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EUniWell Quality Assurance Policy for the Courses and Training Catalogue

1. General Objectives and Scope

Along EUniWell’s path to “empower […] cutting-edge research, education and training and interact […] ever more closely with society to enhance global and regional well-being in social, environmental, economic, and cultural terms”[1], the partners collaborate in the sharing and development of educational offers which reflect the alliance’s vision and mission. 

This quality assurance (QA) policy outlines the framework, the responsibilities and the tools to ensure and further enhance quality of the alliance’s educational offers and its services. 
The policy outlines

  • objectives of QA activities
  • relevant tools and procedures, and
  • responsibilities between institutions and within the alliance.

First and foremost, the collaboration is based on mutual trust that each institution applies its capacity to ensure quality of its teaching based on the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the EHEA. The guiding principle for this QA policy is to complement QA activities where relevant and fit-for-purpose. The policy shall support and empower the alliance in sharing and developing innovative educational offers with lean procedures.

The QA policy focuses on virtual and short-term physical mobilities shared via EUniWell’s Courses and Training Catalogue[2]. The policy will be reviewed and expanded if necessary along the path of further collaboration.

[2] EUniWell short-term mobility offers outside the catalogue and long-term mobilities are currently coordinated and evaluated by EUniWell’s Mobility Arena.

2. Quality Assurance in EUniWell’s Courses and Training Catalogue

The EUniWell Courses and Training Catalogue (henceforth: course catalogue) constitutes a new offer jointly designed and coordinated by all EUniWell partners under the lead of EUniWell’s Centre for Learning. It has been implemented in September 2024 to offer courses and training sessions to all target audiences of the alliance, i.e. bachelor’s and master’s students, doctoral students/candidates, academics and administrative staff in virtual, blended, hybrid and physical mobilities.

Objectives

Securing the academic quality of individual courses and trainings is the prime responsibility of the partner institutions sharing them within the course catalogue. Additional QA tools and procedures provided by EUniWell are set in place to complement these efforts and only to review collaborative aspects and services that cannot or will not be covered by institutional evaluations and to secure clear and transparent responsibilities within EUniWell learning offers.

QA activities at alliance level therefore focus on participants’ experiences, institutional benefits as well as services unique to the EUniWell course catalogue. Overall, the objective of QA activities is to facilitate coordination, application, participation and recognition. In particular, the following objectives are associated with each aspect:

By coordinating offers, EUniWell aims at

  • offering courses suitable and appropriate for EUniWell’s vision and mission;
  • offering tailored courses meeting a demand/need by participants and institutions;
  • sharing courses reciprocally among EUniWell partners;
  • offer new mobility formats.

By monitoring the application process, EUniWell aims at 

  • properly and transparently advertising offer to reach the target group;
  • designing the application process as lean, seamless and fair for applicants and institutions;
  • allocating available spots in a fair and balanced manner among the institutions;
  • facilitate access for underserved audiences in mobilities.

By reviewing aspects particularly of the learning environment of EUniWell, the alliance aims at  

  • supporting a successful participation/completion of offers;
  • ensuring the relevant certification of participation/completion; 
  • providing appropriate digital and technical facilities for participation (mainly the Learning Management System);
  • better prepare students and staff for their mobility experience.

By tracking recognition, EUniWell aims at

  • spotting challenges in recognition to be jointly tackled;
  • facilitating recognition for participants and home institutions.

 

Tools and processes

Quality of and within the course catalogue will be supported by the following EUniWell activities

1) Central Coordination of the Course Catalogue

The course catalogue is coordinated under the joint lead of the coordinators of EUniWell’s Centre for Learning (WeFF Work Package 7) and the Mobility Work Package (WeFF Work Package 10) (i.e. Course Catalogue Working Group). All management processes are transparently defined in “EUniWell Catalogue’s Management Guidelines” drafted and updated by the Working Group. 

2) Participation and Completion Statistics

The EUniWell Centre for Learning will keep track of the following statistics with regard to EUniWell participants in individual courses:

  • application number per course
  • registration number per course
  • completion number per course

The statistics will help EUniWell achieve the above-outlined objectives. In particular, the statistics help the alliance in the further development of the course catalogue so that offers are better tailored to demands and that offers are reciprocally and evenly shared between institutions.  

The statistics will be shared with the Steering Group of the EUniWell Centre for Learning, the Course Catalogue Working Group and the EUniWell Board. 

3) EUniWell QA Survey

To assess the application process, course environment and recognition, and aspects of the (virtual, hybrid, blended or physical) mobility experience that are specific to participating through the EUniWell course catalogue, EUniWell applies an online survey on study conditions on the level of individual courses. The survey has been designed under the coordination of the Centre for Learning, with active participation of the Steering Groups of the Centre for Learning, the Mobility Arena and the Quality Culture Arena.

Its current version has been applied since the launch of the course catalogue 2024/2025. 

The survey gathers information on the following topics:

  • status of the learner
  • organisation & information on the individual offer
  • learning environment of the course / training
  • in case of short-term mobility experiences: specific elements related to physical mobility
  • recognition and usefulness of the course / training
  • global satisfaction

The survey is shared via Limesurvey and ensures privacy rights. Answers are collected anonymously, and data will be shared in an aggregated manner. The minimum number of responses per course is 5 to be shared within the alliance. 

The home institution of an individual course shared in the course catalogue is responsible for sending out the survey to the EUniWell participants. Instructions on the procedure to follow for Online Courses Coordinators will be available in the EUniWell Catalogue’s Management Guidelines.

Results of the survey will be shared by the Centre for Learning at the end of each semester with the Steering Group and the Course Catalogue Working Group responsible for the further development of the course catalogue along the above-outlined objectives. Follow-up activities and modifications to tools are jointly decided upon by these bodies.

For reflection and transparency, the results will be shared with the lecturer and (in an aggregated manner) with the EUniWell Student Board and the EUniWell Board. The Centre for Learning will consider recommendations for improvement provided by these groups.

The Steering Group of the Quality Culture Arena will support the application of this policy in its implementation phase and act as an advisory board to the Centre for Learning and everybody involved in terms of ensuring quality.

 

Responsibilities

EUniWell Centre for Learning (WeFF Work Package 7)

EUniWell’s Centre for Learning is responsible for the coordination of the course catalogue, keeping track of statistics and the analysis of the EUniWell QA survey results. The Centre of Learning will review recommendations (see above) as part of a continuous improvement circle regarding the objectives of the course catalogue, which is part of a more global strategy on EUniWell educational offerings. 

The Centre for Learning is supported by a Steering Group and a Course Catalogue Working Group. Whereas the first one facilitates the strategic development of the Centre’s activities, the latter one supports the operational coordination and implementation of the course catalogue. Both groups review statistics and aggregated results of the QA survey to support the Centre for Learning and the alliance to further develop the course catalogue (see above).

Mobility Arena

The Steering Group of the Mobility Arena coordinates EUniWell mobility formats and monitors their implementation. It reviews statistics and aggregated results from the QA survey on physical mobility formats to support the Centre for Learning and the alliance in the ongoing development of the course catalogue.

Quality Culture Arena

The Quality Culture Arena Steering Group supports the Centre for Learning in the development of educational offers and the further development of the course catalogue by sharing expertise and providing recommendations. 

The groups input may focus on potential improvements or changes of strategy to be implemented in the catalogue’s framework and management processes.

EUniWell Board

The EUniWell Board will take relevant strategic decisions on the further development of the course catalogue and the introduction of educational offers with support by the Centre for Learning.