Quality of programme portfolios

Results of systematic quality assurance work at the institution shall be included in the knowledge base for annual and periodic evaluation, and in the development of the overall programme portfolio.

Quality assurance work at the programme portfolio level shall highlight the quality of the overall programme portfolio, individual programmes of study, and potential systematic challenges across programmes of study. This work shall form the basis for the development and improvement of quality and reveal any instances of poor quality.

Periodic assessment of the programme portfolio

For each board period, the University shall conduct a strategic review of the entire programme portfolio, based on needs of the region, national guidelines and international trends. This review shall assess to what extent the programme of study contributes to solving social challenges, meets the strategic goals of HVL, and provide an overview of the quality of the programme of study and its economic sustainability.

The University Board shall adopt a model as a foundation for the assessments. The Vice-Rector for Education is responsible for conducting a periodic evaluation of the programme portfolio in accordance with process descriptions. This includes ensuring participation from the academic environment, as well as the community and work life.

Annual assessment of the quality of the programme portfolio

Throughout the academic year, faculty management has access to various forms of documentation and data:

• Documentation from the quality assurance system at the programme level, including
  - results from student and candidate surveys
  - periodic evaluations
  - minutes from the programme council
• Data from the Common Student System (FS) and the Norwegian Universities and Colleges Admission Service (Samordna opptak (SO)) (via Star/tableau)
• Indicators related to annual reports and plans at the institution and faculty level

Based on documentation from the quality assurance system, including minutes from the programme council, faculty management shall conduct a yearly assessment of the quality of programme portfolios and the quality assurance system work in the faculty, including:

• The need for measures for individual programmes of study at the institute or faculty level (incorporated into the plans at the relevant level at HVL).
• Proposals for changes to the programme portfolio for the following year (incorporated into the yearly case for the programme portfolio).

The quality assurance manual shows how this assessment is carried out at each faculty. The Rector will facilitate a meeting with the dean based on the assessments of the faculty.

HVL’s strategy and HVL’s annual reports and plans include management parameters that, along with the assessments from the faculties and national guidelines for the field of education, provide a basis for the evaluation of yearly assessments of the quality of the programme portfolio and the quality assurance system work for educational programmes at HVL.

The Education Committee manages reports and plans with relevance for the educational programmes. The University Board manages programme portfolios and planned admissions in late November, and annual reports and plans for HVL in mid-March each year. The Vice-Rector for Education is responsible for following up measures in the plan related to quality assurance system work for the educational programmes.

In mid-March, the dean determines the annual plan for the faculty based on international guidelines, faculty strategies, and the need for measures identified in the annual assessment of quality for the programme portfolio, and the quality assurance system work for educational programmes. The plan will state who will be responsible for following up measures in the plan related to quality assurance system work for the educational programmes.