition, the Programme Committee informs or encourages its lecturers to participate in the education (improvement) policy through targeted initiatives. An efficient way to cultivate a culture of consultation is to introduce annual or term meetings or meetings per curricular strand. These types of meetings promote curricular coherence.  To foster unity among the lecturers and encourage active participation in the Programme Committee’s education and improvement policy, offer specific professional development opportunities like short training sessions or education days on relevant education-related topics.

External Stakeholder Involvement: the Professional Field, Alumni, International Peers

One of the seven basic requirements for every study programme is to consider external perspectives. Programme Committees are expected to devise an approach through which they gather feedback from the professional field, alumni and international peers on the content of the curriculum.   

Programme Committees organise a programme review every six years: this process involves at least three independent, international peers who are asked to consider the programme-specific learning outcomes, the curriculum and the assessment/exit level of the study programme (at the least). Find out everything you need to know in our Education Tip on Embedding the External Perspective  

Programme Committees also put a procedure into place to involve professional field representatives and/or alumni in their education policy. Naturally, they choose an approach that suits their context. While some study programmes have a long-standing tradition of alumni relations, others mainly reach out to their professional field through work placement (supervisors). Ghent University offers a wide range of study programmes: some will have a wide professional field, while others lead towards a specific profession.  What is important, is that each of our study programmes finds a way to consult with external parties - active professionals in the field - to reflect on the content of the curriculum and the employability of the graduates.   These external parties are there to hold up a critical mirror to the study programme. It is at the Programme Committee’s discretion whether or not to work with the feedback they receive. 

Why?

In Ghent University’s dynamic education context, our six strategic education objectives are important guiding principles for making choices in the education policy area, both now and in the future. At Ghent University, we continuously benchmark our education (-related ambitions) against these objectives. In so doing, we always deliver state-of-the-art education.  

At Ghent University, each study programme is expected to align with and implement our six strategic education objectives. One of these objectives is Stakeholder Participation”.