Better study conditions and better quality of teaching
The University of Münster (WWU) pursues the comprehensive goals of further strengthening the importance of excellent teaching and to increase the significance of teaching in all levels. The quality of teaching and studying is perceived as multidimensional and is developed by all groups which are involved in teaching. The WWU feels obliged to the unity of research and teaching: after all, well-founded discernment backed up by research presupposes research-based teaching and research-conducted learning. Only this approach ensures that the students learn how to take well-founded decisions, how to act responsibly and they also acquire competence in problem solving.
In order to improve both the ratio of students to teaching staff and the study conditions, personnel structures and manning based on teaching demand are indispensable. Additional professors and research assistants shall expand both the courses offered and the advisory services at the WWU, establish new forms of teaching and studying, facilitate active learning and design attractive courses of study.
The WWU is developing into a teach tank – an institution where discussions and reflections about the quality of teaching are being institutionalized. This process will move the further education of the lecturers centre stage, which will be offered at the centre of university teaching. In this way it will be possible to improve the individual quality of teaching, which will affect both the students’ willingness to learn and their knowledge acquisition in a positive way. Additionally further qualification functions as a method to enhance the organization as a whole as it enables a basic strengthening of the reputation of teaching and a proactive design of the culture of teaching and learning.
Another main objective the WWU pursues is to reduce the number of students who drop out of university and to enhance the number of graduates finishing within the standard period of study. Therefore all students in their introductory phase will be assisted centrally and locally, their different levels of knowledge will be adjusted and they will be helped with settling in and with networking among their fellow students at the university location.
The interaction of activities of the WWU as a whole and of the various faculties or departments will increase the practical relevance of the bachelor’s degree programme. In this vein the WWU will develop an essential understanding, all over the university, of employability and practical orientation, which focuses on the strength of university education.
The WWU is determined and prepared to develop a new and long-lasting culture of teaching and learning and thus to do justice to the expansive responsibility in matters of teaching and qualification.
The funding lines at a glance:
funding line 1
Measures for improvement of personnel structure
Teaching-oriented personnel structure – improvement of the teaching-oriented personnel structure
A teaching-oriented personnel structure and demand-oriented manning is indispensable in order to improve the quality of teaching in a sustainable way. The dual approach of the WWU aims at both an individualization of teaching in courses of study with a large number of students – and traditionally large classes – as well as at an enrichment of small courses of study with interdisciplinary and diverse classes.
Additional professorships shall be provided mainly where serious weak points exist. Multiple offerings of highly frequented lectures, exercise classes and seminars for examination candidates in disciplines with high demand are planned to reduce the number of attendants. Besides strengthening of research-centred, competence-centred and student-centred teaching the WWU thereby expects a decrease in dropout rates. On top of that, the reoccupation of jobs ahead of time and additional appointments allow coverage of an increasing demand for teaching and supportive needs in the teacher training.
The WWU wants to expand the range of its courses and to improve the ratio of students to teaching staff. Apart from that, essential aims are to reinforce the offers of advisory services, support and teaching, particularly in the introductory phase, to reduce the average number of attendants of classes and to broaden the thematic diversity of the courses offered. In teacher training particularly more classes on subject-related didactics should be offered according to demand and the academic practical phases shall be supervised adequately. The number of research assistants, who are traditionally responsible for teaching, organization of the studies, advisory services and support at the WWU, shall be enlarged to meet this aim. The main focus here lies on faculty-wide positions of programme coordinators. Moreover it is possible to develop and implement creative forms of teaching, learning and testing with more teaching staff.
Finally it is planned to set up a number of additional tutorials, which enables learning in small groups. In detail this involves more orientation tutorials, subject tutorials, tutorials on language skills, tutorials introducing specific instruments as well as revision classes for examination preparation. All mentors will receive specialist training and be supported by lecturers.
funding line 2
Measures of qualification and further education of the teaching staff
Qualification and further education for teaching – WWU Teach Tank
Further education of employees has multifarious potential: on the one hand the individual quality of teaching will be improved, which has positive effects on the students’ willingness to learn and their knowledge acquisition. On the other hand further education functions as a method to enhance the organization as a whole: it enables basic strengthening of teaching and thus a proactive design of the teaching and learning culture. The WWU now has the chance to develop into a teach tank: an institution where processes of discussions and reflections about the quality of teaching will be institutionalized, where teaching will be systematically guided and supported by further education of lecturers and where lecturers will be able to network with each other and share their thoughts about teaching and their understanding of their role.
At the WWU the centre of university teaching will be created as a new structure helping to implement these measures. This central institution will initiate and coordinate all measures at the individual, group and structural level which aim at the improvement of the quality of teaching. However, it has to be taken into account that all these measures have both a push and pull function. This means that on the one hand measures for supporting the lecturers and other groups will be initiated by the centre and on the other hand the centre will satisfy the needs of the disciplines, status groups and compound structures.
In order to ensure the success of the newly established structures, measures and of the approach to teaching in the long term it is important to implement a scientific foundation besides the existing procedures on quality management of teaching. Therefore the staff at the centre shall be experienced in the field of empirical research of teaching and learning. The appointment of a junior professorship for psychology of knowledge communication is supposed to intensify the connections between research and teaching. Creating corresponding structures in the disciplines and departments will support the implementation of the measures and intensify the feedback on the actual demand. This enables secondary research on central topics of teaching (and learning) at the WWU. Furthermore a scientific foundation will also contribute significantly to the acceptance and effectiveness of the intended measures.
funding line 3
Measures for further optimization of study conditions
Shaping teaching – enhancing introductory phases and practical relevance
Different levels of knowledge at the beginning of their studies, challenges associated with organizing their studies, settling in at the university location and confrontation with forms of teaching and learning they are not used to: students have to be supported, especially during the introductory phase, to avoid study dropouts and to enable them to complete their degrees in due time.
The University of Münster is planning supporting measures above all in the following four fields:
- Preparatory courses, especially in mathematics and the natural sciences, shall help the students to adjust their level of knowledge in relevant basics so that they will not have any problems at the beginning of their studies and all new students in a given discipline are then sufficiently qualified to attend the same classes.
- Continual tutorials/revision courses in the introductory phase will give students the option to repeat and deepen acquired knowledge, which will help them to be successful in their first exams.
- Student mentors in higher semesters shall help their younger fellow students to adjust to their new situation in life, to find social contacts and to cope with organizing their studies. All these mentors will be involved in the bachelor’s programme and will receive specialist training by lecturers. Beyond that the University of Münster also offers centrally organized further education.
- In every bachelor’s degree programme the enhancement of practical relevance is achieved by the interaction between activities of the faculties and the university as a whole. This is supposed to achieve an essential understanding of employability and practical orientation all over the university, which focuses on the strength of university education. In close cooperation with the central Career Service and the departments subject-specific concepts are worked out which, based on learning psychological methods, advance a professional self-concept and the students’ ability of transfer between theory and practice. Online-supported practical courses with potential employers and the flexible embedment into regular courses of e-learning modules helping with job orientation serve the same aim.
The faculties and departments plan to support internships that are part of the teacher training and other degree courses with a subject-specific infrastructure. Additional measures are individual advisory services, talks given by employees, excursions to companies and the support of bachelor theses of practical relevance.
