This confirms that the procedures in place at the University of Bonn for continuously developing its degree programs are transparent, structured and effective. “Continuously updating our degree programs as new scientific findings emerge directly benefits our students. System accreditation gives us the structural freedom to unite innovation and reliable quality,” says Professor Klaus Sandmann, Vice Rector for Teaching, Learning and University Development.
What system accreditation means
In the system accreditation process, the internal quality management system in place at a given university undergoes an end-to-end critical review. The key question to be answered is whether existing internal processes are structured and systematically followed so as to guarantee that offered degree programs are of consistently high quality. For the University of Bonn, the answer was a clear “yes”: As before, all degree programs undergo regular review and optimization in procedures that are part of a comprehensive, coordinated quality management system. Vice Rector Sandmann comments: “It is tremendous for me to see how our students, teaching staff and individuals with degree program responsibility have gotten behind the quality management system, devised in a participative process, and adopted as their common project.”
Quality as a continuous development process
A key feature of the quality system is its consistent nature through a consistently applied and closed PDCA (“plan, do, check, act”) cycle—an iterative four-stage process that is used in quality management for the continuous improvement process. Rather than sporadic checking, quality is regularly and continuously looked at and optimized in a self-critical review process. Clearly defined quality objectives and systematic evaluation and feedback loops form the basis for systemic improvement.
Students, teachers, researchers and administrative staff are structurally involved in the accreditation and evaluation processes. Quality assurance is supported transparently and bindingly by internal committees and external experts. Quality is thus addressed in an ongoing dialogue and lived as part of the University’s culture, forming a solid basis for consistency.
Research and teaching integrated even more closely
For research-intensives universities like Bonn, it is crucial for teaching to be promptly adapted to reflect and take account of scientific advancements. System accreditation allows research results, new priorities and interdisciplinary initiatives to be more swiftly integrated into curricula. New competence-focused concepts, types of examination and teaching formats are efficiently integratable into degree programs. “Obtaining system accreditation sends a strong signal for the future of teaching at our University of Excellence,” says Sandmann. “Not only does this mean more creative freedom, it also means that our quality processes will be more reliable and transparent. Everyone will benefit: students, teachers and researchers.”
Tangible benefits for students, teachers and researchers
System accreditation strengthens structures in a way that yields tangible benefits for various interest groups at the University.
- For students, it means that degree programs are quality-tested and evaluated in transparent fashion. Student involvement in quality assurance processes is furthermore anchored as a requirement. Evaluation feedback can be rapidly acted on to implement improvements—in module structures, types of examination or advice services, for example.
- Teachers and researchers enjoy greater creative freedom and more reliable planning, as having clear procedures and a coordinated quality system in place creates a dependable framework that opens up opportunities for innovative teaching. Additionally, degree programs will be better aligned with research focuses and also enjoy greater international visibility.
- For general administrative personnel and staff members of the faculties and the Bonn Center for Teacher Education (BZL), system accreditation means professionalized internal processes, clear-cut responsibilities and process security. Furthermore, they benefit from investing in their own quality structures instead of spending on individual external procedures. This change has contributed significantly to the formation of a mutually supportive network, with all parties involved working together toward a common goal.
Sustainable structures, professional support
“Receiving accreditation confirms that our processes are viable, transparent and efficient. We have built sustainable structures supporting the faculties and the BZL and creating good conditions for a lived culture of quality. This strengthens the entire organization,” explains Dr. Wibke Petras, Director of the Studying, Teaching, Academic Planning division. Together with Vice Rector Sandmann as project manager and her colleagues from the Quality Management and Digitalization Unit for Teaching and Learning she forms the System Accreditation team. Petras also emphasizes that the awarding of the seal by no means marks a conclusion regarding the successfully established, tried and tested quality assurance and development procedures. For established processes will continue to run during the transition phase of integration into regular operations, as she notes: “In this project we have created structures for systematic, targeted and regular communication on our degree programs and for their continuous quality improvement, upholding at all times the highest quality standards for degree programs and teaching at the University of Bonn.”