Management information – procedure for analysing key study data

Purpose

With a view to coordinating efforts, which, among other things, provides a valid basis for documenting and following up on quality assurance activities and for benchmarking against the Faculty’s own degree programmes as well as other degree programmes offered by the University of Copenhagen and other universities, the Faculty of Social Sciences engages in continuous follow-up on relevant study-related key figures.

An overview of the areas monitored is provided below, along with a list of the key figures collected and by whom, and finally who the data is presented to.

The standards can be seen at KUnet.

Basis for the procedure

The purpose of this procedure is to ensure, among other things, that we comply with the requirements set out in the following documents:

Collection and compilation of key study data

Data is collected once a year by University Education Services, which is part of the UCPH Central Administration (can be seen on KUnet). The data is supplemented by data collected by Educational services and by the degree programmes.

University Education Services collects key study data

Below is a summary of the key study data collated by University Education Services every year. The data is typically collated for the academic year (1 October - 30 September).

  • Intake
  • Student numbers
  • Dropout rate(s)
  • Number of degrees
  • Study progression
  • Completion time
  • Graduate (un)employment
  • Number of teaching hours on Bachelor’s and Master's degree programmes
  • Outbound exchange
  • Share of international students admitted to Master’s degree programmes
  • Academic staff coverage
  • Educational environment assessment (Study Environment Survey)
  • Dialogue with graduates (large-scale graduate survey)

Educational Services collects data on:

  • Study start
  • Student and career guidance
  • Educational skills development for permanent and new teaching staff and part-time academic staff – every three years
  • The Master's programme's research coverage and the students' contact with the knowledge base (The faculty uses full-time academic staff coverage as a method to achieve this).

The degree programmes regularly collect the following study data:

  • Reports by the chairs of the external examiners
  • Minutes of meetings of employer panels
  • Course evaluations, including pass rates for study activities
  • Status of degree programmes’ research base (research matrix)
  • Support for the degree programmes’ competence profile (competence matrix)

Communication of key figures

The responsible administrative staff member at the Faculty sends the data and relevant information to:

  • The dean’s office
  • The faculty director
  • The director of studies
  • The head of department
  • The head of studies
  • The department administrator

Councils and committees:

  • The faculty management team
  • The Heads of Studies Forum
  • The Administrators’ Forum
  • The Academic Council
  • The Student Dialogue Forum

The head of department is responsible for communicating relevant figures to the department’s employer panel(s).

The head of studies is responsible for communicating relevant figures to the study board.

The department administrator is responsible for communicating relevant data to the relevant administrative staff in his or her own secretariat – at the very least to programme-administrative staff.

The director of studies is responsible for communicating relevant data to the appropriate administrative staff in Educational Services.

Consideration of key figures and follow-up on critical key figures

The head of studies is responsible for the consideration of the key figures by the study board, and for following up on critical key figures for the degree programme in cooperation with the study board. The heads of studies must take account of the applicable standards in the programme reports and in the programme evaluations.

The head of department is responsible for ensuring that the relevant key figures are discussed by the departmental management team, by the department council and by the employer panel, and for supporting any new initiatives taken by the head of studies in cooperation with the study board as part of the follow-up on critical key figures.

The dean is responsible for ensuring that critical key figures are considered in connection with the annual visit by the faculty management to the various departments, by the faculty management and by the faculty management team. The dean is responsible for overseeing the departments’ initiatives and supporting the departments in their efforts to address any critical key figures. The dean must react if no initiatives are taken or if the desired changes are not achieved, and the departments are not capable of reversing an unfortunate development.

The dean is also responsible for heading up any cross-departmental initiatives – for example changes to all curricula or the development of new joint study-start procedures. The dean decides when cross-departmental initiatives are called for.

The dean is responsible for ensuring that quantifiable standards are set as per the Policy for Quality Assurance of Study Programmes at the University of Copenhagen, and for reviewing these standards as required.

The dean is responsible for this procedure, for ensuring that it is complied with and that it is revised as required. The Study Administration Services is the administrative support unit in relation to this work.

Relevant links

Key data for the Danish university sector as a whole is published annually by Universities Denmark. The data can be found here (in Danish).