MSB stands for a clear commitment to quality in education, research, transfer, university management and service. The department has been a pioneer since 1998 with a QM system certified to DIN EN ISO 9001. Since then, MSB contributed to the development of a quality culture in preparation for the first successful systems accreditation of a German university of applied sciences in 2011 and its reaccreditation in 2018.
Corporate partners perceive us as a versatile organization, which is capable of drafting and pursuing concepts and strategies in the framework of FH Münster University of Applied Sciences.
FH Münster University of Applied Sciences quality management system consists of four components:
Clear Objectives
Quality is a strategic issue. MSB develops strategic objectives based on the university´s and the department´s mission as well as the requirements of partners and students. MSB´s objectives are defined within an Academic Scorecard (ASC) serving as MSB´s contribution to Münster UAS´s Higher Education Development Plan (HEP) with the German federal state NRW. At programme level, quality is defined as a successful graduation, which occurs when students achieve the learning outcomes defined for their programme.
Optimal Processes
Higher education institutions are complex organisations. To enhance transparency, MSB participates in maintaining crucial processes on the institution-wide platform FINDUS and providing them to all members of the institution. This assures that crucial strategic processes comply with the quality required by all relevant stakeholders. Additionally, MSB strives to further digitalise processes in the department and institution-wide.
Critical Feedback
Quality management systems are feedback based. Besides from conducting periodical workshops between students and faculty, MSB operates the following measures of collecting feedback on the quality of its activities:
Periodical surveys among new students, present students and graduates collect information on students´ motivation, perception of service quality, feedback on the acquisition of competences and transition to job market or subsequent education.
Student evaluation of teaching enables faculty to reassure themselves regarding their quality of teaching. By MSB´s Evaluation Regulations, faculty is obliged to complete the evaluation of every module within a defined period. This also includes an estimation of student workload. On special occasions (e.g. appointment to professorship, assessment of pedagogic eligibility, request by MSB´s student body), evaluation results are discussed in respective committees.
As an internal audit, an annual quality assurance meeting is held between participants of Münster UAS´s presidential board, central quality assurance staff and MSB´s management, programme directors and quality management representatives. The audit focusses the formative development of a programme cluster from MSB´s portfolio. It follows a guideline assuring that all relevant quality related features are adequately treated. Thus, the audit heavily draws on student perception and alumni opinions from surveys and a student interview beforehand. If indicated, it leads to requirements, agreements or recommendations, whose implementation status is checked at subsequent meetings.
Advisory boards counsel MSB in strategic issues and evaluate the respective programmes periodically from their external scientific and practice-oriented perspective.
Not at least, MSB exposes itself to a detailed peer evaluation in the framework of its international accreditation projects.
Sustainable Impact
Quality is a collaborative achievement. On the quest towards common goals it requires not at least the individual to participate, to contribute and to accept compromises where necessary. This is the main claim of Münster UAS´s quality culture. The following measures enable the reporting of achievements:
At department level, the implementation status of scheduled measures and projects is resumed annually in the MSB Council. At midterm of the Higher Education Development Plan (HEP), the status is reported internally within Münster UAS. Towards the end of a period, a public report concludes achievements and remaining aspects to be developed further. This reporting chain facilitates that the department´s management, quality assurance representatives and committees deal diligently with conclusions arising from quality assurance.
At programme level, a follow-up on the defined recommendations, agreements and requirements takes place at the annual quality assurance meetings.