University of Innsbruck certified under the HS-QSG (Austrian Act on Quality Assurance in Higher Education)
right: Rector, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dr. Hc. c. mult. Tilman Märk,
left: AAQ Director Dr. Christoph Grolimund
Austrian universities are legally obliged to have their quality assurance systems inspected by means of a quality audit. The University of Innsbruck decided to have this QA procedure carried out by the Swiss Agency. It was the first quality audit in Austria for the OAQ, the predecessor of the AAQ. The certificate was presented on 10 December 2014.
The Swiss Agency of Accreditation and Quality Assurance (known as the OAQ until 2014) has also been active in Austria since 2014. With many years of expertise in quality audits in Switzerland, it made sense to conduct these procedures in the neighbouring country of Austria as well, where the new HS-QSG (Act on Quality Assurance in Higher Education) has just introduced audits.
The University of Innsbruck has drawn up a quality assurance strategy as a result of the reform of the higher-education sector in Austria for the period of the performance agreement 2013–15. All the governing bodies and other interest groups took part in a review of existing instruments of quality assurance, so that these could then be consolidated into a quality management system. A particularly striking expression of the quality culture is the commitment of everyone involved and the spirit of unity across every group associated with the university: the quality management system at the University of Innsbruck is supported throughout the university.
The present-day quality management system at the University of Innsbruck is designed to support further development at the university. Its self-evaluation report and general discussions clearly showed that the University of Innsbruck knows that it needs to refine its QM system and where there is still potential for optimization.
The group of experts appointed by the OAQ came to the conclusion that the University of Innsbruck provides evidence of the fact that it is mindful of its legal duty to assure the quality of its courses, teaching, and research and development in the arts, and that the quality management system is suitably designed to assist the University of Innsbruck in attaining its objectives.
Based on the recommendations of the group of experts, the Accreditation Committee of the OAQ awarded certification on 2 October 2014. The certificate was presented to the Rector, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dr. Hc. c. mult. Tilman Märk, on 10 December 2014 by Agency Director Dr. Christoph Grolimund during an official award ceremony.
Contact:
Christoph Grolimund
christoph.grolimund@aaq.ch
Katrin Meyer
katrin.meyer@aaq.ch
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