The head of the faculty is the Faculty Board, which is responsible for the general management of the faculty. It also oversees the management and organisation of the faculty in terms of education and research. The board is a collective body and therefore collectively responsible for its actions and decisions. However, it makes use of a division of duties amongst its members or a delegation of duties. Examples are the allocation of tasks based on the portfolios of Education, Research and Operations, and assigning the programme director the roles of programme management, organisation and implementation. The Vice-Dean is the portfolio holder and the first point of contact for (quality of) education in the faculty. When it comes to education within the programmes, the Faculty Board plays a limited but important role in assuring the quality of assessment. The requirements and expectations are explained below.
Requirements for Faculty Boards
1. Establish the EER for their programmes and monitor the execution of the EER
Every programme has an Education and Examination Regulation (EER). The EER is established by the Faculty Board (Art. 9.15 WHW) and must contain clear and adequate information about the programme (Art. 7.13 WHW). The Executive Board can give guidelines to the Faculty Boards concerning organisation and coordination, to ensure the quality of education and the feasibility of education (Art. 9.5 WHW). With the Guideline and Model BSc EER, guidelines are given to faculties, and a model is provided: both in one document, which is considered the institutional part.
When guidelines are established, the Faculty Board must adopt the guidelines one-to-one in the EER. The Executive Board can check whether the Faculty Board has transposed the guidelines correctly. However, much of the process is arranged at the programme level. In various instances, the institutional part of the EER therefore refers to the programme-specific part. This programme-specific part is proposed by the programme director. Both parts together comprise the EER of the programme, formally part of the Student Charter.
The Guideline and Model is provided for bachelor's programmes. For master's programmes, no guideline or model is provided. Nevertheless, parts of the Guideline and Model EER can also be used for master's programmes, and faculties could draw up a model EER at the faculty level.
In addition to establishing the EER, the Faculty Board has the responsibility to regularly assess the EER, to supervise its execution, as well as to report in this regard to the Executive Board regularly. The Faculty Council and the Programme Committee have the right to advise or give consent, depending on the topic in the EER. In addition, the Programme Committee can annually assess the manner in which the education and examination regulations are executed.
More about the role of the Programme in this regard can be found here.
2. Ensure professional development of people involved in education
Teachers and examiners have a very important role in education. Based on the "Portfolio allocation model for faculty boards" the Faculty Board has a responsibility for "Integrated talent and team development of the faculty and specific chair policy and academic career policy". The portfolio holder for education is responsible for "Talent and team development in the field of Education". Additionally, the Code of Ethics (sections 3.1.4 and 3.3.2) emphasizes that continuous professionalization of staff is crucial. A wide range of support and facilities are offered at institutional level to encourage continuous professional development. The Faculty Board has a key role. To ensure good quality assessment, the Faculty Board can stimulate and organize (additional) activities, based on specific needs or wishes.
A lecturer is hierarchically assigned to a department and has a line manager. The line manager is accountable to the Faculty Board. The model for faculty regulations mentions that the Programme Director supervises the teaching of the subjects and the programme components. Programme Directors benefit from lecturers who fulfil their role in the field of education and specifically assessment in a high-quality manner and can play a stimulating role in this respect. Nevertheless, the institutional structures imply that the Faculty Board has the ultimate responsibility regarding stimulating and monitoring teachers' participation in professionalization programmes in the field of education and assessment.
As student populations, technologies, and education practices change continuously, education and tools should be innovative and up to date. This means that teachers and examiners also need to constantly update their knowledge and skills. The Faculty Board should therefore:
- stimulate and facilitate all teachers and examiners in the faculty having appropriate and demonstrable educational qualifications (at least UTQ or comparable).
- stimulate all teachers and examiners to continuously work on further professionalization in education and assessment (e.g., SUTQ, SUEQ) by ensuring they have time to do this and know what options are available.
Options for further professionalisation
Various opportunities exist to stimulate and foster the assessment competency of teachers and examiners and others involved in assessment:
- UTQ trajectory
All teaching staff of the University of Twente need to acquire this certificate within three years follwing the start of their employment. A UTQ qualification is nationally acknowledged. - Basis Kwalificatie Examinering (BKE) certificate
Partial certificate for UTQ Competence 3 Assessment which can be seen as a BKE certificate. This certificate can be seen as a stand-alone certification. The certificate can also be deployed for examiners who do not have to meet the UTQ-requirements. - Faculties or programmes can offer specific workshops
In the field of assessment or promoting professional learning communities related to assessment themes. Occasions can be organized in which teachers' knowledge and experience can be shared. Educational faculty advisors from CELT can assist. - CELT or TELT
UT-wide workshops or meetings around assessment topics can be organised by TELT or CELT. For instance during the UT Education days in June. - UT: Testing & Assessment
Self-study options for teachers e.g, the CELT toolbox. A Canvas Assessment Know-How site with self-enrolment. An informative website for Examination Board members. - Senior University Examination Trajectory
Staff members who are involved in assuring or safeguarding assessment quality at programme level, can take part in the Senior University Examination Trajectory. - Senior University Teaching Qualification trajectory
Staff members who take part in a Senior University Teaching Qualification Trajectory or work on an education project based on for instance WSV-grants, can decide to choose a theme related to assessment. - Training for teaching assistants
CELT offers options for the training of teaching assistants. This training is offered generally - tailormade when needed - especially within the faculties. - Employees from CELT, seconded at the faculty
Teachers and other staff can be supported or coached by employees from CELT seconded at the faculty.
3. Ensure the independent and expert functioning of Examination Boards
The Faculty Board ensures that an Examination Board can function independently and expertly (Art 7.12a 2 WHW). 'Independent' means that the Examination Board is not subject to instructions regarding its role and that the Examination Board are able to make their own decisions (all within the legal frameworks of the EER and their own rules and regulations). 'Expertly' means that the Examination Board can fulfil their tasks with the correct knowledge and support. To make sure that Examination Boards can function independently and expertly, attention should be paid to at least the following:
- Appoint qualified members
- Take action when problems arise
- Ensure sufficient support for Examination Boards
Appoint qualified members
The members of the Examination Board are appointed by the Faculty Board on the basis of their expertise in the area of the particular programme or group of programmes (Art 7.12a 1, 3 WHW).
When appointing member, it is required that:
- at least one member is a programme lecturer, or a lecturer for a programme which is part of the programme or group of programmes,
- at least one member must not be connected to this (part of the) programme or group of programmes,
- people with a management or financial responsibility in the programme are not appointed as member of the Examination Board,
and based on UT policy:
- all members have the UTQ, BKE or similar qualification,
- preferably at least one member of the Examination Board has a Senior University Examination Qualification (Dutch: Senior Kwalificatie Examinering), ideally the chair or secretary.
The members of the relevant Examination Board must be heard before a member is appointed. The recommendation is to inform the new member in writing of their appointment, including the term for which the appointment is valid (three years) and how often they can be reappointed (once). See model faculty regulations.
Take action when problems arise
When the Examination Board experiences problems e.g. concerning cooperation with the programme director or difficulties with their own members, the Faculty Board should take appropriate action.
Ensure sufficient support for Examination Boards
To support their independent and expert functioning, the Faculty Board should enable appropriate facilities in this regard, such as:
- supplying sufficient secretarial support and/or a registrar; the kind and amount of support should be discussed and agreed upon with the Examination Board;
- supplying sufficient (financial) resources, e.g, for meeting rooms, training, (external, legal) advice;
- giving chairs and members sufficient compensation for their work. UT-policy is that chairs get at least 4 hours per week and members at least 2 hrs per week. For very large or complex programmes, the complexity and amount of work of the Examination Board will increase, so it makes sense to also increase the allotted hours. The departments of the members should get compensation for these hours;
- stimulating and supplying further professionalization to members (e.g, CELT offers such as the SUEQ trajectory, workshops for Examination Board members, the UTQ trajectory, UEQ course (part of the UTQ), or external offers
(for CELT offers, see Overview | Educational professional development | Learning & Teaching Portal or Coursefinder); - discussing the functioning of the board with the chair once a year.
4. Ensure archiving assessments and results
Assessments and results should be archived in a secure location according to the applicable legal rules and the regulations as stated in the EER and the UT policy regarding archiving, This applies among others to (results of) tests and examinations, but also to theses.
For example, for theses the retention period is at least seven years. In addition, theses should be uploaded to the UT repository in order to be publicly accessible. Only theses for which a NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) was signed are exempted from inclusion in the UT repository. The Faculty Board ensures sufficient means and procedures for archiving.
Please make sure you have appropriate protocols and procedures for archiving all assessment results and theses in your faculty and inform all examiners about these protocols and procedures.
Additional Recommendation
Discuss the annual report of the Examination Board
The Examination Board draws up an annual report of its activities. The Examination Board provides the report to the Dean. Discussion of this annual report is recommended to review whether additional measures are necessary to ensure that the Examination Board can continue to function independently and expertly. Having this regular discussion is beneficial for all involved, as in every re-accreditation the Examination Board will be interviewed about their functioning.
To maintain clarity on who is responsible for what and to whom what is entrusted, it is essential to carefully document any deviations from the standing procedures or rules, for example, when using mandates.
- See all available levels
- Level 1: Institution – Executive Board
- Level 2: Faculty – Faculty Board (current page)
- Level 3: Programme – Programme Director
- Level 4: Course – Examiner
- Level 5: Examination Board