Establishing of a new study program
With the Stuttgart Evaluation Model, the University of Stuttgart has an accredited system for reviewing the quality and further development of study programs. The Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts (MWK) has set up a simplified procedure for the establishment of study programs at system-accredited universities, in which the accreditation of individual study programs is no longer necessary.
The establishment of a new study program requires a lead time of around 1.5 years. The process involves the dean of the lead faculty submitting a preliminary request to the Rectorate for the establishment of a study program. Chapters A1 - B2 of the study program report must be submitted together with the request. Based on this document, the Rectorate can assess the alignment of the planned study program with the overall offerings at the University of Stuttgart and its strategic goals.
Once the inquiry phase has been completed, the application for the establishment of a study program is submitted via the university committees. The application must be discussed by the Senate Committee on Teaching and Continuing Education, among others, and approved by the Senate before it can be submitted to the Ministry of Science, Research and Arts.
Further information can be found in the handout “Establishing a New Study Program” (in German).
Chapters A1 - B2 of the study program report are a central document for establishing a study program at the University of Stuttgart. Other documents that must be created as part of the set-up process are the examination regulations, module handbook, macrostructure and, if applicable, admission statutes.
The Quality Development Unit (QE) will provide you with a template for preparing the study program report.
Study program report
The study program report is the central document for the internal quality assurance and development of a study program and is part of the system accreditation. It serves as a continuously updated self-report for university-wide program reviews and is also utilized for expert assessments.
Chapters A1 to B2 must be submitted to the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts (MWK) to request the establishment or extension of a study program. The respective dean of studies and the responsible committee on student affairs and teaching are responsible for preparing and updating the study program report.
Part A (study program concept) presents conceptual considerations of the study program based on key questions. Additionally, all published documents related to the study program (e.g., module handbooks, examination regulations) are linked to the study program report. This allows for an assessment of the structural guidelines for study programs and the accreditation criteria.
In Part B, the implementation of the study program is presented and reviewed with the help of course statistics, assessments of the achievement of objectives at module level and information from regular student and graduate surveys. This ensures that the results of the university's internal quality management, including evaluations (such as studies on student workload, academic success, and graduate retention), are systematically considered in the ongoing development of the study program. Part B also contains information on organization and equipment, advice and support, and internationalization.
Part C serves to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the study program based on the analysis of the document and database in the study program report. Part C also includes the formulation of targets and measures for further development.
Each new study program must prepare a study program profile that corresponds to chapters A1 to B2 of the study program report. The report must be regularly updated, with particular attention to Part B (statistical data and evaluation) and Part C (strengths, weaknesses, objectives, and measures).
The statistics and survey results shown in the study program report are each provided with a comment field in which the Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies (with the participation of the committee on student affairs and teaching) comments on the data. Following an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the available data and documents, the responsible committee on student affairs and teaching determines specific improvement measures.
The updated program reports are submitted to the Quality Development Unit, which provides feedback to the program directors after a formal organizational review.
Various handouts and supportive advice from the Quality Development Unit are available for the preparation of study program reports and the interpretation of data. The Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies presents the updated report to the committee on student affairs and teaching and moderates the joint analysis of strengths and weaknesses for Part C.
The committee on student affairs and teaching evaluates the status of the implementation of measures and identifies potential for further development. The Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies summarizes the proposed development goals and measures, documents them in Part C of the study program report, and forwards the report to the respective Faculty Board for review. When a report is reviewed in the next cycle of the quality control loop, the Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies summarizes the implementation of the previous report's development goals, along with updated data and results, in consultation with the committee on student affairs and teaching.
As a rule, the faculty's internal quality control loop is supplemented every eight years by the study program review, which also includes an expert assessment.
Quality management meeting
The quality management meeting (QM meeting) takes place before the study program report is updated and is intended to support those responsible for the program in interpreting and discussing the data provided by the Quality Development Unit (QE) and the Reporting Unit. Survey results and university statistics are analyzed and discussed during the meeting.
It also looks at what developments have taken place since the last review and what further developments, if any, are planned before the next review process. In addition, the QM discussion is intended to promote a direct exchange between the QE staff unit and those responsible for the study programs and provide a forum for an open exchange, questions (e.g. on the Stuttgart Evaluation Model), criticism and suggestions.
The Stuttgart Evaluation Model provides for a QM meeting to be held between the individual review dates, i.e. usually around four years after completion of the study program review or four years before the next study program review.
In addition to the Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies, the program manager and a student representative from each study program are required to attend. The Quality Development Unit (QE) coordinates the appointments with the participants, while the program directors nominate the student representatives.
To structure the meeting, study program coordinators are asked to complete a list of key questions on current developments in the program beforehand. The QE employees then prepare everything else.
For consecutive courses, a two-hour appointment is usually scheduled, for individual study programs it is usually 1.5 hours.
Study program review
The study program review supplements the faculty's internal quality development of study programs with an expert review every eight years. The study program report is the central information basis for the review. It contains the study commission's analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the study program as well as the goals and measures for further development derived from this analysis.
The study program review involves two assessments: First, an expert reviewer evaluates the academic quality and content of the study program (subject review). Second, the Quality Development Unit assesses the consistent application of the Stuttgart Evaluation Model and the program's formal characteristics (formal-organizational review). The Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies provides commentary on the expert review.
The Quality Development Unit summarizes the results of the study program review (formal-organizational review of the study program report, expert review and statement by the Dean) on a record sheet (“Criteria for the Classification of Study Programs”) and forwards this and the current study program report, the analysis catalogs and the expert review to the Vice Rector for Teaching and Continuing Education.
A review committee is then formed to assess the status of the study program on the basis of the documents mentioned. Finally, recommendations or conditions are recorded in a written feedback letter. If the Review Committee classifies a study program as problematic, follow-up measures are initiated by the Rectorate.
Detailed information on this procedure can be found in the process description (in German).
Chaired by the Vice Rector for Teaching and Continuing Education, the committee includes two representatives from the professors, one representative from the academic staff, one student from the respective study program, and one student representative from the Student Council of the University of Stuttgart (stuvus). Those responsible for the study program (usually the Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies and the program manager) of the respective study program are invited to the discussion.