Quality work
The quality work at Luleå University of Technology affects everyone. Both employees and students contribute to ensuring and developing the quality of their part of the business, regardless of where you work. The quality work must identify and remedy shortcomings, disseminate good examples and stimulate improvements and new thinking.
Quality work
Quality work must be done systematically and include all parts of the business, both the core activities of education and research as well as the overall governance and management processes and business support processes.
The direction and conditions for the quality work are stated in the university´s quality policy and in the description of the university's quality management system. Fundamental to quality in the business is that we meet the requirements imposed on the university according to laws and regulations and European standards for quality assurance, ESG (Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area).
Assured quality is also a prerequisite for the university to achieve the goals of Vision 2030.
At the heart of ensuring systematic quality work is the quality cycle. The different parts - plan, implement, follow up and improve - are the very basis for the work of continuous improvement.
Systematic quality work involves:
- Identifying strengths and ensuring that they are preserved and developed.
- Identifying areas of development, following up and addressing these.
Quality work in education and research
The most important activities to ensure quality in education and research are the university's continuous evaluations of education at all levels and of research subjects. The responsibility for running and coordinating the processes lies with the faculty boards, while the responsibility for implementing quality improvement measures lies with the departments.
External reviews, such as the UKÄ's, also contribute to the university's quality development.
The quality work in education covers all education conducted at the university, i.e. education at first, second and third cycle level as well as commissioned education. The purpose of the quality work in education is to systematically work with continuous improvements and to ensure that the design, implementation and results of the programs meet both national and local requirements. The quality work also aims to ensure that the university meets the requirements and needs of students, doctoral students and other stakeholders.
Quality work in research covers all research conducted at the University. The quality work in research shall promote high quality research and ensure clear and strong links between the University's research and education programs. Quality work in research and quality work in education are linked to each other. The work is supported by a variety of activities aimed at contributing to quality assurance and development.
Read more in the guidelines below:
- Evaluation and development of education at undergraduate and graduate level Opens in new window.
- Evaluation and development of third-cycle studies Opens in new window.
- Research subjects Opens in new window.
Quality work within overall governance and management processes
The university's vision and strategy, together with operational planning, are the most important governance and management processes. The vision and strategy clarify the choices made to steer operations in the desired direction for the coming planning period. The business plans include activities that each business unit will carry out as part of achieving the goals of the vision. They also contain significant measures for quality development, for example as a result of the faculty boards' evaluations.
In order to ensure that the plans are implemented and the development goes in the desired direction, operational follow-ups are carried out twice a year and at the end of the year the entire operation is summarized with results in the annual report.
The quality of the actual processes for vision work and operational planning is also reviewed and continuously developed.
Quality work in operational support processes
A large part of the work of operational support takes place within processes, developed on the basis of a process-oriented approach where continuous improvement is central. Here too, as in other quality work, the quality cycle is central.
The Vice-Chancellor's quality report
As part of the university's quality assurance work, an annual report is prepared, the Vice-Chancellor's Quality Report.
The rector's quality report is an annual summary analysis of our work to ensure high quality in education and research. The report is the result of a collaboration between departments, committees, operational support, student unions and quality experts. It is an important tool to support our quality work and operational planning.
Quality management system
The University carries out continuous and systematic work to ensure and develop quality in all parts of its activities. The quality management system describes how the university should work systematically with quality and includes processes and activities for planning, implementing, following up and improving the work in different parts of the activities.
Quality policy
The university's quality work shall secure, develop and improve the activities both operationally and strategically. It is a systematic effort based on the university's quality management system.
Everyone involved in the university's activities, at all levels, is responsible for the quality of the activities and contributes to the quality culture that is a prerequisite for achieving the university's goals.
Supporting principles in Luleå University of Technology's quality work are that:
- rules, policies and guidelines are well documented, easily accessible and communicated to internal and external stakeholders,
- quality-driving processes for planning, implementation, follow-up and improvement are appropriate and easy to understand,
- employees, doctoral students and students have good conditions and are encouraged to participate in the continuous improvement work,
- There is a close link between education and research,
- gender equality is taken into account in all activities and in all collaborations conducted by the university,
- sustainability and social benefit are a natural part of the development work,
- collaboration with working life is well-functioning and contributes to the development of education and the preparedness of students and doctoral students to meet changes in working life.
Vice-Chancellor´s Quality Council
The vice-Chancellor´s quality council is a group established by the Vice-Chancellor with the task of coordinating, following up and developing the quality management system at the university. The council analyzes overall conditions at the university that contribute to securing and developing the quality of the university's activities and advises the Vice-Chancellor on issues related to university-wide quality work.
External review of quality
In external reviews by the Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ), the quality function strengthens the institutions' ability to deliver evaluations of the required quality through strategic and advisory work. The quality function also prepares decision cases for UKÄ. An important purpose of the reviews is to contribute to the higher education institutions' own quality development work. Responsibility for the quality work lies in all parts with the activities concerned.
The university's quality work receives a positive assessment from UKÄ
Luleå University of Technology's quality work receives a positive assessment from the Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ). The overall assessment is approved with reservations. This means that UKÄ assesses that the university's quality work is mainly well described, well argued for and well functioning in practice.
Description of the internal process for handling externally initiated evaluations
The process for handling externally initiated evaluations is mainly divided into three parts: the writing, improvement and decision-making process, which is described below. It starts with the evaluator, usually UKÄ, calling a start-up meeting and ends when we submit the requested documentation to the evaluator.
Contact
Clas Kröger
- Handläggare
- 0920-491328
- clas.kroger@ltu.se
- Clas Kröger
Cecilia Granberg
- Handläggare
- 0920-491067
- cecilia.granberg@ltu.se
- Cecilia Granberg
Updated:
Page author: Clas Kröger