Internal quality assurance

F17: Evaluation of results

The degree course is subject to a periodic review, which is partly based on verifiable targets.

Description:

The MSc programmes have an extensive quality control system to ensure the quality of the programmes. The internal quality control system consists basically of three cycles:

• The “block cycle” (- months) in which the courses taught within the blocks are reviewed; • The “year cycle” in which the coherence of the programme in relation to the programme’s

objectives is reviewed;

• The “5-year cycle” in which the overall programme, its foundations, objectives and final qualifications are reviewed.

The courses in the MSc programmes are observed and reviewed through monitoring the course in general and the quality of the teaching by the instructor. Students complete a questionnaire (where each item is scored on a 5-point scale) consisting of the questions relating to the quality of the course itself and the quality of teaching for each course. Course evaluations are done via the programme website. Before being able to see their final grades (which are also posted on the website) students are required to complete the evaluation forms. This procedure ensures a close to 100% return rate of the evaluation questionnaires.

In addition to the quantitative items, students are also asked to add personal comments. The evaluations are collected by Programme Management. The student feedback is sent to the instructor of the course, the Programme Director, the cluster Director who is responsible for the instructor, the Associate Dean and the Dean/Rector.

Another mechanism used to obtain information for this cycle is the student feedback from the class representatives. Since the Students' Representative Board (SRB) and GPV (the Students' Representative Board for PTMSc) have close contacts with students, teachers and Programme Management, it contributes to the improvement of the communication between these parties and gives everybody involved insight into the activities and concerns of the other parties. The weekly meeting of the SRB and Programme Management and the two-monthly meeting of GPV and Programme Management involve the SRB/GPV in the composition of the curricu- lum, the quality of the courses taught in the programme, and the monitoring, improvement and maintenance of the quality of the MSc. In addition, the members of the SRB/GPV are in close contact with the faculty members to represent the concerns of the students directly during the course.

The SRB also publishes an evaluation during the delivery of the course, usually half-way through. If they deem action to be necessary, these midterm evaluations are discussed and actions taken to control the situation.

The course evaluations are an important input for the annual evaluations of the instructors by the management of Nyenrode. If problems concerning the teaching qualities of the instructors prove to be consistent, then the cluster director is invited to course evaluations and will be asked to take immediate measures to improve the quality of the teaching (through coaching, training or replacement).

In the annual programme monitoring and evaluation cycle, the programme is assessed on the following criteria:

• Internal coherence of the programme: are courses still relevant, is the sequence of courses still aligned with the programme’s final qualifications?;

• The degree of alignment between the programme and its objectives and mission.

Every year, the Programme Director and Programme Management propose a new curriculum to the Curriculum Committee (CuCo). The proposal is mainly based on the course evalua- tions and in-depth discussions with faculty, SRB and GPV.

50 QANU / MSc in Management, Nyenrode Business University

The year is also evaluated with the student representatives. They usually have an end-of-year meeting with the Programme Manager, Programme Director and/or Associate Dean.

Prior to proposing a new curriculum, remarks and evaluations concerning the overall quality of the programme and curriculum are discussed by the programme staff (Associate Dean, Pro- gramme Director and Programme Management). The proposed curriculum is first discussed and eventually approved by the CuCo.

Five-year cycle evaluation of the programme

The complete programme is evaluated every five years and, where necessary, restructured. An important input for this cycle is an assessment of the programme by external parties (such as EFMD, AMBA, NVAO). In preparation for this, Programme Management staff draws up a self-evaluation which is reviewed by a board of experts. The outcomes of this review also form an important input for this cycle evaluation.

Important questions used to assess the quality of the programme include:

• Is the programme still following Nyenrode’s mission, objectives and programme phi- losophy?

• Are the programme’s objectives, final qualifications and orientation still adequate? • Is the programme capable of achieving its defined objectives, qualifications and orientation? • Does the programme have the best structure and content for it to achieve its objectives,

qualifications and orientation?

• Does the programme have a proper quality system to monitor and manage the program- me’s processes?

Besides the results of the review, experience and information from the other two quality cycles are used to answer the questions given above. The answers lead to an improvement plan in which the programme’s objectives, qualifications and orientation may be reformulated and the overall programme restructured. Both faculty and Programme Management participate in this improvement process. A “restructuring” process for both MSc programmes in 008 is currently being prepared.

Employers and recruiters

The evaluation of employers with regard to the quality of the students and graduates is very valuable for maintaining the quality of the MSc programme. The degree to which employers appreciate Nyenrode’s students is extremely important information for the internal quality control system of the MSc programme as well for the year cycle and in particular for the five- year cycle evaluation.

Contact with employers is frequent. Career services, Programme Managers and Programme Directors meet employers at careers fairs, selection days, guest lectures and on other occasions (e.g. seminars). Faculty meets the business world in research, thesis and consultancy projects, and classes (e.g. during in-company programmes).

Assessment:

The described evaluation system and cycles convinced the Committee that the school mon- itors the courses and students regularly. The school uses evaluation targets described in the self-evaluation report. The Committee would recommend increasing the influence of the

Exam Committee in the evaluation process. The evaluation system is satisfactory according to the Committee.

Master degree course MSc in Management programmes: the assessment by the Committee is

satisfactory.

F18: Measures to effect improvement

The results of this evaluation form the basis for measures that can be demonstrated to improve the course and that will contribute to reaching the targets.

Description:

The school describes in its self-evaluation report several measures taken on the basis of evalu- ation results. A few examples:

• The introduction of a marketing track in the MSc.

An analysis of the pre-education of starting students showed that the percentage of stu- dents with an education in business administration or business economics was increasing. Many of these students were interested in specialization. This was supported by the fact that the FM track was becoming more popular. Furthermore, many of our students were applying for, and finding, jobs in the area of marketing and sales. Employers reported that they were searching for marketers with a “Nyenrode profile”, i.e. people who are outgoing, pro-active, entrepreneurial and with a high EQ.

• The replacement of Business Information Systems by International Business in MSc and PTMSc. Business Information Systems (BIS) had received poor evaluations for a number of years. Not only was the added value of the course disputed by students, but the faculty also thought that BIS was already integrated into the various courses (such as Financial Ac- counting and Supply Chain Management). Furthermore, respected business schools had removed their BIS course from their curriculum. At the same time the school felt the need to add a course on International Business (IB). This was triggered by the fact that (1) IB perfectly matches the mission of the Nyenrode MSc programmes and () students highly appreciated all elective courses related to IB.

• Moving Business Ethics to the adaptation phase of the MSc.

From analyzing the students’ feedback and studying the curricula of bachelor program- mes, it became clear that Business Ethics has increasingly become a course that is regarded as a prerequisite in management education. It was therefore repositioned as a more basic supporting course and moved to the adaptation phase.

• The rescheduling of the Leadership and Personal Development modules in the PTMSc. These modules are now all in year two instead of in year two and three. This is partly to make year three less intensive, partly to strengthen the cohesion between the different modules. The Committee checked the information in the self-evaluation report against interviews with students and teachers during the site visit.

Assessment:

The Committee concluded that results of evaluation form the basis for measures to improve the degree courses. The Committee is convinced that it is the school’s policy to improve the courses constantly. Signals from the students and the teachers are noticed and regularly lead to adjust- ments. The small scale of Nyenrode makes it possible to implement adjustments without delay. The Committee recommends incorporating an exam quality year report in the evaluation system.

5 QANU / MSc in Management, Nyenrode Business University

Master degree course MSc in Management programmes: the assessment by the Committee is

satisfactory.

F19: Involvement of staff, students, alumni and the professional field

Staff, students, alumni and the professional field in which graduates of the course are to be employed are actively involved in the internal quality assurance.

Description:

The final responsibility of all academic affairs at Nyenrode lies with the Rector/Dean. The degree programmes are headed by the Associate Dean of Degree Programmes, Prof. Jack van der Veen. The Associate Dean represents the degree programmes on Nyenrode’s management team and is responsible for the portfolio and the overall positioning of the programmes, includ- ing quality, marketing and financial aspects.

Each of the degree programmes is led by a Programme Director (PD). The PD holds overall responsibility for the programme, including its quality, content, delivery and financial result. A number of functionally diverse committees monitor the implementation of the MSc pro- gramme: the Curriculum Committee, the Exam Committee and the Student Representatives (SRB for the MSc and GPV for the PTMSc programme).

The focus of the Curriculum Committee (CuCo) is on operational issues regarding the pro- cedures and academic content of the degree programmes. The CuCo is a faculty-driven com- mittee. Each competence centre (subset of a cluster) is represented by a staff member. The Programme Managers and Programme Directors are also members of the CuCo.

The CuCo has two roles:

(1) To enable an exchange of information between Programme Management and the faculty about topics such as: the number of courses in a certain degree programme, their size, sequence, scheduling, and evaluation, the Exam Rules and Regulations for the degree programmes, the code of conduct for students, the procedures regarding the thesis, the PR/marketing of the degree programmes and the target group.

() To act as an advisory body for strategic and important operational issues. Examples of strategic issues are: programme redesign, change to the target group, the development of new programmes, changes to the length of a programme.

The Student Representative Board (SRB) consists of five students, elected by the entire stu- dent population of the cohort. It acts as an intermediary between students and professors, and students and Programme Management. Since the SRB has close contacts with students, teach- ers and Programme Management, it contributes to the improvement of the communication between these parties and gives everybody involved insight into the activities and concerns of the other parties. There is also a similar board, called “Groepsvertegenwoordigers” (GPV) for the PTMSc. Although less intensive, the objectives and activities of the GPV are similar to those of the SRB.

All issues regarding students passing exams and graduating are in the hands of an independent Exam Committee. The role and authority of the Exam Committee are described in detail in the Rules and Regulations.

The alumni and the business community are very important stakeholders of Nyenrode. Although there is no formal role of these stakeholders in the MSc programmes as such, these parties do have influence in both the design and the delivery of the programme. Especially in the five-year evaluation cycle, alumni and the corporate world do have an important advisory role.

Assessment:

Although the Nyenrode MSc programmes do not have a “Programme Committee” (Opleid- ingscommissie) as such, the tasks normally performed by such a committee are clearly in place: the various people and committees cover all Programme Committee responsibilities.

The Committee could observe that students and teachers are very comitted to the specific programmes and involved in quality assurance. The involvement of alumni and the profes- sional field is clearly visible. The Committee would recommend formalizing this involvement, especially of the business community.

Master degree course MSc in Management programmes: the assessment by the Committee is

good.

Assessment of the subject “Internal quality assurance”:

The Committee concludes on the basis of its assessments of the relevant facets that the assessment for the subject “Internal quality assurance” for the master degree course MSc in Management programmes is satisfactory.

3.6. Results

F20: Level that has been achieved

The final qualifications that have been achieved correspond to the targets set for the final qualifications in level, orientation and domain-specific requirements.

Description:

The self-evaluation report describes how easy it is to state that the students have met the final qualifications. They have successfully completed all assignments, cases, exams, their thesis and should therefore have developed all the skills, abilities and attitudes the school aimed at. On the other hand, according to the self-evaluation report it is difficult to provide rock-solid proof. ‘After all, tests are just tests; reality is inevitably more complex than every test situation and educational simulation can ever be’.

Nyenrode strongly believes that their students operate adequately in the field for which they have been trained. Nyenrode alumni have a clear profile which is recognized by most employ- ers. Students are hands-on, get things done, and have a no-nonsense mentality. In general, Nyenrode students are perceived as being pro-active, independent, action-oriented, realistic and possessing a real business mentality.

Students find jobs (easily) on an academic level: recruiters visit the Nyenrode campus for this reason. In a recent survey by the Financial Times (for ranking purposes), 86% of these stu- dents expressed that their aims with regard to career perspectives had been achieved. Students have made fast progress in their careers. Employers appreciate the high quality of Nyenrode’s

5 QANU / MSc in Management, Nyenrode Business University

graduates, mostly because of the combination of solid, broad and in-depth knowledge about business administration on the one hand, with their “social” and personal competencies (pro- active, entrepreneurial, energetic, getting things done, pragmatic, assertive) on the other. A recent questionnaire by Intermediair confirmed that recruiters value Nyenrode’s MBA gradu- ates more highly than those from other institutions in the Netherlands and Belgium

Assessment:

The alumni the Committee interviewed underline the view expressed by the school that they could easily find jobs at the level of their ambition. The alumni were all very self- confident, reported that they had learned a lot during their studies at Nyenrode and men- tioned that they achieved the final qualifications on the basis of the education and support of the school. To check the students' achievements, the Committee studied a number of Master theses. In general, these theses were satisfactory. The students demonstrated that they achieved the level, orientation and domain-specific requirements formulated in the final qualifications of the degree courses. Committee members evaluated the theses with a somewhat lower grade than the actual grades given by Nyenrode instructors. The Commit- tee also checked several course exams and concluded that the exams test what they need to test in view of the requirements for the courses.

As stated before, the Committee has some remarks concerning the final thesis. It recom- mends individual assessment of the contribution of each individual. In some cases this individual assessment could not be checked from the assessment form. The Committee also evaluated the methodological aspects of a majority of the theses as mediocre. The Com- mittee recommends paying more attention to the methodology and academic skills in the programme in general and more specifically during the supervision of the thesis. The Com- mittee saw no thesis that could not meet the requirements.

Master degree course MSc in Management programmes: the assessment by the Committee is

satisfactory.

F21: Success rates

To measure the success rates, target figures have been set in comparison with relevant other degree courses. The success rates meet these targets.

Description:

From all the students who start their studies in the Nyenrode MSc degree courses, about 90% pass the adaptation phase. Of all students who start the main phase, more than 90% finish the programme in the time set for the programme. The same percentages apply to the PTMSc. Also here the percentage of students who pass the adaptation phase is about 90%. Typically, 90% of the students who pass the adaptation phase graduate from the programme in the set time (three years).

Assessment:

There are no targets set for the success rates. The success rates are already very high, so targets are not needed. The high success rate is one of the strongest aspects of the Nyenrode degree courses.

The Committee observed some tension in the combination of fixed time, high study fees and high criteria and discussed this tension with the management, which is already aware of it.

Master degree course MSc in Management programmes: the assessment by the Committee is

good.

Assessment of the subject “Results”:

The Committee concludes on the basis of its assessments of the relevant facets that the assessment for the subject “Results” for the master degree course MSc in Management programmes is satisfactory.

56 QANU / MSc in Management, Nyenrode Business University

Overview of the assessment by the Committee

Master degree course MSc in Management programmes:

Subject Score Facet Score

1. Aims and objectives of the degree course

Satisfactory 1. Domain-specific requirements Satisfactory

. Level Satisfactory

3. Orientation Satisfactory

. Programme Satisfactory . Requirements Satisfactory

5. Relationship between aims and objectives and contents of the programme

Satisfactory 6. Coherence of the programme Satisfactory

7. Study load Satisfactory

8. Intake Good

9. Duration Satisfactory

10. Coordination of structure and