The Quality Advisory Board of Furtwangen University met in early July on the Schwenningen campus and discussed, together with representatives from HFU, the further development of the quality management system as well as current priorities in quality assurance for academic programs and teaching. Back row, from left: Jörg Fischer (Strategic Quality Management), Alena Rolke (Advisor to the Vice President for Learning and Diversity), Prof. Dr. Hans-Georg Enkler (Vice President for Learning and Diversity) Third row, from left: Hanna Korn (Quality Management Office, HfWU; Coordination Office for the Alternative Procedure), Lena-Neumann Droll (Operational Quality Management), Lena-Maria Haas (Advisor to the Vice Rector for Learning and Diversity) Second row, from left: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Vossebein (Chair of the Quality Advisory Board), Prof. Dr. Felicitas Albers (Vice Chair of the Quality Advisory Board), Jochen Schweickhardt (Marquardt Group, representative of the professional community) Front, left: Mateo Backes (student at the University of Hannover, student body representative) Front, right: Prof. Dr. phil. Katja Makowsky (representative of the faculty) Absent: Dr. Sybille Jakubowicz (Board Member of the EVALAG Foundation)
Quality management at HFU
What exactly lies behind Furtwangen University’s (HFU) quality management system — and why does it play such an important role for students, faculty and staff? The Quality Advisory Board meeting in early July demonstrated once again that quality in academic programmes and teaching does not happen by chance. It is the result of clearly structured processes, regular reflection and independent external oversight.
Everyone at the university benefits from this: students can rely on high-quality degree programmes that are continuously refined; faculty members have a reliable framework for designing their courses; and the university ensures that its degree programmes meet both legal requirements and its own high quality standards.
An external perspective on the quality of HFU
HFU has implemented a system-based alternative accreditation process to ensure the quality of its academic programmes and teaching. As the Accreditation Council puts it, this means the university has gone “beyond the requirements of system accreditation” in terms of its quality assurance.
At the heart of this process is an independent Quality Advisory Board, whose composition meets the standards of an expert panel in system accreditation. It regularly and continuously reviews the effectiveness of the university’s internal quality management system in light of the requirements of the Model Statutory Ordinance (MRVO).
The Quality Advisory Board consists of faculty members from other universities outside Baden-Württemberg, a representative from the professional field, and a student representative. This independent external perspective ensures that HFU’s quality processes comply with legal requirements and are designed to be transparent, traceable and effective.
These following topics were in focus
The Quality Advisory Board does not merely examine individual metrics or reports. Rather, the focus is on whether the university’s quality processes are suitable for the sustainable development of academic programmes and teaching.
To this end, evaluation results, key performance indicators, decision-making processes and quality objectives, among other things, are analysed and assessed. This year’s meeting focused in particular on the results of the alumni surveys and the further development of the quality management system. Topics discussed included the new quality charter and the realignment of the QM Board as the central steering and advisory body for the quality of academic programmes and teaching.
The QM Board as the driving force behind quality development
The QM Board is the central body for quality control and quality monitoring in academic programmes and teaching at HFU. It was established by the Senate and advises both the Senate and the Executive Board on all matters of quality assurance and quality development with regard to academic programmes and teaching.
Its responsibilities extend far beyond mere compliance with formal requirements. The QM Board develops proposals for the further development of the quality management system, supports internal accreditation procedures, and advises on how to proceed in addressing requirements and recommendations resulting from reviews by the external Quality Advisory Board. In this way, it plays a key role in ensuring that quality development processes are coordinated across the entire university and consistently implemented.
Quality thrives on participation
Quality management is often associated with sets of rules, procedures, and documentation. In reality, however, it thrives above all on the active participation of all members of the university community. Evaluations, surveys, and the ongoing exchange between students, faculty, and staff form the foundation for continuously developing academic programs and adapting them to new requirements.
The work of the Quality Advisory Board and the QM Board ensures that this feedback is systematically evaluated, incorporated into decisions, and translated into concrete improvement measures. Quality management is not viewed as an end in itself, but rather as a tool for continuously improving academic programmes and teaching and for ensuring the high quality of academic programmes in the long term. In this way, it makes a significant contribution to ensuring that the HFU can continue to offer high-quality, future-oriented degree programmes that meet legal requirements.
The HFU Quality Advisory Board:
- The Quality Advisory Board as the implementing body for the system-based alternative procedure
- Two meetings per year of the independent Quality Advisory Board
- Composition: University faculty members as well as representatives from the professional field and the student body
- Review and development topics for 2026: Integration of the graduate survey into the HFU’s quality management system, new quality charter, and repositioning of the Quality Management Board
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Vossebein, Chair of the Quality Advisory Board
“Over the past four years, we have gained valuable insight into the HFU and the remarkable progress it has made since our first visit in 2022 — which is certainly one of the greatest advantages of the alternative system accreditation process. […] Our wide-ranging discussions with HFU’s various stakeholders demonstrate that the commitment to quality is becoming increasingly firmly established at HFU. The discussions with the members of the QM Board during the current meeting left us with the impression that a committee has now been established in the QM area whose members not only actively address quality-related issues but also communicate the results to the faculties, so that the desired improvements in the degree programmes and the academic structure can actually be implemented. In this way, the relevance as well as the practicality of quality in academic programmes and teaching are conveyed through key influencers to all levels of management as well as to the university staff.”