Programme Evaluation

Vision
Quality assurance can be defined as the planned and systematic activities put in place to ensure that quality requirements are fulfilled. In an educational context, this implies focus on quality of curriculum, teaching activities, assessment, individual teachers etc.
Quality assurance should be a cyclic process:
1. Measuring (measure educational quality)
2. Judging (collect and analyze data, compare with standards)
3. Improving (plans of improvement).

To lead to continuous improvement, three conditions are to be met: evaluation activities should be carried out in systematic manner. This implies that all related educational aspects and stakeholders are involved. Second, evaluation activities should be done in structural matter. That is, evaluations are carried out at regular intervals with proper frequency, and that standards are defined against which data can be compared and judged. Finally, an integrated system implies that responsibilities are clearly defined, and quality assurance is an integral part of the organizations’ work.

Mission
Programme evaluation supports the process of quality assurance by providing useful information to different stakeholders. The past years the expertise group programme evaluation has focused on developing a FHML approach in which a systematic and structural system of evaluations is established. Before, evaluation activities mainly focused on monitoring educational quality by the standard evaluation (basis evaluation questionnaire), we have been shifting towards more improvement-inspired evaluations. Besides structural evaluation (questionnaire), the expertise group is available for on-demand evaluations and training sessions to offer concrete directions and tools for coordinators and teachers.

Task

• Development of evaluation instruments (theory-based)
  Programme course, assessment, internship, module, curriculum lectures, practicals, training session
  Educational roles: tutor, mentor, CORE-teacher, counselor
• Evaluation of educational innovations
• Report
  Module coordinators, teachers, committees, etc.
• Training
  Training Educational Committee
  Training Student feedback
  Educational afternoon on Quality Culture
  Training on demand

Contact information
FHML Faculty Development secretariat (prof evaluation)
Telephone:
Email: 

Expertise group chair: J. Whittingham PhD
Email: j.whittingham@maastrichtuniversity.nl

Visiting address
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences
Department of Educational Development and Research
Universiteitssingel 60, room no. N
Maastricht

Postal address
Maastricht University
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences
Programme Evaluation Expertise Group
PO Box 616
6200 MD Maastricht

Literature
Dolmans, D.H., Wolfhagen, I.H A.P., & Scherpbier, A.J. (2003). From quality assurance to total quality management: how can quality assurance result in continuous improvement in health professions education? Education for Health (Abingdon, England), 16(2), 210-217.

Stalmeijer, R., Whittingham, J., de Grave, W., & Dolmans, D. (2016). Strengthening internal quality assurance processes: facilitating student evaluation committees to contribute. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 41(1), 53-66

Stalmeijer, R., Dolmans D., van Berkel, H.J. & Wolfhagen, I. (2010). Quality Assurance. In van Berkel, H.J. (Ed.). (2010). Lessons from problem-based learning. Oxford University Press, USA.