Education Tips

  1. Home
  2. For Study Programmes
  3. Opt for Quality: Programme Committee (PC): Procedures and Improvement Policy

Opt for Quality: Programme Committee (PC): Procedures and Improvement Policy

The study programme is run by an efficient Programme Committee, where every member takes an active role in the decision-making process, and where students contribute actively to quality assurance processes. The ultimate goal is to foster a quality culture in the study programme. The study programme actively communicates about all aspects of its education strategy and education quality assurance.

What?

Ghent University’s Education and Examination Code defines the role and competences of the Programme Committee, as well as its membership.  Lecturers and students constitute the core members of the Programme Committee. Membership can be extended to include alumni and/or professional field representatives.   

The Programme Committee is a permanent advisory body and plays an indispensable role in general education policy and education organisation.  It is charged with the practical implementation of the education content of one (or more) study programme(s). The Programme Committee pursues a programme-specific vision, determines the programme-specific learning outcomes and is responsible for implementing the curriculum. In so doing, it adheres to Ghent University’s six strategic education objectives.  

An efficient Programme Committee monitors the quality of education, detects points of concern and makes adjustments, if necessary. The Programme Committee is responsible for implementing the eight quality features in the Quality Code, to which every Ghent University study programme has to adhere. These are:  

 

Basic Requirement

Description
1. Study programme strategy and policy 
  • The study programme has a vision and policy on education that is topical and up to date. It contains the following elements: 
      • mission, vision, and programme-specific learning outcomes (in Dutch: OLR)
      • curriculum
      • Master's dissertation
      •  work placement (if applicable)
      • assessment and exit level
  • The study programme updates its vision and policy on education at least once in the six-year cycle of the institutional review. 
2. A cyclical or continuous focus on quality assurance in the study programme based on (quantitative and qualitative) data and monitoring

  • The study programme chooses and implements one of two approaches to quality assurance: cyclical or continuous data-driven monitoring of the quality of their education (e.g. annually, based on survey data releases, ...).

  • The study programme chooses a pace and an approach that suits the Programme Committee's regular processes.
3. Self-reflection on the implementation of Ghent University's objective-setting framework
  • The study programme pursues and realises its content-related objectives and Ghent University’s education objectives.
  • Based on its choice of approach and priorities, the study programme implements (key concerns concerning) these objectives. 
4. Running and closing the PDCA cycle

  • The study programme develops a system through which it can detect and deal with key concerns, and set and monitor improvement actions (quality improvement plan). 

  • The study programme chooses a pace and an approach that suits the Programme Committee's regular processes.
5. Publicly available information
  • The study programme updates the publicly available information at least once in the six-year cycle of the institutional review and/or upon renewal of the quality assurance resolution issued by the EQB. This update is data-driven and in line with Ghent University’s publication guidelines for the Study Guide website. 
6. Content validation of the curriculum by external parties (the Ghent University Programme Review)
  • The study programme sets up a system through which the curriculum is reviewed by independent international peers at least once in the six-year cycle of the institutional review. 
7. Documentation and traceability
  • The study programme ensures that any information related to the above-mentioned criteria and their accompanying processes is well-documented and traceable through one or more data carriers. 

 

For more information, please consult this page on the Quality Conduct 3.0 and the basic requirements.

A Programme Committee’s efficiency also depends on the involvement of its members: their active contribution is needed for reflection on the education and improvement policy of the study programme.  

The Programme Committee notifies students and teaching staff, as well as non-members, of its policies on education and education improvement.  Common practices in this respect are organising an annual programme-specific education day, or holding more frequent meetings e.g. with the professorial staff. 

Regardless of any programme-specific modalities, a Programme Committee always operates in a way that suits its context and guarantees compliance with the provisions of the Education and Examination Code and the quality features in the Flemish Quality Code.  

Why?

The agency (and thus the ownership) for pursuing an education (improvement) policy lies firmly with the study programme/Programme Committee.  Study programmes implement their curriculums and shape academic teaching daily. They are the first in line, so to speak, to pursue an active education (improvement) policy in compliance with existing legal and university frameworks. An efficient Programme Committee, in other words, is indispensable.   

 

Last modified Sept. 18, 2024, 8:29 a.m.