At programme of study level

Function 

Programme of study committees must be established on all programmes of study. The committee is an advisory body for the programme of study coordinator. The committee acts as a driving force behind the further development of educational quality. The committee is chaired by the programme of study coordinator and meetings normally take place twice each semester and consist of the programme of study coordinator, course coordinators associated with the programme and student representatives from all year levels.

In special cases, the composition of the committee can be adapted to the nature of the programmes and approved by the dean. In relation to small and short-term programmes of study, the objectives can be achieved through a simpler organisation. The main objective is for student voices to be heard and taken seriously in a structured and open arrangement.

The programme of study committees process the following matters:

• Planning and follow-up of student evaluations on the programme of study and course
• Follow-up of key evaluations at programme of study level
• Revision of course descriptions and programme descriptions
• Social environment and social measures on the programme of study
• The programme of study coordinator’s annual quality assurance report to faculty management
• Other issues that students and/or others consider important in their work on educational quality.

Minutes of the meetings are approved by those present, both student representatives and employees. The minutes shall be archived in the quality assurance system’s file archive in the faculty’s Canvas room. This file archive has separate folders for the individual study program and the minutes shall be made available for the students at the program.

The minutes are also considered archiveworthy and must therefore also be archived in P360 according to a separate routine (NO).

Annual cycle 

Relevant content at the meetings depending on the time of year:

• First meeting in the autumn: Review of the previous year’s evaluation summaries. Planning and follow-up of course evaluations, planning of the committee’s meetings throughout the year. 
• Meeting in November/December: Review of the Start of Studies Survey, Programme of Study Coordinator’s report,
• Meeting in early February: Review of The Student Survey, 
• Meeting late in the spring semester: Review of key figures for the programme of study, revision of course descriptions and programme descriptions, follow-up of the programme of study coordinator’s report.  

Templates and resources 

• Programme of study committee meeting summons (template) (NO) 
• Programme of study committee minutes (template) (NO)
• How to save summonses and minutes

Brief information about the programme of study coordinator’s report

• Deadline: July 1st, however faculties may set their own deadlines
• Period: The report is based on the previous academic year of study
• The report should be 4 to 8 pages long. It is natural that the scope varies according to the type of programme in question (one-year programme, BA, MA).
• The report is archived in P360 and sent for approval to the vice-dean for education at the programme's faculty.  
• The report is made available in the quality assurance system’s file archive in the faculty’s Canvas room.
• Annual cycle

Formal requirements 

The programme of study coordinator’s report must document the quality assurance work conducted at programme of study level. The quality assurance work has two key requirements:

• The quality assurance work must be based on knowledge from various surveys and evaluations (course evaluations, Start of Studies Survey, The Student Survey, candidate surveys and periodic programme of study evaluations), as well as other experiences gained from the programme of study (Section 4-1 (4) of the Academic Supervision Regulations) .
• The quality assurance work is a continuous learning process that addresses a challenge, plans measures, implements them, evaluates and improves them, before re-implementing and possibly making new changes (Section 4-1 (5) of the Academic Supervision Regulations) .

The template for the programme of study coordinator’s report is general enough to accommodate different local approaches to this process, with these two key requirements as a framework.

Introduction to the process

The programme of study coordinator’s report assess the educational quality of the programme of study in the previous academic year. The report must be sent to the Vice-Dean for Education at your faculty by 1 July (the faculty may decide on another deadline). On this page, we have collected explanations and tools that you may find useful when writing the report.

The figure above shows the process we envision when working with the report in the various areas of quality.

• Below, we briefly explain what we mean by the different sub-points
• Below, under the heading ‘Programme of study coordinator’s report and the various areas of quality’, we have gathered a number of links to resource pages for the various areas of quality (Norwegian only). This is where we provide information about the goal structure, say more about relevant indicators and point to some relevant questions one can ask. Remember to always make a selection. What is most important for your programme of study? 
• Below, under the heading ‘Relevant templates’, you will find the template for the programme of study coordinator’s report. Under the heading ‘Resources’, you will find other resources that will provide you with data for your analysis.

Indicators 

Quantitative indicators can give an overview of the state of the programme of study. The report template highlights some selected indicators that can form the basis for the situation analysis.​ These indicators are only a small part of the overall picture. These are called primary indicators.

Under each area of quality (please find links below (Norwegian only)), we point out the primary indicators (which are included in the template), and potential indicators that may be just as important in terms of the challenges you face on your programme of study. On this webpage, primary indicators are listed under each area of quality in a green box. The potential indicators are mentioned only as part of the discussion under each area of quality.

An important reason why these indicators have been chosen is that they represent a form of ‘measurement’ that is usuable at programme of study level. 

Please fill in the primary indicators in the ‘Indicators’ field of the report. We do this because it quickly gives faculty management an overview of programmes of study at the faculty, and because we think that all programmes of study should have a relatively high awareness of these indicators.

The primary indicators do not always suit each individual programme of study to the same extent. If you do not have the data, write a dash (-) in the report. You do not need to comment on the primary indicators under your situation description. You only do this when they are important for the quality assurance work on the programme of study and are part of the selection you prioritise working with.

If you use any of the potential indicators in the quality assurance work on your programme of study, you can fill them in under the situation description in connection with your description of the challenges you are working on. 

In cases where you do not have figures for the primary indicators, you should consider why this is so. Think about what this data will bring to the quality assurance work. Do you have other ways to highlight this in your programme of study? Perhaps you can emphasise this in the course evaluations? Or is it perhaps the case that the programme of study must motivate students so that they answer The Student Survey and similar surveys?

Evaluation 

The work on quality in education is a continuous process where we identify challenges, map needs and propose and implement measures. However, there is a danger that the process will stop there. New projects and challenges take up time and space and we forget to reflect on how the measure has actually worked. We need to learn from the experiences the measure has given us: 

• What has worked?
• What hasn’t worked?
• Did the measure have any consequences that we didn’t think of?
• Did the measure have the effect we thought it would have?
• Was the measure implemented in a good way?
• Was it carried out as we thought it would be carried out?
• If it wasn’t carried out in the way we thought, why did it happen the way it did?

These and many more questions can be asked. The evaluation point in the report is an opportunity to highlight parts of the reflection we have made. Be aware of what you include!

• What are the most important experiences we have had?
• What experiences are important to highlight with regard to future measures?

The target group for the report is primarily the programme of study, but evaluation of measures (Evaluation) is also useful for other programmes of study, for faculty management and for the core sections of the university. Important experiences can help shape future seed funding announcements.

Situation description 

It is important for us to emphasise that neither primary nor potential indicators will provide you with the full picture. This picture appears in full when the figures are seen in context with experiences from the classroom, with course evaluations and course coordinators’ reports as a backdrop, and discussed in the academic community, with the student administration and in the programme of study committees. The full picture is complex. Quantitative indicators and other information from various surveys, reports and conversations must be viewed in context in order to give a picture of the state of the programme of study.​

We would like you to provide a brief description of this state under this sub-point. Below each area of quality, you will find a set of relevant questions that might help you by pointing to topics you can focus on in your analysis (please find links below (Norwegian only)).

Above all, we ask you to exercise the art of restraint. Choose what you consider to be most important. The choice itself indicates a prioritisation. Perhaps you will then be challenged on the programme of study committee regarding your choice? Or maybe the vice-dean will ask some questions? This in itself may result in a good discussion among the programme of study committee members, or with the vice-dean. What should we actually prioritise? The description should lead to measures, and remember that not everything can be accomplished every single time.

Needs 

The situation description will most likely point to certain needs. We distinguish between challenges and needs. A challenge is something that we want to do something about. The challenges are found when we assess the indicators, listen to experiences, interpret evaluations and discuss together in the academic community, with the student administration and in the programme of study committee.

In order to meet these challenges, certain needs will arise. These are resources that we do not fully possess at the moment, and that we need in order to meet the challenge. Some of these needs can be satisfied internally in the programme of study. For example, one may apply for seed funding. Others require additional resources from the department or faculty.

This is not about the general needs you may have for resources in the programme of study. These are needs that are based on challenges you have described in the situation description and that you follow up when proposing measures. It is therefore very important that you link the needs with the challenge you outline. If these are needs that can only be satisfied with support from the department or faculty, it is important that you emphasise this clearly so that it is acknowledged by the right people.

Finally, it is important to emphasise that this point is not an opportunity to refrain from proposing measures. We all live in the relationship between the present and the perfect. Perhaps it is the case that major changes are not possible without the addition of resources? What about small changes?

• What can be done given the present situation?
• What can’t be done before extra resources are allocated?

Through such a process, we want to raise a constructive awareness that can stimulate productive discussions, both within the programme of study and between the different levels at the university.

Measures 

We conduct quality assurance work to preserve or increase the quality of education. In order for this to happen, one must learn from experience, identify challenges and map needs, but it is equally important to initiate measures, and evaluate whether these have worked as intended. Here, we want you to specify the measures you want to introduce to meet the challenge. Next year, you will evaluate under ‘Reflection’ whether the measures have worked.

Relevant templates 

• Template for the programme of study coordinator’s report (NO)
• Template for the course coordinator’s report (NO)
• Template for the faculty report (NO)

Tableau 

• Tableau (login)
• Instructions on how to use Tableau (NO)
• Guide to indicators - study coordinator’s report 2023 (NO)