Quality Management for Degree Programs

The degree program evaluation at the University of Basel consists of two complementary components:

• The Summative Degree Program Evaluation assesses degree programs/subjects on an annual basis at the level of the subject areas, the faculties and the Vice President's Office for Education with a focus on quality assurance, and identifies any necessary measures on this basis.
• The Formative Degree Program Evaluation investigates degree programs/subjects in greater detail from the perspective of quality development, focusing on specific issues through the use of in-depth evaluation instruments, and defines any necessary measures on this basis. Formative Degree Program Evaluations are often connected to the Development and Revision of degree programs.

The responsible teaching committees within the relevant faculty or subject area discuss the quality of the individual degree programs or subject areas based on the key figures and the survey results.

The Quality Development team of the General Secretariat coordinates the processes involved in summative degree program evaluation, including the annual teaching review, and provides Key Figures on Teaching for this purpose.

The team is also responsible for planning and carrying out the Formative Degree Program Evaluation and for the provision of methodological knowledge. The Quality Development team generally performs the majority of the work involved (e.g. preparation and chairing of meetings, drafting of questionnaires and evaluation reports).

The degree program evaluation was first piloted at the university in 2016, and was incorporated into overall university standards in 2017. Following the introduction of the degree program evaluation in all faculties, the standards were amended by the Teaching Committee in 2019 and approved by the President's Office in 2020.