Quality management at Furtwangen University

As one of the leading universities in Germany, HFU is well-known for the high quality of its teaching. The practical and innovative academic Internal link opens in the same window:degrees and further education programmes we offer are of the highest quality, creating attractive study conditions for students and a supportive environment for teaching staff. In order to ensure the quality of study and teaching in the long term, and improve it further, HFU has implemented a wide-ranging quality management system which rests on four main pillars.

All members of Furtwangen University are committed to the continuous pursuit of the highest quality in everything we undertake. Together with our students, HFU has defined a vision of quality in order to define our strategic thrust and goals. In accordance with the statutory requirements of university law, these goals form the first pillar of the quality management system (QMS) at HFU.

HFU continuously improves its long-standing reputation as an innovative university with outstanding quality of education.

We design our teaching and learning so that students can achieve the planned learning outcomes set for each subject and each degree programme. This includes the promotion of soft skills and methodology. Thus students are also equipped for further development in their professonal fields. Our graduates reflect favourably on HFU:

• They support our regional economy and thus strengthen the region
• They are well-recognised and in demand outside the region
• They can work worldwide

All this is achieved in a welcoming teaching and learning environment which encourages open communication.

The second pillar of the Quality Management System at HFU, structural quality, is fundamental to all other areas of quality, as effective regulations and the necessary resources create security for those involved and in the results. At HFU we adopt the principle of subsidiarity: the lowest level at which each measure can be planned and implemented is responsible for quality. Linked to this is a "bottom up reporting" system and a "top down flow of information". This results in responsibility being taken and an agile system of quality control.

What is special at HFU: together with two partner universities, we plan to set up a Quality Advisory Board for each of the three universities.

The members of the committee will be external experts who will advise on the Quality Management System. The Quality Advisory Board will be set up upon approval from the Accreditation Council.

All university bodies are involved in this control system. Within the university, the Quality Management Board (QM Board) is of particular importance for the whole structure. This is a Internal link opens in the same window:Senate advisory committee which ensures that the HFU Quality Management System (QMS) functions according to the accreditation regulations of the StAkkrVO and further develops the QMS. The Quality Advisory Board of external experts, which will be set up from 2020, upon approval of the application by the Accreditation Council, will join the QM Board.

Process quality, the third pillar of the Quality Management System (QMS) at HFU, results from an exact but flexible definition of all HFU procedures. These are summarised in a process guide and many main- and sub-processes are modeled on the rules of modern process management. A special feature at Furtwangen university is the establishment of technical support systems which help in carrying out processes, e.g. External link opens in a new window:FINQUAS, the Furtwangen Information System for Quality Assurance.

Quality of results, the fourth pillar of the Quality Management System (QMS), represents the output of the whole system. High quality study and teaching results from a clear structure based on values and current university laws, which has efficient processes at all levels. At the same time, results from the evaluation of study and teaching affect the other QMS pillars – a process of continuous improvement.

The quality of a study programme is confirmed through accreditation. Basically either the individual study programmes are accredited (programme accreditation), or the quality assurance system of the whole university (system accreditation). HFU decided upon the latter.

Certified study programmes

With its system accreditation the university proved to the Accreditation Council that it has a highly developed and effective quality management system. With this, the university can itself develop and certify study programmes which meet the European and national requirements of the the Standing Conference of the State Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs in Germany, the German Rectors' Conference and the Accreditation Council. The University is itself responsible for regularly checking and developing the study programmes. At HFU this is carried out by means of a complex peer review procedure with internal and external specialists with which all study programmes are regularly certified.

Pioneer

Furtwangen University was one of the first in Germany to take these steps. In 2020 it went one step further becoming one of the first universities again to introduce an alternative accreditation procedure with an Advisory Board model. The Quality Advisory Board of external members advises the University on its QMS on an ongoing basis. This is the most advanced form of quality assurance system at European universities.

Furtwangen University is taking its accreditation system to the next level: HFU has applied for an alternative accreditation procedure together with the Hochschule der Medien Stuttgart (HdM) and Nuertingen-Geislingen University (HfWU). The key element is the establishment of a Quality Council at each of the participating universities. These Quality Councils will deliver external quality assurance and development impetus on a continual basis, working together to provide the highest possible quality of study programmes and teaching.