Activities aiming at improving programmes of studies and ensuring quality education at the Faculty of Automatic Control, Robotics, and Electrical Engineering are included in its Education Quality Management System (Polish: WSZJK) implemented as part of the University’s Quality Education Provision System based on the PUT Senate’s Resolution no 45/2020-2024 dated 31 May 2021 on the University’s Quality Education Provision System and the PUT Rector’s Resolution no 21 dated 2 June 2021 on seeking opinions of students, doctoral students, and graduates on the process of education and observing classes taught. The basic tasks provided for in the WSZJK are the following:
- Continuous improvement of programmes of studies and didactic process,
- Making sure that such programmes are up-to-date and relevant to the needs of the labour market and external stakeholders,
- Ensuring quality didactic staff and conducting a transparent hiring policy (in line with the Personnel Policy at Poznan University of Technology, see the Rector’s Resolution no 66 dated November 20, 2020),
- Providing the right technical infrastructure to ensure that the didactic process is followed appropriately based on regular assessments and surveys,
- Pursuing a clear information and promotional policy,
- Making the didactic process international,
- Creating a quality education culture.
- The Faculty’s Education Quality Management System is based on the following procedures:
- P01) Monitoring careers of Faculty of Automatic Control, Robotics, and Electrical Engineering graduates,
- P02) Assessing the quality of education based on eAnkieta system data,
- P03) Assessing the quality of education at the Faculty based on yearly anonymous student surveys,
- P04) Assessing the quality of work at the Dean’s Office at the Faculty of Automatic Control, Robotics, and Electrical Engineering,
- P05) Conducting oral exams among students of the Faculty of Automatic Control, Robotics, and Electrical Engineering,
- P06) Conducting diploma exams,
- P07) Assessing programmes of studies and essential changes to such programmes by the Student Government Board,
- P08) Providing opinions on and submitting changes to programmes of studies by the Council of External Stakeholders,
- P09) Conducting field practice classes for students of the Faculty of Automatic Control, Robotics, and Electrical Engineering,
- P10) Resolving conflicts during first-cycle studies, second-cycle studies, and doctoral studies,
- P11) Reporting the need to introduce changes.
The Dean appoints and the Faculty’s Board approves members of the Faculty's Education Quality Committee (Polish: WKJK) headed by the Plenipotentiary to the Dean for the Quality and Education (Vice Dean for Scientific and Education Quality Assessment) for each term. The Board meets about twice a year to assess and identify essential actions e.g. to propose its draft regulations, conduct an early analysis of the Faculty’s surveys and discuss content produced during meetings of the University’s Committee for Educational Quality.
In order to reinforce the results of the WSZJK’s actions the Dean appointed the Council of External Stakeholders comprising representatives of a dozen or so companies, educational institutions and local governments in the region of Wielkopolska. It was created to enable efficient cooperation between the Faculty and enterprises and institutions. Its most important tasks include aligning programmes of studies to the needs of the social and economic environment and research activities to the needs of the local economy.
The internal Education Quality Management System monitors, analyses, and improves the education process regularly (on a yearly basis):
- It assesses the way in which programmes of studies are taught (classes and lectures are observed, students assess classes that they attend through the eAnkieta system, they complete their final survey at the end of the first-cycle and second-cycle studies on the quality of education received, they regularly assess their teachers and complete anonymous surveys on a Faculty level),
- It assesses and analyses programmes of studies (the extent to which the assumed learning outcomes are achieved, also as part of vocational internships, opinions and suggestions of teachers and the Student Government Board on education, opinions and suggestions from external stakeholders on the learning outcomes and teaching content, keeps track of graduates’ successes, assesses and analyses the Faculty’s technical infrastructure as part of the Faculty’s surveys, assesses the way in which the Dean’s Office functions),
- Proposes changes (makes requests to modify the assumed learning outcomes and other elements in the programmes of studies, in particular subjects and teaching content, requests concerning the quality of education, requests concerning the quality of didactic staff, conclusions concerning extension and supplementation of the existing technical infrastructure drawn from the reports of multi-stage student surveys at the level of institutes and published in an anonymised form at the Faculty’s page),
- Observing classes conducted by teachers, especially doctoral students and junior didactic and scientific staff and those teachers and classes that were assessed less favourably by students. Class observations are conducted by experienced teachers, including directors of institutes and heads of divisions).
The Plenipotentiary for Educational Quality submits the final results of the yearly survey process and a summary of survey results to the Dean. They are discussed at a Board meeting. They inform the Dean and the WKJK’s decisions to recognise those employees who receive the highest results and analyse the reasons why other Faculty staff members receive lower notes, to initiate changes to programmes of studies and/or teaching content. Individual survey results are submitted to Directors of Institutes. In addition, each employee can access the results of student surveys on the classes that they conduct.
The main didactic process organisation specialist regularly assesses whether programmes of studies comply with all applicable laws, particularly with the regulation on second-cycle studies characteristics for qualifications for Levels 6-8 in the Polish Qualification Framework and the regulation concerning studies. Assessment results are passed on to the Dean. Content taught as part of subjects is verified based on their descriptions in the ECTS cards by institute colleges and during meetings at a division level.
Additionally, teaching content across various subjects is verified as part of quality assessment. This is usually initiated by institutes responsible for each field of study. Each owner of a particular subject reviews and modifies its teaching content to align it with labour market needs, current scientific research subjects, and the latest trends in the discipline.
Quite a lot of attention is also paid to the availability of information on the educational offer of the Faculty on its web page, in the Facebook channel, and on the University’s page. The Faculty continues to analyse, develop, and enhance ways of informing about its didactic offer. Such information as well as information about education quality and level is designed for all interested parties, especially school leavers.