Participation in the QMS

Students, instructors and staff at the University share responsibility for the success of teaching and studies. The participatory processes of the QMS promote trust-based cooperation in order to further enhance the quality and attractiveness of the courses on offer. The regular, open exchange of knowledge, perspectives and experiences gives rise to innovative concepts for teaching and learning, creates conducive study conditions and continuously improves the University's academic programmes. The involvement of external partners and graduates in the QMS provides important impetus for the further development of sustainable and practice-oriented degree programmes.

Opportunities to participate in the QMS

The QMS relies on your active participation. Below you can learn more about how to get involved in the QMS and actively contribute to the success of our quality objectives.

To help you quickly find out how you can make a concrete contribution, we have listed various opportunities for participation as a student, instructor, member of staff in teaching and studies, or as an external party. You can also filter your search by QMS elements. You can obtain additional information about the specific tasks and roles you can take on in the context of quality assurance and development.

• Students

  Your perspective as a student plays a decisive role in ensuring and developing the quality of teaching and studies. Your experience and assessments provide information on whether the design of the degree programmes and the associated processes are geared to the needs of students. Your participation is therefore an indispensable part of the QMS.  

  Student participation is integrated into the QMS at many levels, specifically:  

  Dialogue-oriented QMS formats

  • Degree programme conference
  • Quality assurance meeting (QAM)
  • Internal accreditation committee (IAC)
  • CDP steering group

  Evaluation of teaching and studies

  • Student course evaluation
  • Degree programme questionnaire
  • Graduate survey as part of the Joint Project on Graduate Studies (KOAB)
  • Survey on Studying in Germany (SiD)

  Further development of the QMS

  • QMS conference
  • Brief questionnaire on the degree programme conference (after participation)
  • Brief questionnaire on the quality assurance meeting (after participation)
  • Questions, suggestions and feedback regarding the QMS

• Instructors and staff in teaching and studies

  As an instructor or staff member in the areas of teaching and studies at the University of Münster, you play a central role in shaping and implementing study conditions. Through your commitment – be it in teaching, exam design, advising students or organising studies – you contribute significantly to our students' academic success. As experts in your field, you possess deep understanding and valuable knowledge that is indispensable for the continuous improvement of quality in teaching and studies. Your comprehensive involvement in the QMS is ensured at various levels in order to utilise your professional expertise and experience and to continuously improve the quality of the degree programmes we offer.

  As an instructor or staff member in the areas of teaching and studies, you can participate in the following QMS elements: 

  Dialogue-oriented formats of the QMS

  • Degree programme conference
  • Quality assurance meeting (QAQ)
  • Internal accreditation committee (IAC)
  • CDP steering group

  Further development of the QMS

  • QMS conference
  • Brief questionnaire on the degree programme conference (after participation)
  • Brief questionnaire on the quality assurance meeting (after participation)
  • Questions, suggestions and feedback regarding the QMS

• External parties

  As a graduate, an external cooperation partner or an expert, you play an important role in the further development of teaching and studies at the University of Münster. Your perspective, which is often highly relevant to practical applications, provides important impetus for the quality development of the range of courses on offer. As a graduate, for example, you can provide valuable insights into how your studies have influenced your professional development and where there is potential for improvement. As a cooperation partner from university and non-university institutions, you make significant contributions to the further development of studies and teaching. And as a representative from the professional world, your insights into current labour market requirements can inform discussions about the quality of degree programmes and teaching. This enables the design of even more practice-relevant degree programmes.

  As an external partner, you can participate in the following QMS elements:

  Dialogue-oriented formats of the QMS

  • Degree programme conference (cooperation partners, graduates)
  • Quality assurance meeting (QAM) (cooperation partners, external students, university instructors or representatives from the field are also invited to participate as external experts)

  Evaluation of teaching and studies

  • Graduate survey as part of the Joint Project on Graduate Studies (KOAB) (graduates)

  Further development of the QMS

  • Brief questionnaire on the degree programme conference (after participation)
  • Brief questionnaire on the quality assurance meeting (after participation)
  • Questions, suggestions and feedback regarding the QMS

Opportunities for participation in dialogue-oriented QMS formats

The dialogue-oriented QMS formats combine the perspectives of students, instructors and staff in the areas of teaching and studies, as well as external stakeholders. They serve to provide advice and further develop the quality of teaching and studies, and to prepare accreditation decisions. 

The dialogue-oriented formats vary in terms of their role in the QMS, the frequency of meetings, the selection of participants and the duration of participation. The following brief descriptions provide an overview of the various formats and link to further information.   

• Degree programme conference

  The degree programme conference provides a regular and structured platform for discussing the quality of degree programmes at the faculty level. The resulting discussion aims to achieve a multifaceted and objective assessment of a degree programme and generate ideas for further development.

  Frequency: Three times in eight years (approximately every two to three years)

  Participants: Students, instructors and employees involved in teaching and studies, external parties if applicable (e.g. cooperation partners, graduates)

  Procedure for selecting participants: Participants are selected in consultation within the faculty, usually between the respective degree programme coordinator and the QM officer

  Duration of participation: One-time for the respective degree programme conference

  Contact for participation: The QM officer in your faculty

• Quality assurance meeting

  The quality assurance meeting takes place once every eight years and involves an exchange between external experts and students, instructors and staff involved in teaching and studies, as well as other relevant parties, in order to ensure that the course design is appropriate in terms of subject matter and content. The participation of the various groups is intended to ensure a differentiated assessment, enable collegial feedback on the special features and strengths of a degree programme, and generate ideas for further development.

  Frequency: Once every eight years

  Participants:

  • Participants in the quality assurance meeting: Students, instructors and staff involved in teaching and studies, external parties if applicable (e.g. cooperation partners)
  • External experts: at least two university instructors with relevant expertise, at least one student representative with relevant expertise, and at least one representative from the professional field with relevant expertise (in accordance with §25 StudakVO)

  Procedure for selecting participants:

  • Participants in the quality assurance meeting are selected in consultation within the faculty, usually between the respective degree programme coordinator and the QM officer.
  • External experts are proposed by the faculty and appointed by the Rectorate of the University of Münster.

  Duration of participation: One-time for the respective quality assurance meeting

  Contact for participation: The QM officer in your faculty

• Internal accreditation committee (IAC)

  The decision on the accreditation of a degree programme is prepared in a dialogue-oriented manner by an internal accreditation committee (IAC), which reviews and evaluates the documents submitted by the faculties and makes a recommendation to the Rectorate regarding the accreditation of the degree programme in question. The guiding principle is that the University of Münster works with other stakeholders to ensure the quality of its degree programmes in accordance with internal and external guidelines and that interdisciplinary impetus for further development is generated.

  Frequency of meetings: Approximately twice per semester

  Participants: Three students and one representative from each faculty at the University of Münster; one deputy per member

  Procedure for selecting participants: 

  •     Students are selected by AStA (General Students' Committee) 
  •     Faculty representatives are selected by the faculty board

  Duration of participation: 

  •     Students: one-year term
  •     Faculty representatives: four-year term

  Contact for participation: 

  •     Students: AStA (Genearl Students' Committee (asta.fachschaftenreferat@uni-muenster.de)
  •     Faculty representatives: The dean of studies in your faculty and/or the IAC office

• CDP steering group

  Quality assurance and development for combined degree programmes (CDP)/teaching degrees at the level of the overarching study structure (model) is managed by the CDP steering group. It is composed of instructors, staff involved in teaching and studies, and students. 

  Frequency of meetings: Approximately twice per semester

  Participants: Three students, one representative each for the teaching degree programmes for primary schools, secondary schools, comprehensive schools, high schools and vocational colleges; two representatives for the two-subject bachelor's degree programme, spokesperson for the Education Sciences Coordination Committee, Representative of the Rectorate for General Studies, the academic head of the Centre for Multilingualism and Language Acquisition (for the module German for Students with a Migration Background), the academic head of the University Centre for Teacher Education (ZfL) (for the module Practical Semester), the head of the Department of Student and Academic Affairs; as well as their respective deputies.

  Procedure for selecting participants: The members of the steering group are appointed to the CDP steering group by the Vice-Rector for Teaching and Studies, who chairs the CDP steering group.

  • Instructors and staff involved in teaching and studies: by virtue of their office or by selection by the Vice-Rector for Teaching and Studies
  • Students: proposed by AStA (General Students' Committee)

  Duration of participation:

  • Students: one-year term
  • Instructors and staff involved in teaching and studies: four-year term

  Contact for participation:

  • Students: AStA (asta.fachschaftenreferat@uni-muenster.de)
  • Representatives of combined degree programmes and interdisciplinary elements: CDP office

Opportunities for participation as part of the evaluation of teaching and studies

Within the framework of the QMS, the evaluation of teaching and studies is used in particular to help improve existing degree programmes and to ensure compliance with the technical and content-related requirements as they relate to degree programme design. The results of the evaluation form an important basis for quality assurance and development within the framework of the QMS for teaching and studies.

All surveys are conducted online and are aimed at students and graduates. If you belong to one of these two target groups, you can expect to be invited to participate, e.g. via email.

The following brief descriptions provide an overview of the survey formats and link to further information. 

• Student course evaluation

  • Target group: Students
  • Focus: Feedback on course quality
  • Frequency: at least every two years (a more frequent cycle is possible for courses that are part of the curriculum or courses taught by full-time instructors)

• Degree programme survey

  • Target group: all students between the 2nd and 7th semester
  • Focus: evaluation of various aspects of the degree program
  • Frequency: usually every three years in April and May

• Graduate survey

  As part of the Joint Project on Graduate Studies (KOAB):

  • Target group: graduates
  • Focus: retrospective evaluation of study conditions and skills acquisition, transition to advanced studies or career
  • Frequency: once a year between October and mid-February

• The Student Survey in Germany (SiD)

  • Target group: all students in their 3rd/4th semester + random sample from other semesters
  • Focus: broad range of topics from one's social and economic situation to health impairments, challenges and conditions during one's course of study, career prospects and social values
  • Frequency: every four years in the summer semester
  • nationwide survey conducted by the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW) 

   

Opportunities for participation as part of the further development of the QMS

The procedures and processes of the QMS are regularly reviewed for effectiveness and further developed at QMS conferences. The following brief descriptions provide an overview of formats for the further development of the QMS and opportunities for participation.   

• QMS conference

  The QMS conference provides a forum for regular, structured discussion about the quality of the QMS with the aim of further developing the system. The joint discussion is intended to facilitate a QMS assessment that is as multifaceted and objective as possible and to generate ideas for further development.

  • Frequency: twice in eight years (approximately every three to four years)
  • Participants: students, instructors and staff involved in teaching and studies, other groups, if applicable
  • Procedure for selecting participants: appointment by the Rectorate
  • Duration of participation: One-time for the respective QMS conference
  • Contact for participation: The QMS team/Dept. 1.8 - QMS Office for Teaching and Studies

• Brief questionnaire on the degree programme conference

  • Target group: all participants of a degree programme conference
  • Focus:
    • Agenda of the degree programme conference
    • Preparation of the degree programme conference/preliminary analysis, if applicable
    • Overall responsibility for the degree programme conference
  • Frequency: directly following a degree programme conference
  • Note: If you belong to the target group for the brief questionnaire on degree programme conferences, you will receive an invitation to participate.

• Brief questionnaire on the quality assurance meeting

  • Target group: all participants of a quality assurance meeting
  • Focus:
    • Preparation and agenda of the quality assurance meeting
    • Frequency: directly following a quality assurance meeting
  • Note: If you belong to the target group for the brief questionnaire on quality assurance meetings, you will receive an invitation to participate.

• Questions, suggestions and feedback regarding the QMS

  Questions, suggestions and feedback are important tools for improving our QMS structures, procedures and processes. The aim is to continue to align the QMS in such a way that it promotes the quality of teaching and studies. 

  You can submit your feedback to the following departments: 

  •     Faculty-related: QM officer in your faculty
  •     Centralised departments: Dept. 1.8 - QMS Office for Teaching and Studies (email: qms@uni-muenster.de)