The University of Bern attaches great importance to the high quality of the courses it offers. To this aim, all courses are regularly evaluated with the help of standardised student feedback.
If you would like to have your course evaluated or find out more about evaluations at UniBE, you can find all the important information on the background, methods and procedures here.
Information on the current semester and registration options can be found under deadlines.
The updated conceptual framework for the implementation and use of course evaluations at UniBE was unanimously approved by the University Executive Board on January 30, 2024. The Executive Board of the University has thus declared its support for the continuity of quality assurance and development at course level.
The update, which took place in 2023 in collaboration with the faculties, concerns, among other things
1. linguistic and formal adjustments
2. clarification of responsibilities and certain processes
3. handling of results and data protection
4. more precise description of the control loops.
The conceptual framework defines the minimum requirements for course evaluation at UniBE and sets out the university-wide processes. The conceptual framework thus provides all employees entrusted with QAD tasks with a solid framework for their daily work.
Why do students participate in teaching evaluations? What factors prevent them from participating? How can they be better involved in quality assurance and development at the University of Bern?
The Quality Assurance and Development Department of the Vice-Rectorate Quality and Sustainable Development participated for the second time in the development of the University of Bern Student Union (SUB) Survey 2023 and designed the questions on the topic of quality assurance in teaching.
The partial report now available shows that students are very motivated to provide feedback. They see participation in evaluations as an opportunity to express constructive criticism to lecturers and the Quality Assurance units in order to initiate changes. In their opinion, they could be better involved in the Quality Assurance by making it clear to them that their feedback is taken into account at various levels and that consequences are drawn from it.
Please click on the news text to read further results (only in German).
The main SUB report is available on the SUB website: https://sub.unibe.ch/de/sub-umfrage-115.html
Based on experience with evaluations in recent years, the questionnaires for the interim and final evaluation of courses and the evaluation of performance assessments (examinations) were revised in collaboration with the faculties.
This revision process has now been completed.
The revised versions were approved at the QSE Committee meeting on 9 November 2022. They will be used from spring semester 2023 and will replace the current survey instruments.
The new questionnaires are formulated in a more comprehensible way, do not use university didactics jargon, contain more open questions and are generally shorter than the previous ones. The questions are formulated more broadly so that they are suitable for the evaluation of many course formats. The questionnaires also take into account the university's Good Teaching Model.
On March 9, 2022 the Commission for Quality Assurance and Development voted on the standardization of the method for centrally administered course evaluations (interim and final evaluations). It was decided that, affective immediately, these evaluations will be conducted online with general links. This standardization streamlines the entire course evaluation process and makes it less prone to error. Additionally, avoiding paper questionnaires saves the faculties' resources.
As of spring semester 22 the supplementary modules for online final evaluations are available:
- e-Learning
- Student contribution
- Team teaching
- Application orientation
- Interdisciplinarity
A maximum of 3 supplementary modules can be combined and added to the core questionnaire for final evaluations.
In collaboration with the iLUB video team, the Evaluation Office produced a short info video for students about course evaluation. In the video, we explain the different types of course evaluation used at the University of Bern, the purposes of each, and the role students play in the quality of teaching. In addition, instructors explain how they use the results of course evaluations. The video is available now in German (with French subtitles).
Since the spring semester of 2019 lecturers have been recognized for courses that have achieved excellent evaluation results.
The recognition closes the course evaluation loop and is intended to serve as an incentive for good teaching that motivates lecturers to further improve their own teaching. It also gives the Mittelbau in particular the opportunity to distinguish themselves in teaching and to present an official confirmation of positive performance in applications.