The faculty works systematically on identifying strengths and weaknesses in its quality assurance work and on solving challenges, implementing development measures and following up on the results of quality assurance work. This work is coordinated by the research programmes board.

Documentation including self-evaluations and key performance indicators underpin the evaluations, whose results are discussed in the context of the organisational dialogues. After the dialogues, the results provide the basis for the departments’ development plans and the faculty’s planning of specific development projects.

The development work is followed up annually and reported to the faculty board and the vice-chancellor in the quality dialogue.

Ongoing follow-up

Follow-up of the results from the organisational dialogues

• Quality assurance work concerning governance and organisation (organisational dialogue 2019)
• Quality assurance work concerning equal opportunities, sustainable development and the doctoral student perspective (organisational dialogue 2020)
• Currently underway: quality assurance work concerning the conditions for education (organisational dialogue 2021)

Follow-up of individual study plans

The faculty’s third cycle education is individually planned, and the approval and follow-up of the individual study plans is therefore of central importance for quality assurance and quality enhancement.

Expertise in planning, follow-up and goal achievement is ensured through the appointment of a departmental representative for each doctoral student’s study programme. The departmental representatives’ assignments are coordinated by the directors of studies. The directors of studies report the results of the work in relevant organisational dialogues, preferably the dialogues regarding the assessment area of “Design, implementation and results” and the organisational dialogues concerning subject-specific evaluations.

An overview of the faculty’s management of the work on individual study plans is underway with reporting planned for December 2021.

Follow-up of results from the course evaluations

During 2021 an overview is being conducted on how the faculty works with the establishment, discontinuation and evaluation of third cycle courses. Reporting on the results is planned for December 2021. Until then, the results of the course evaluations at the departmental and faculty levels are reported when they are relevant to the organisational dialogues.

One source of criticism which often emerges in connection with the evaluations of faculty-wide courses is that of shortcomings in the information about course session dates and application periods for doctoral students. In general, however, doctoral students have given all faculty-wide courses a positive assessment. To solve problems concerning the provision of correct information about course session dates and application periods for faculty-wide third cycle courses, the faculty has created a programme interface in the learning platform Canvas.

Follow-up of the faculty’s graduate schools and life science course package

The quality of the faculty’s graduate schools and its life science course package is regularly followed up. The coordinators for the graduate schools submit a written report of their activities to the research programmes board on 15 February every year. The activities are usually also reported orally in one of the board’s meetings with directors of studies.

Follow-up of results of examining committee surveys

An ongoing survey of external reviewers and examining committee members has been introduced as of 2021. The main aim is to evaluate achievement of degree outcomes, the research quality of doctoral theses and their links to research. A specific survey tool has been developed for this purpose.

The results are followed up once there is sufficient material for analysis while guaranteeing anonymity. Among other things, the results of the surveys will constitute the basis for the evaluation of the assessment area “Design, implementation and results” (in 2023), as well as subject-specific evaluations.

Specific development projects

• New rules concerning extension justified by elected office (status: completed)
• Compulsory course on research ethics (status: completed)
• Management rules and instructions for the public defence of doctoral theses (status: completed)
• Management rules for the establishment and discontinuation of third cycle programmes and courses (status: completed)
• Reorganisation of associate professors’ training course (status: completed)
• New system for the public defence of doctoral theses (status: completed)
• Examining committee survey (status: completed)
• Interface in the learning platform Canvas for the faculty’s third cycle programmes and courses (implementation in 2020–2021, stage 2 completed)
• Communication of quality assurance work (implementation 2020–2021, stage 1 completed)
• Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ) evaluation of analytical, physical and organic chemistry (implementation 2020–2021, self-evaluation completed)
• Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ) review of the higher education institution (implementation 2020–2021, self-evaluation completed)
• Revision of general syllabi (implementation 2020–2023, stage 1 completed)
• Project “Career after public defence of a doctoral thesis at the Faculty of Science – is it discussed and does the goal of third cycle studies change during the time as a doctoral student?” (implementation 2020-2021)
• Faculty supervisor training courses (implementation 2021)
• Better work and study environment during and after the Covid-19 pandemic – a common project for first, second and third cycle education. The Science Students’ Union LUNA and the Doctoral Science Students’ Council NDR are also taking part in the project (implementation 2021)
• Evaluation of graduate schools (implementation 2021)
• Review of the management of individual study plans (implementation 2021)
• Implementation of new rules concerning course evaluations and course evaluation reports (in 2021)
• Management rules for course syllabi (implementation 2021)
• Interface in the learning platform Canvas for the faculty’s research studies administrators (implementation 2021–2022)
• Policy for joint and shared degrees (implementation 2021–2022)
• Workshop/course to introduce doctoral students to sustainable development and the global goals in Agenda 2030 (more information to follow)
• Procedures for managing agreements in third cycle studies (implementation 2022)
• Professional development of departmental representatives (implementation 2022–2023)
• Charting of the processes in third cycle education – from admission to degree certificate (implementation 2022–2023)
• Examination/assessment in third cycle education (implementation 2023)
• Subject evaluations for all third cycle study programmes (implementation 2024)
• New plan for quality assurance and quality enhancement of third cycle education 2025–2030 (implementation 2024)

More information

Employees have access to policy documents and reports on the faculty’s SharePoint page. Most documents are in Swedish. Contact Aleksandra Popovic if you would like access to the documents but do not have authorisation, or if you would like more information about the content in the documents that are in Swedish.

Read the documents (most documents are in Swedish) on the faculty’s SharePoint page

Contact information for Aleksandra Popovic – staff.lu.se