General information

Internal evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning aims to annually monitor how the curriculum is doing, whether the planned developments have been implemented and whether they best meet the needs of society and the learner. The new procedure for internal evaluation described in the Statutes of Curriculum has been in force since 2021 and allows

• the programme director to plan annual developments based on the data collected on the curriculum and to submit proposals for decision at the level of the unit or faculty;
• to link the processes of the internal evaluation of the curriculum and the analysis and consideration of the results of feedback on courses and curricula;
• to create opportunities for mutual learning;
• the programme council to annually review the results of the curriculum (in comparison with the averages of the faculty and the university) and the implementation of planned activities;
• to address cross-curricular and cross-unit issues at the level of the faculty or unit council and to use the proposals and decisions agreed in the councils as input for decisions on the use of the funding for development activities or the development fund;
• to make the use of the results of the course and curriculum feedback questionnaires and the planned improvement activities visible to students in the curriculum information;
• to use the knowledge gained in the promotion and marketing of the curriculum.

There are two types of internal evaluation reports:

• Interim report, i.e. an annual review of the indicators of the quality of teaching and learning with the help of the statistics dashboard. It includes a review of the course and curriculum feedback results.
• Main report, which is compiled every third year and adds a more strategic comparative element to the analysis of the interim report data, as well as feedback from stakeholders, with the aim of reviewing interim results and setting new targets.

The type of report to be completed in a given year can be seen in SIS2, where the correct report template is displayed on the programme director’s dashboard. The programme director fills in the report in SIS2, discusses it with the programme council, supplements and corrects the report according to the recommendations of the programme council and confirms the report by the end of the autumn semester (11 February) at the latest.

The data already collected will help compile the internal evaluation report. Statistical data (e.g. the number of admitted students, drop-outs and graduates, completion of studies within the standard period of study) as well as feedback from students (e.g. course feedback, curriculum feedback) and national surveys (e.g. alumni survey) can be used. Some of the data are displayed as figures in the draft internal evaluation report, but it is up to the report’s author to explain and assess them. If, for some reason, the figures selected for the report remain confusing or of little value for a particular curriculum, further information can be sought from the statistics dashboards curricula and course feedback. Links to both dashboards are available in the statistics section in SIS2.

The indicators that can be used to analyse the curriculum’s performance have been selected in cooperation with programme directors. When drawing up the report, it is important to examine these indicators in the context of your curriculum, and to define the boundaries and objectives to be pursued. Not all indicators are equally important or meaningful for all curricula, and the programme director can explain the importance of analysing them when preparing the report.

In the autumn semester, the draft internal evaluation report is available in SIS2 on the programme director’s dashboard in a “to be created” status and visible only to the programme director. To share the report with the programme council, the status of the report must be changed to “registered”. It can then be downloaded as a PDF file and shared with the members of the programme council. Once the programme council has discussed the report, the programme director makes the proposed changes in the report and confirms it by the end of the autumn semester (11 February) at the latest.

Once confirmed, the report will be visible to everyone logged in to SIS2. Students will be able to see how the feedback they have given on their courses and curriculum has been used, teaching staff will be able to see what development activities are planned for the next year or three years, and managers will be able to identify bottlenecks and plan actions to improve them.

One of the objectives of internal evaluation is to ensure that the results of the annual analysis of the curriculum are discussed, successes are noted, and solutions to problems are sought at different levels. Further activities following the confirmation of the report are planned as follows:

• February 2024 – review of the reports, discussion in the faculty’s academic affairs committee: key findings and development needs;
• March 2024 – presentation of results and development activities and discussion in the council of the unit managing the curriculum;
• April 2024 – discussion of development needs in the faculty council;
• April 2024 – discussion of results in the academic affairs committee, incl. feedback and suggestions for improvement;
• May 2024 – review and proposals in the senate.

Such a multi-level discussion aims to ensure that problems and suggestions are addressed in the right place.

If you have any concerns about compiling the report, you can ask for advice by calling 6269 or emailing ene.voolaid@ut.ee.