QM successfully further developed through Verbund initiative

On December 2, 2016, the final workshop of the joint project "Quality Management of the Saxon Universities of Applied Sciences" (QM5), which was funded by the SMWK via the initiative budget, took place at the West Saxon University of Applied Sciences Zwickau. On this day, the project staff of the five Saxon universities of applied sciences (HAW) met to complete the last work package and prepare the final report. At the same time, the meeting of the Vice-Rectors for Education of the Saxon UASs took place at the same location. The vice-rectors - also acting as project managers - and the project staff came together at the end of the meeting and gave a positive summary of the project. What's more, they agreed to continue the network work informally from next year, even without the proven project funding.

The project participants looked back on just over two years of project duration, during which valuable contacts were made between the QM stakeholders of the participating universities, joint position papers were drawn up and experiences were exchanged on various topics (for example on teaching evaluation, IT-supported process documentation and complaints/improvement management). All of this is currently being incorporated into the preparation of the final project report.

At the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, a number of key processes from the areas of study and university administration were documented and published internally as part of the project. These include, for example, course management processes, recruitment and evaluation processes. Furthermore, the intranet was redesigned and the former administration handbook was replaced by the HIP (University Information Portal), which offers employees additional information and functionalities over and above the content of the administration handbook. During the course of the project, the content of QM documents and tools was also developed further and QM tasks were permanently anchored at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences in the form of the Quality Management Unit.

One of the main tasks of the Quality Management Unit in the coming years will be to prepare our university for system accreditation. System accreditation is an objective in the SMWK's draft target agreement for the period 2017 to 2020, which is due to be signed by the rectors in December 2016. Incidentally, our university is in good company: HTWK Leipzig and Hochschule Mittweida are also aiming for system accreditation; HTW Dresden is already undergoing the system accreditation procedure. Of course, the Quality Management Unit will continue to develop internal university processes and procedures together with those responsible for and involved in the process. After all, as Thomas Alva Edison once said: "If there is a way to do something better, find it."

Further information on the project can be found on the joint project page and on quality management at the HSZG here.