About QMS

Excellent research and high-quality study and teaching are of great importance to the University of Münster. The aim is to provide attractive, innovative, and excellent educational opportunities that offer all the advantages of a university education and optimally prepare graduates for their entry into professional life. To ensure this, study and teaching are continuously developed.

To achieve this, a quality management system (QMS) for study and teaching has been developed. It is intended to ensure that all efforts to improve the quality of study and teaching are geared towards this long-term goal. The University of Münster's mission statement on study and teaching and the quality management regulations (QM regulations), which were developed as the basis for the QMS, guide our actions in this regard.

• Continuous further development of studies and teaching

  Excellent quality in studying and teaching is not a static state. The constant development of subject areas, changes in the labor market, new legal requirements, and the rapidly changing world make it necessary to further develop teaching and learning concepts. In addition, research findings in the field of higher education pedagogy and the specific individuals involved on site play an important role in the design of studies and teaching, which must be continually taken into account. The QMS at the University of Münster builds on this insight and brings together structures, processes, and instruments that aim to continuously develop studies and teaching. Of central importance here is the continuous examination of the mission statement for studies and teaching, which provides important points of reference for further development and maintains the common commitment to quality, as well as the regular involvement of external experts. In addition, the QMS is organized in the form of closed, continuously running quality cycles. The aim of the QMS is to ensure that degree programs and teaching concepts remain up-to-date, relevant, and of high quality.

• Discourse and cooperation

  The guiding principle behind the QMS is the idea that the quality of studies and teaching can only be determined and further developed through joint discourse between students, teachers, and staff in this field of activity. In order to bring the various needs and demands of all those involved into the discussion, the QMS at the University of Münster relies on structured, evidence-based dialogue formats. Through honest, critical, and constructive discourse between university members, as well as with external subject representatives, professional representatives, and graduates, the strengths and development potential of degree programs can be identified, innovative solutions developed, and concrete measures for further development based on these solutions worked out. Everyone involved in the field of study and teaching is invited to contribute ideas and experiences to the discussion, to search for viable solutions, and to engage cooperatively in concrete quality development within the framework of QM measures. The QMS at the University of Münster is based on cooperative participation. 

• Transparency and visibility

  The QMS focuses on transparency. It is about defining quality criteria and justifying processes and documents in order to create understanding and acceptance for the processes and instruments of the QMS. This principle is also reflected in action-oriented process descriptions that clearly outline tasks, responsibilities, and interfaces, as well as in the identification of program directors, QM officers, and evaluation officers. This is necessary to enable resource- and goal-oriented action at a large university. A concise documentation system forms the basis for a transparent assessment of QM work and at the same time highlights the commitment to studying and teaching. The aim is to highlight specific initiatives and individuals who are committed to the quality of study and teaching. In this way, the QMS contributes to a positive and supportive atmosphere for study and teaching, to a university where best practices are shared, synergies between departments are discovered, and everyone works together to further develop the quality of study programs.

• Autonomy of faculties within a common framework

  A core idea of the University of Münster's QMS is the development of a common university-wide framework with plenty of creative freedom for the departments in order to achieve a significant impact on the quality of the individual degree programs. The QM regulations give the departments room for maneuver within a framework structure to, for example, define additional subject-specific quality criteria or actively consider connections and synergies between different degree programs in their QM work. All subject-specific agreements are laid down transparently by the departments in their departmental regulations. The high degree of autonomy enjoyed by the departments is also reflected in the structures of the QMS: as QM experts, the QM officers of the departments provide valuable support for QM work in their teaching units, for example by advising the members of the dean's office, the program directors, students, and teachers on procedures and structures and by coordinating processes. They regularly exchange ideas across departments in the QM network in order to further develop their own practices and university-wide QM. This is also where they exchange ideas with the QM managers who coordinate and maintain cross-departmental processes. The QMS thrives on a cooperative team structure that takes into account both general QM interests and subject-specific characteristics.

• Learning system

  The QMS at the University of Münster is the joint responsibility of all members of the university. It is a complex construct involving many different groups of people and committees and addressing various levels. It is therefore important to understand the QMS itself as a learning system and to reflect on structures, processes, and instruments. In university-wide dialogues, the departments, administrative and service units, students, and university management come together to cooperatively reflect on experiences, process new requirements, and plan the further development of the QMS. Particularly within the framework of the QM network and the QMS conferences, the QMS is constantly being further developed and a common understanding of quality is being profiled. This fundamental understanding of the QMS as a learning system thus takes into account the complexity and development of a university-wide quality culture

Responsibility in the QMS

At the University of Münster, all members and affiliates share responsibility for the success of teaching and learning. To ensure this, the QMS was developed in close cooperation between rectorate, faculties, service facilities, and administration.

Overall responsibility for the QMS

• Rectorate of the University of Münster

  The Rectorate has overall responsibility for the QMS in studies and teaching, including all associated evaluation procedures. It creates the necessary framework conditions at the central level and supports the departments and all other institutions that offer teaching in fulfilling the requirements of the QMS.

  The Rectorate makes all decisions relating to the accreditation of degree programs (initial and reaccreditation, fulfillment of requirements, deadline extensions, significant changes).

Responsibilities in the QMS at faculty level

• Dean

  The dean leads the department and is responsible for its strategic direction, personnel matters, budget planning, and quality assurance.

  He or she appoints a program director for each program offered by the department. In addition, he or she appoints at least one representative for quality management in studies and teaching (QM representative). 

  The dean is responsible for complaints within the framework of QMS processes at the departmental level.

• Dean of studies

  The dean of studies is responsible for study and teaching matters within their own department. In consultation with the dean, they are responsible for the QMS in study and teaching within the department and maintain close contact with the QM officer and the program directors.

  If a department wishes to comment on an assessment from a quality assurance meeting (QAM) or on a recommendation for a decision by the Internal Accreditation Commission (IAC) during the internal accreditation process, the dean of studies shall submit the statement to the IAC office. 

• Quality Management Officer for Studies and Teaching (QM Officer)

  Each dean at the University of Münster appoints at least one representative for quality management in studies and teaching in their department (QM representative). 

  If these tasks are not performed by the program director, they are responsible for planning the accreditation period, preparing for and following up on program conferences, documenting measures in the quality development plan, and providing the documents for the quality assurance meeting and the application for internal accreditation. 

  The QM officers communicate within their department to ensure the necessary coordination of QMS processes with the respective program director and the dean of studies. In addition, they coordinate QMS processes with the respective departments of Divisions 1 and 5. 

  For the purpose of exchange and further development of the QMS, the QM officers are involved in the interdisciplinary QM network.

• Program director

  The dean appoints a program director for each program in his or her department. The tasks of the program director include overall technical and strategic responsibility for quality assurance and development of the program, overall technical and strategic responsibility for the integration of external expertise, and acting as a communicative interface between the program and the department (“program spokesperson”). To this end, he or she works closely with the QM officer of his or her department. 

  For combined degree programs, the Vice President for Academic Affairs acts as the program director.

Responsibilities in the QMS at university level

• Internal accreditation comission (IAC)

  The IAC formulates recommendations for decisions as a basis for the accreditation decisions of the Rectorate. These relate, on the one hand, to compliance with the criteria of the NRW Study Accreditation Ordinance and, on the other hand, to compliance with the QM regulations of the University of Münster. 

  The IAC consists of a total of 18 voting members, comprising one representative from each department and three student representatives. All members have a deputy.

  The IAC is supported in its tasks by an administrative office. This office coordinates the meetings, prepares the resolutions for internal accreditation by the Rectorate, and informs and advises the departments on all questions of internal accreditation.

• Mediation Council

  In the event of a conflict regarding an accreditation decision, the mediation council mediates between the rectorate and the faculty and submits proposals for conflict resolution. It can request statements and make recommendations to the rectorate. It is composed of four representatives from different faculties from the group of university teachers.

  In addition to the office of the internal accreditation commission, the ombudsman's office handles internal accreditation in the event of an appeal.

• Steering group for combined degree programs (CDP)

  The CDP steering group oversees quality assurance and development for combined degree programs. The chair of the CDP steering group is held by the vice rector for studies and teaching, who also serves as the program director for combined degree programs. The CDP steering group is composed of experts in the combined degree programs and the model-forming elements, as well as student representatives. Its members are appointed by the Rectorate. The CDP steering group meets regularly. It fulfills the function of the degree program conference for the combined degree programs. It is supported in its tasks by an administrative office.

• Ideas and complaints office for the QMS

  Ideas and complaints within the framework of the QMS processes at an interdisciplinary or university-wide level should be addressed to the department head for academic and student affairs. The department head processes incoming ideas and complaints and, if necessary, incorporates them into the process of further developing the QMS. 

• Quality of university teaching (Department 1.4)

  Dept. 1.4 Quality of Teaching supports the departments in developing and ensuring the quality of their degree programs. This includes, in particular, advising on degree program development, coordinating reviews of regulations when revising or developing new examination regulations, and coordinating and supporting quality assurance discussions. 

• QMS in studies and teaching (Department 1.8)

  The focus of Dept. 1.8 QMS in Studies and Teaching is particularly on providing structural support for the QMS. The department coordinates the QM network and the processes for further developing the QMS. In addition, the offices for the internal accreditation commission and for combined degree programs (KSG) are located in Dept. 1.8.

• Strategic planning and academic reporting (Department 5.3)

  Department 5.3 Strategic Planning and Academic Controlling is responsible for the evaluation procedures and for providing relevant key figures and statistical data for the QMS procedures.

Contact persons

• Contact persons on faculty level

  The first point of contact for questions and concerns regarding quality management in the faculties are the respective QM officers. University members can find a list in the QM portal (internal).

• Contact persons on central level

  If you have any questions or concerns regarding QM in studies and teaching at the University of Münster, please contact qms@uni-muenster.de. Your inquiry will be forwarded to the appropriate contact person, who will then get in touch with you.

  As a member of the university, you will find contact persons for your concerns sorted by topic in the QM portal (internal).