Quality management

In accordance with Art. 10 (2) and (4) of the Bavarian Higher Education Act, universities are required to assure quality. For a few years, the Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS) has been developing its integrated and systematic quality management. In addition to quality assurance measures specific to faculties and degree programmes, the quality of teaching is assured by University-wide quality management measure.

Quality policy

Internal quality assurance

Internal quality assurance covers student surveys, university statistics and institutionalised exchange.
The internal evaluations focus mainly on faculty-internal course evaluations and cross-faculty, University-wide student surveys. THWS-internal statistics include resource, capacity and programme-related indicators and analyses of students' progress. The institutionalised exchange includes systematically implemented discussions of various THWS-members like the university management and administration, lecturers and students. These are implemented on a university, faculty and degree programme level. The Committee on Teaching Quality, chaired by the Vice President of Teaching, Learning and Continuing Education, ensures institutionalised exchange of the deans of studies of the ten faculties of THWS.

A multi-level evaluation of study quality is ensured by considering various sources of information, like surveys, key figures and systematically implemented conversations and by including different University-members. The quantitative data of the THWS-statistics and the standardised student surveys is complemented with detailed result discussion as part of the institutionalised exchange. The survey results and THWS-statistics are discussed and suggestions for improving teaching quality are drawn up.
The analysed results of the surveys and THWS-statistics, as well as the results and suggestions for improvement developed during the institutionalised exchange are included in the faculties' teaching reports and the self-evaluation reports of the degree programmes as part of accreditation procedures.

External quality assurance

External quality assurance is mainly based on accreditation procedures and cross-university surveys and rankings, conducted by external evaluation agencies in collaboration with the Executive Administration Unit for Quality and Project Management.
A Central Accreditation Unit was established at THWS to coordinate the accreditation procedures and thus the external quality assurance of the study programmes; this unit is managed by the Vice President of Teaching, Learning and Continuing Education. They collaborate closely with the legal unit. They also collaborate with the Committee on Teaching Quality as this committee discusses the current regulations for accreditation procedures and informs the deans of studies of current accreditation procedures on a regular basis.

Quality control loop

Process portal

The quality assurance system of THWS is complemented by the process portal within the area of competence of the Executive Administration Unit for Quality and Project Management, which is managed by the Vice President for Quality and University Development. Not only fundamental processes of study and teaching are represented in the process portal but also research and university management processes. The process portal increases transparency and provides an overview of processes relevant to THWS. It also serves as a means to improve and develop processes.

Survey and rankings

An essential part of quality assurance at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS) are University-wide and cross-university surveys and participation in national and international rankings.

The following surveys are conducted regularly:

• Survey on the commencement of studies WS 2020/21: The most important findings (in German)
  

The University participates in the following surveys and rankings:

• Bayerische Absolventen Studie (BAS) (in German)
  
  
• CHE Ranking
• The University participated in the CHE Ranking 2021/22 with the following faculties and study programmes:
• Results in the study degree programme Architecture (in German)
• Results in the study degree programme Civil Engineering (in German)
• Results in the study degree programme Electrical Engineering and Information Technology
• Results in the study degree programme in Plastics and Rubber Engineering (in German)
• Results in the study degree programme Mechanical Engineering (in German)
• Results in the study degree programme Mechatronics (in German)
• U-Multirank

Information on the results of THWS in U-Multirank 2021/22

Higher Education Teaching Certificate at BayZiel

The Bayerische Zentrum für innovative Lehre (BayZiel) aims to promote and develop innovative teaching as distinguishing feature of universities and to increase their visibility. The BayZiel is responsible for:

• didactic training of lecturers, especially regarding digital teaching,
• applied teaching and learning research including auditing,
• development of study format structures (e.g. dual / cooperative study programmes),
• further academic training,
• start-up support by teaching.

The BayZiel Didaktikzentrum is a strong partner of THWS and provides offers for lecturers to continuously improve university didactics. At the BayZiel Didaktikzentrum, lecturers can complete the Zertifikat Hochschullehre Bayern and the Zertifikat Hochschullehre Bayern Profistufe. The offers also include certificates for special topics such as Inklusive Hochschullehre (Inclusive higher education teaching) and Digital unterstützte Lehre (Digitally supported teaching).