Systematic quality work
Universities and university colleges
The purpose of systematic quality work at universities and university colleges is to secure and enhance the quality of study programmes and detect quality failures. All institutions shall therefore have an adequate internal quality assurance system that is partly based on student evaluations. It is also a requirement for the institutions to include and document their work on their learning environment.
Systematic quality work shall be part of a strategy, as well as part of the institution’s governance structure. In addition, systematic quality work is expected to promote a quality culture at the institution.
To secure quality, the institutions shall, amongst other things, control that all study programmes comply with the quality regulations at the national level. To assess educational quality, the institutions shall collect information from relevant sources, such as periodic evaluations.
The knowledge stemming from systematic quality work shall be used to further develop educational quality. Similarly, the results and information from systematic quality work shall be part of the knowledge base of the institution when assessing and further developing its study programme portfolio.
The national requirements for systematic quality work at universities and university colleges are stipulated in the Act relating to universities and university colleges, the Regulations concerning quality assurance and quality development in higher education and tertiary vocational education (by the Ministry of Education and Research), and Regulations on the supervision and control of the quality in Norwegian higher education (by NOKUT).
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Vocational colleges
Vocational colleges are required to have an adequate internal quality assurance system that supports quality enhancement and job relevance of their study programmes. The system shall also detect potential quality failures. The internal quality assurance system is an instrument for the quality work of vocational colleges, showing their aims, how they work with quality, their decision-making structures and reporting lines.
For vocational colleges with accredited academic disciplines, the internal quality assurance system shall also include routines for the establishment of new study programmes and how substantial changes in the existing portfolio are made.
Vocational colleges shall formulate quality targets for their study programmes. They shall collect feedback from students, staff, representatives from working life and other relevant stakeholders on the quality of their study programmes. They shall also collect the information generated by their internal quality assurance system. They shall use the feedback and information to assess whether the quality targets for the respective study programmes have been reached. The colleges shall use these assessments to remedy quality failures and further develop the quality of their study programmes.
Quality work shall be connected to the leadership and governance structures of the vocational colleges, including the involvement of students and staff. The colleges must secure adequate documentation on their quality work.
The national regulations for systematic quality assurance at vocational colleges are stipulated in the Act relating to tertiary vocational education § 5, the Regulations concerning tertiary vocational education (by the Ministry of Education and Research), and the Regulations on the accreditation, supervision and control of tertiary vocational education, Chapter 4 (by NOKUT).
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