The N5T QA pilot project on Peer Evaluation of Master Programs
Background and purpose
Quality Assurance and Development is on the agenda for all Higher Education Institutions. Universities constantly strive to develop their study programmes and are met with increasing demands from ministries and accreditation agencies to document the quality of their activities.
The purpose of the N5T QA Pilot Project is to contribute directly to the development of the study programmes being evaluated and to qualify the member institutions’ discussions and preparedness on quality.
On a general level, the project will contribute to the consolidation of the alliance by facilitating contacts between faculty members and providing them with an in-depth knowledge of the study programmes within their field at another N5T institution.
On the strategic level, the project will support the N5T brand as an alliance of institutions striving for high quality as stated in the N5T ideal:
“N5T recognizes that international acknowledgement can only be achieved if universities strive for the highest possible quality in education, research and innovation”
Organisation
The project is lead and organised by DTU (Office for Students and Study Programmes and Learning Lab DTU) with the support of an overall project group with representatives from all N5T institutions.
Project group members
DTU: Peter Munkebo Hussman, Anne Mette Holt and Louise Willumsen, Office for Study Programs and Student Affairs/LearningLab DTU
TKK: Lauri Malmi, Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering
KTH: Mats Hansson, Professor, School of Industrial Engineering and Management, and Anna-Karin Högfeldt, KTH Learning Lab
Chalmers: Birgitta Carlsson, Office of Planning
NTNU: Hilde Lysne, Study Administration, Factulty of Engineering Science and Technology
Method
The method applied in the exercise is an elaboration of a model developed at DTU and tested in the evaluation of a total of six bachelor study programmes.
The method builds on three elements:
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A self evaluation report drafted by the program director
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An evaluation meeting where two study programs evaluate each on the basis of the self evaluation reports and a defined set of supplemental material pertaining to the program.
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A final report with recommendations for the future development of the program.
A set of criteria applicable for the Master level are being drafted and are currently under discussion by the project group and will be redrafted.
DTU has suggested that a special working group will be established with the aim to define key indicators. Data are difficult to compare even at the national level, and comparing data in an N5T context is a complex matter. Such an exercise implies using expert knowledge on data, quality and processing.
DTU has suggested a list of material to be used in the exercise: study plans, curricula description, structure of the program, course descriptions, learning outcomes, course evaluations, competence profile for the program and MSc thesis work. The list has been approved by the project group.
Programs to be evaluated
A total of six study programmes will be evaluated. Each programme must appoint an evaluation panel with 4-8 members who will take an active part in the evaluation.
The following programmes have been selected for the exercise:
NTNU-Chalmers: Industrial Ecology
KTH-DTU: Environmental Engineering
TKK-DTU: to be announced
Contents of the exercise: Criteria
The self evaluation report will be structured according to the following headlines and criteria:
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Introduction
Organisation and structure of the program, student data, specific national conditions or circumstances
- Objectives of the Study Program
Guiding principles of the program including the content and the competence profile
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Program and Course Design
Curriculum design, linking competence profile and learning outcomes, linking teaching and research
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Training of Engineering Competences
Measures taken to ensure the training of engineering competences in the program
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Delivery of Education
Teaching and assessment methods used – reasons for choosing them and how they are applied
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Continual Development:
Procedures used to identify critical points in courses, course sequences, the curriculum, the program as a whole and how the problems are solved.
Process
The project will run from September 2009 till March 2010 with the following events as milestones:
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Editing of self evaluation reports, October
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Evaluation meetings, November
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Editing of final reports, December
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Editing of implementation reports, January-February
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Final conference, March 2, 2010: lessons learned
At the final conference the following issues will be addressed:
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Development of study programs involved in the exercise: the evaluation panels will present which recommendations they have implemented or plan to implement and how.
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Evaluation of the evaluation model: feed back from the evaluation panels and the project group.
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Conclusions and decisions on future design and cadence of the N5T Peer Evaluation exercise.