Basic information about the system of quality assurance of educational, creative and related activities and internal quality evaluation of educational, creative and related activities 

Attention has been paid to quality assurance of educational, creative and related activities and internal evaluation of the quality of educational, creative and related activities at the University of Defence since its establishment in 2004. On the one hand, the University actively participated in all projects of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, the results of which were reflected in the definition of legal obligations in the field of quality assurance of educational, creative and related activities and internal quality evaluation of educational, creative and related activities, and on the other hand, the University itself has implemented partial quality evaluation of its activities and pilot comprehensive quality evaluation.

The requirement for quality assurance of educational, creative and related activities and internal quality evaluation of educational, creative and related activities is based on the definition of the mission of the University of Defence, and it is permanently reflected in the strategic documents of the University of Defence and their components, either as a general principle or as a specific target state for individual areas of activity of the University of Defence.

Legislative framework of the system of quality assurance of educational, creative and related activities and internal quality evaluation of educational, creative and related activities

Higher education institutions enshrine the obligation to establish a functional system of quality assurance of educational, creative and related activities and internal quality evaluation of educational, creative and related activities in Act No. 111/1998 Coll., on Higher Education Institutions and on Amendments and Additions to Certain Acts (the Higher Education Act), as amended, as well as in the related government regulation on standards for accreditation in higher education and the guidelines for quality assurance in the European higher education area.

The Higher Education Act and related government regulations define areas in terms of quality assurance and internal quality evaluation

• the area of educational activities – with emphasis on study programmes within the framework of accreditation of study programmes and areas of education within the framework of institutional accreditation, lifelong learning programmes, education in internationally recognised courses, admission to study and conditions of study, recognition of foreign education, support for students with disadvantages or specific needs,
• the area of creative activities – development of scientific, research, development and expert activities in relation to the educational activities of the University and interconnection with practice,
• the area of related activities – with emphasis on the social responsibility of
  the University, competence and development of employees, mobility of students and employees, material and technical support, library and information services, publishing and editorial activities, counselling services, dormitory and canteen services, and services for leisure activities of students and employees.

System of Quality Assurance for Educational, Creative and Related Activities and Internal Quality Evaluation of Educational, Creative and Related Activities at the University of Defence

The system of quality assurance and internal quality evaluation is defined in interrelated internal regulations, which are primarily the Statute of the University of Defence, the Quality Assurance and Internal Quality Evaluation System Rules at the University of Defence, the Accreditation Regulations for Accreditation of Study Programmes and for Institutional Accreditation of the University of Defence, and the Code of Procedure of the Internal Evaluation Board of the University of Defence, and in related measures of the Rector.

Quality assurance means the systematic care, maintenance and improvement of the quality of educational, creative and related activities. Internal quality evaluation is understood as verification of the degree of fulfilment of the mission and objectives of the University of Defence and compliance with the set standards.

The quality assurance system and internal quality evaluation include:

• setting out the competencies, powers and duties of the authorities of the University of Defence and its units in terms of quality assurance and internal quality evaluation, both at the level of the school, at the level of faculties and other units, at the level of other departments and also in relation to reference groups – students, graduates, academic staff and other employees of the University of Defence,
• setting out rules and procedures, including an evaluation system, for educational activities as a whole and specifically for the internal evaluation of study and lifelong learning programmes, for creative activities and for related activities,
• defining strategic documents with a link to the internal quality system, including framework parameters for their preparation, deadlines for processing, and publication of internal evaluation results.

The basic principles of the system of quality assurance and internal quality evaluation of higher education institutions defined by the Higher Education Act and related government regulations are implemented as follows:

• the subject of quality assurance and internal quality evaluation are both the areas of educational activities and the areas of creative activities and activities related to them,
• quality assurance and internal quality evaluation involve setting and evaluating relevant quality indicators and establishing, implementing and evaluating
  the effectiveness of measures to maintain and improve the quality of all activities,
• internal evaluation is based on verified relevant qualitative and quantitative data and consists of a critical assessment of the findings,
• the evaluated unit or other department always participates in the internal evaluation and comments on its results,
• it is the responsibility of the University of Defence, its units, and other departments to provide, in a timely manner, all complete and truthful data required for internal evaluation,
• internal evaluation relies on feedback from academic staff, students, alumni, and other relevant entities and individuals as appropriate,
• each internal evaluation includes a proposal for measures leading to further development of the evaluated entity for the purpose of improvement and deadlines for their implementation and, in case of identified discrepancies, a proposal for corrective and preventive measures,
• a subsequent internal evaluation or check may be carried out after the deadlines.

The role of the guarantor of the quality assurance system and internal quality evaluation is provided by the Internal Evaluation Board of the University of Defence, which is composed of academic staff, representatives of the Academic Senate of the University of Defence, students and prominent experts from the military and academic sphere. The Vice-Rector for Internal Management and Quality is the coordinator of the quality assurance and internal evaluation system.

 In the field of educational activities, internal quality evaluation includes, among other things, the assessment of the quality of study programmes and the quality of
the lifelong learning programme. The implementation of the internal quality evaluation of the study programme itself is a process in which the study programme is regularly evaluated by the study programme guarantor by means of quality indicators in the form of the preparation of the Partial Evaluation Report on the study programme, in which the relevant quality indicators are set in order to evaluate the fulfilment of the study programme standards.

The Partial Evaluation Report on the study programme includes the identification of strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and risks of the study programme and possible formulation of corrective or preventive measures and their subsequent referral to the dean of the faculty as part of the implementation of the quality assurance system and internal quality evaluation at the University of Defence. The Partial Evaluation Report on the study programme is prepared in the structure and within the deadlines set by the Internal Evaluation Board of the University of Defence for a period of one year. The study programme guarantor similarly prepares a Summary Report on the study programme, which describes the development of the monitored areas over a period of five years and subsequently summarises the implemented measures and carries out their evaluation.

The basis for the internal evaluation of the quality of the lifelong learning programme is the Partial Evaluation Report on the lifelong learning programme, which is prepared by the guarantor of the relevant programme. The report itself describes the evaluation of the defined quality indicators, the feedback received from the course participants, who comment on the organisational aspect of the course, the quality of the pedagogical process from the perspective of the participant and the expected benefit of the course for their future career.

The evaluation of quantitative results of quality indicators from the processed partial reports (Partial Evaluation Report on the study programme, Partial Evaluation Report on the lifelong learning programme) is prepared by the dean of the faculty in the form of the Interim Report on educational activities of the faculty, the structure of which consists of a list of quality indicators of the evaluated study programmes and lifelong learning programmes and a quantitative expression of their fulfilment in the form of a comparison of the actual value of the indicator with the defined standard.
The Interim Report on educational activities of the faculty prepared in this way also includes a description of the measures implemented in the evaluated year and an evaluation of the effectiveness of the measures implemented at the faculty in the previous evaluated period.

The internal evaluation of creative activities, as part of the internal quality evaluation, includes a comprehensive view of the implemented creative activities of the faculties and institutes, consisting of an assessment of the monitored quality indicators, which form the key content of the Interim Report on creative activities of the faculty (institute, centre) prepared by the dean of the faculty (director) for the evaluated period, which is one year. The report itself contains an evaluation of indicators of the quality of creative activity, providing information on, among other things, the strategic goal of creative activity, the fulfilment of the strategic plan in the field of creative activity of the faculty/institute, the interconnection of creative and educational activities, the evaluation of the quality of creative activity in the doctoral study programme, international cooperation in creative activity and the results achieved in the publication activities of academic staff. The Interim Report on creative activities also includes a definition of the strengths and weaknesses of the faculty’s creative activity, opportunities and risks, and a description of measures taken to improve the implementation and level of creative activity. The Interim Report on creative activities then forms the basis for the Summary Report on creative activities, which mainly describes the development of the monitored quality indicators and the evaluation of the implemented measures over a period of five years.

Internal evaluation of the quality of activities related to educational and creative activities, i.e. evaluation of the management and administration of the University,
the fulfilment of the third role of the University, the provision of marketing activities, the provision of external and supporting activities (e.g. the provision of personnel, financial and information resources, movable and immovable property, counselling services, publishing activities, catering and accommodation services) is carried out in the form of an Interim Report on the evaluation of related activities, which is prepared by a vice-rector assigned by the Rector in the form of a self-assessment report qualitatively describing the established standards. The report also includes possible recommendations formulated by the individual guarantors of the evaluated areas.
The evaluated areas are monitored subsequently over a period of five years, the evaluation of which then forms the content of the Summary Report on
the evaluation of related activities.

One of the principles of the system of quality assurance and internal evaluation leading to the improvement of the quality of the evaluated activities is the adoption of adequate measures in the areas identified from the results of the internal evaluation as not meeting the established requirements. The requirements for the evaluated areas are set in the form of a standard, which is defined for selected areas and subsequently evaluated quantitatively in the form of a quality indicator (e.g. quality indicators for educational activities, quality indicators for creative activities) or qualitatively in the form of evidence of the fulfilment of the relevant standard in the form of a so-called self-assessment report (e.g. indicators for related activities). For indicators for which the relevant standard is defined quantitatively, a so-called critical value is also defined. The evaluation itself consists of comparing the actual situation, i.e. the values achieved for individual quality indicators, with the relevant standard. In the event that the relevant standard is not achieved, the relevant author of the report (guarantor of the study programme, dean of the faculty, director of the institute/centre) is obliged to formulate a corrective measure that will lead to the fulfilment of the relevant standard. Assuming that the critical value of a given standard is not met, the Internal Evaluation Board makes recommendations to the dean of the faculty or the director of the institute/centre (depending on the activities evaluated) in the form of measures for improvement. If the result of the comparison of the actual value with the relevant value of the defined standard does not imply an obligation for the guarantor of the study programme, the dean of the faculty or the director of the institute/centre to formulate measures, they may take so-called preventive measures leading to the elimination of possible causes of potential discrepancies. All measures defined as one of the possible results of the internal quality evaluation are included in the partial or interim reports of the assessed activities.