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QVM

Use of quality improvement funds at the faculty

Stepped stairs protrude from a gray wall. © Sergey Nivens​/​Shotshop.com

Since the winter semester 2011/2012, tuition fees have no longer been charged in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The money still collected from the winter was spent according to purposes already decided. As financial compensation, all universities receive the so-called "quality improvement funds" in roughly the same amount. The legal basis for this is the Study Quality Act and the Study Quality Ordinance. 

On 01.02.2012, the Quality Improvement Commission of the Faculty of Bio- and Chemical Engineering was elected and decides on its use. Student representatives have an absolute majority here.

Quality assurance at the Faculty of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering

In July 2011, the Faculty Council of the Faculty of Bio- and Chemical Engineering adopted a paper on quality assurance in teaching for the first time. It defined the goals, structures and measures for quality assurance in teaching and studies. Some points from the content:

  • Establishment of a quality improvement commission
  • Evaluation of compulsory practicals (also outside the faculty)
  • Compulsory exercise sizes of up to 60 students up to the 4th semester or supplementing larger exercises with tutorials
  • Project work for all first-year students
  • Ensuring the quality of exams (equal difficulty, sufficiently covered topics)
  • Opening of a learning centre with 50 places by the end of 2011
  • Criterion of teaching for new appointments can be checked by trial lectures and discussions with students.

Since 2013, the quality report, which is prepared every two years and adopted by the Faculty Council, has contained a status assessment as well as goals and measures of quality assurance of the faculty in studying and teaching. Details can be found under the corresponding years in the german section.