Quality management
Quality management supports the implementation of our strategy. The objective of quality management is smooth and functional services, dissemination of good practices, management of problem areas and allocation of resources in accordance with the strategy.
Best quality is fluent everyday life
Our common goals are set in our strategy.
The achievement of the strategic goals is supported through operational coordination and procedures integrated in it. With these procedures, we aim to make quality management a natural part of our everyday operations.
Our entire higher education community, staff and students alike, participates in the quality work.
The quality of our basic tasks is developed according to the ESG, Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area. The aim is to improve operations and make the development work visible in all activities.
Our success is evaluated yearly with the Excellence Trail, which follows the EFQM model. Self-evaluations help us to evaluate the realization of activities, results and development targets in line with our strategy, and initiate the planning of the operations for the following year. Our quality system is audited on a regular basis by the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC).
Quality management’s European dimension
Turku UAS’ quality system meets the national criteria set for the quality management of higher education institutions, and corresponds to the European quality assurance principles and recommendations.
The European higher education area, formed together with the Bologna process, ensures the comparability and transparency of higher education degrees and qualifications throughout the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).
In order to enable the comparability of qualifications gained, it is important that the quality of the degrees is assured. The aim is to improve and secure the competitiveness of the European higher education (HEI). European higher education institutions are responsible for taking care of their quality management.
European Standards for Quality Assurance (ESG)
The key goal is to contribute to the common understanding of quality assurance for learning and teaching across borders and among all stakeholders.
The standards and guidelines created by the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) forms a set for both internal and external quality assurance procedures within EHEA.
The focus in internal quality assurance is to monitor and develop policies and practices related to learning and teaching, including the learning environment and relevant links to research and innovation in higher education, whereas external evaluation is a process carried out by another external party (agency or related) in relation to the HEI.
The ESG acts as a common frame of reference that guides both the HEI and external agencies in their efforts concerning quality management and its evaluation. The standard stresses official status of quality assurance in higher education institutions with emphasis on the importance of
- Policy for quality assurance
- Design and approval of programmes
- Student-centred learning, teaching and assessment
- Student admission, progression, recognition and certification
- Teaching staff
- Learning resources and student support
- Information management
- Public information
- On-going monitoring and periodic review of programmes
- Cyclical external quality assurance.
Standards and guidelines for quality assurance in the Europan Higher Education (ESG)
European Standards for Quality Assurance (ESG)
Turku University of Applied Sciences has been audited by the Finnish Evaluation Centre (FINEEC) and has been awarded a quality label in the year 2022, which is valid for 6 years. The quality system of Turku UAS fulfils the national criteria set for quality management of higher education institutions and the system corresponds the European quality assurance principles and recommendations of ESG.
Finnish legislation for HEI’s contains provisions obliging HEIs to participate in external evaluation of their activities and quality systems. The FINEEC’s evaluation is enhancement-led, which means to involve staff, students and stakeholders of the HEI in recognizing strengths, good practices and development areas in the HEI’s operations. The aim is also to support HEIs in achieving their own objectives, thus creating a premise for the continuous development of HEIs.
FINEEC is an independent evaluation agency, which is responsible for the evaluation of education in Finland.
FINEEC is listed in the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR).
In addition, it is a full member of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA).
Audited Quality System
Our guality system is audited on regular basis. The national audit group evaluated our system in 2022.
The Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC) awarded us with a quality label, valid for six years until 18 May 2028.
