Our University has moved up another notch in quality assurance with respect to education and studies. The Swiss Accreditation Council has certified the system of quality assurance put in place by the University of Bremen across its study programs. Now all programs that have examinations offered by the University are accredited. This is a major step in ensuring the sustainable quality of studies. Full of appreciation for the effort that went into obtaining accreditation, Thomas Hoffmeister, Vice President Academis, happily declared “System accreditation is important for our University going forward. We received it thanks to the dedicated commitment shown across all of the University’s institutions“.
Certified quality management (QM) in education and studies is particularly relevant in the areas where active teaching takes place, i.e. our study programs and the Faculties. It draws in numerous members of the University with different functions across all status groups. The University of Bremen took this step in a concerted effort to improve further on the quality of its study programs and sustainably anchor measures of quality assurance going forward. Certification involves evaluation of both the parameters for teaching and studying at our University as well as the quality of teaching itself. This does not mean, though, that evaluation based on “looking in from the outside” will be neglected: External experts will continue to play a significant role in monitoring teaching and learning activities.
What are the Uni’s main strengths of the quality management system in studies and education?
The expert opinion drawn up by the accreditation agency highlights some of the University of Bremen’s QM strengths. The extensive nature of program evaluations, for instance, whereby ongoing evaluation leads to proactive measures including adaptation of curricula and study modules. Different forms of evaluation are employed to gain additional insights and make improvements to the processes involved. This is supported by a comprehensive data management. The external experts were also impressed by the QM talks held between the University leadership and the Faculties which result transparency of student-friendly study programs and the high quality standards being upheld. There was a lot of praise for the various offers of student advice and counseling on all levels as well as the unbureaucratic student-friendly procedures for recognizing study credits. The team of experts describes research-based learning as a major hallmark of the University of Bremen which is firmly anchored with high visibility in the study programs.
Their expert opinion, though, also mentioned one area in need of further improvement. Especially in the area of teacher education, the cross-faculty study programs must pay more attention to student counseling. Responsibilities in this respect must be made more transparent and carry more weight.
About the procedure
In July 2014, the University’s Academic Council passed a resolution calling for system accreditation. After inviting several accreditation agencies to make presentations of their offers, the University leadership’s choice fell on the Swiss agency AAQ, which was subsequently engaged to co-develop a bottom-up system of quality management “á la Uni Bremen”. The underlying documents were drafted with broad participation on the part of the Deans’ Offices, the Study Centers and students. Preparations culminated in a two-day on-site visit of external experts in February and another four-day visit in June.
The accreditation certificate was handed over to the University of Bremen following a meeting of the Academic Senate on October 19, 2016.
For further information, please contact:
University of Bremen
Vice President Academics
Prof.Dr. Thomas Hoffmeister
Phone: +49 421 218 60031
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