Quality Strategy

The University of Göttingen has a duty to provide outstanding teaching. It contributes to the transformation of the knowledge-based society and helps its students to unfold their personal talents and abilities. In recent years, the University of Göttingen has invested substantially in the creation and expansion of quality assurance and quality development procedures.

At the same time, the University does not regard quality as an absolute but as a process. The University’s aim is to constantly redefine the quality of the services and processes at the University. This also includes questioning the status quo and repeatedly providing inspiration.

This approach centres firstly on continuous reference to the demands placed by others on the University’s performance in teaching and learning, and secondly on an ongoing and self-critical attitude to its own achievements. In real terms this means that standards from, for example, the Conference of Ministers of Education and the Accreditation Council, or practical professional needs, etc., together with feedback from university evaluation procedures amongst others, form the basis for discussions about the quality of teaching and learning. The quality strategy as a process develops through finding this balance.

From March 2017 a university-wide participatory process took place to develop a Guide for Teaching and Learning at the University of Göttingen, which was passed by the Senate in August 2018. The guide formulates a clear definition of teaching and learning quality at the University of Göttingen. By drawing on strategies and existing concepts and building on specific aspects of teaching at the University of Göttingen, the mission statement offers orientation for teaching, and also marks a starting-point for developing specific measures for the ongoing improvement of academic quality. The mission statement will be continually redeveloped and augmented with documents in relation to specific aspects.

In its understanding of good teaching, the University of Göttingen focuses in particular on the following six aspects:

• Research-based teaching

helps its students to unfold their personal talents and abilities. In recent years, the University of Göttingen has invested substantially in the creation and expansion of quality assurance and quality development procedures.

• Equal Opportunities and Diversity

The University of Göttingen promotes equal opportunities and diversity. It endeavours to create an equality, work-life balance and diversity orientated organisational structure and culture in which all members and associates of the university can learn, teach, research and work free of discrimination and with respect and appreciation for different ways of life, experiences and situation, regardless of gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion or ideology, disability or chronic illness, ethnic and social background. For more see here.

• Internationalisation

The Göttingen campus is enlivened by its international students and academics, who with their varied cultural backgrounds shape academia and life in Göttingen. As part of the internationalisation strategy, degree programme curricula are being redeveloped through the Internationalisation of Curricula project with a view to “Education for a Global World: At Home and Abroad”. The internationalisation strategy is complemented with international careers advice from the central Career Service. English language and learning-related offerings such as the Building International Careers certificate programme, enable students to develop global careers prospects independently with professional guidance.

• Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary courses

Students at the University of Göttingen are able to network with other disciplines beyond their own areas of specialisation. Interdisciplinary events strengthen the ability to undertake interdisciplinary work.

• Digital forms of teaching and examination

The University of Göttingen is interested in systematic ongoing development of the curricula. It promotes the conceptualisation and development of innovative teaching strategies. While new digital study programmes require new forms of examination (e.g. e-examinations), they also enable barriers to be over come and better international networking, as well as familiarisation with content, research and teaching methods from other academic cultures.

• Quality Advice and Support

Increasing diversity in the student cohorts means that advice services for students also require constant development. These include both services offered at a faculty level, and central services such as advice for prospective and current students with disabilities and chronic diseases provided by their representative in Student and Academic Services, as well as the Family Service in the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Office. As part of the development of systematic advisory guidance on dealing with instances of discrimination, the anti-discrimination guide Guide: Dealing with discrimination at the University of Göttingen offers guidance and support both for those seeking advice and the advisors.

The quality management system (QM system) of the University of Göttingen takes a discursive and participative approach and aims to involve all concerned. At the heart of this project are the students. On the one hand, the aim is to tailor study conditions and study concepts to their requirements. On the other, students are seen as partners in the process of creation of teaching and learning quality, and are included in the process of quality assurance and improvement. Thus, the quality culture moves away from a consumer-oriented quality strategy to a cooperative one.

Being participative also means that the Göttingen quality approach recognises that quality arises on the spot through the commitment of each individual. So it is important to actively involve all teaching staff and all faculty, administration, and supporting institutions’ employees in the ongoing development of quality at the University. With this in mind, the University will also continue to develop its quality management system with a view to the system accreditation it aims to achieve.

Interlinked evaluation processes provide an opportunity for not only students but also teaching staff to contribute feedback on specific quality aspects to quality management. Subsequent processes of discussion and reflection on the data provided involve all those concerned. Discussions about quality serve not only to guarantee continually high standards of quality, but also to be an impetus for change and new developments.

The quality strategy in the area of Student and Academic Services at the University of Göttingen focuses strongly on the Student-Life-Cycle and is therefore structured to match the three phases: study orientation phase, studying and course of studies, and graduation. The central and decentralised structures provided in this area are focused on the Plan, Do, Check and Act quality control loop. Some of the structures and content described in this section are reviewed continually by the tools described in the next sub-section and where necessary adapted by the various actors.