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Quality Assurance

Welcome to the webpage of the Directorate of Quality Assurance (DQA) at UHD. One of the main missions of the Quality Assurance body at UHD is to assure the quality of teaching/learning. The vision of DQA is to ensure that the quality of education meets the requirements of sustainable development. The DQA uses G-Suite for Education to run the process of assuring the quality of teaching/learning and promoting e-teaching among the teaching staff of UHD.

Marks of Quality:

Research proposals
Current and ongoing research
Articles published in journals listed by Clarivate Analytics
Articles published in journals listed by Scopus
Articles published in local journals
National and international conference papers
Presentations at seminars, webinars, symposiums, workshops and conferences.

Programs

Degree Title	Department	Duration	Examination Type
Computer Science	Computer Science	4 Years	Semester
LAW	Law	5 Years	Annual
Information Technology	Information Technology	4 Years	Semester
Political Sciences	Political Sciences	4 Years	Semester
Diplomacy and Public Relations	Diplomacy and Public Relations	4 Years	Semester
English language	English Language	4 Years	Semester
Accounting	Accounting	4 Years	Semester
Banking and Finance	Banking and Finance	4 Years	Semester
Business Management	Business Management	4 Years	Semester
Medical Laboratory Sciences	Medical Laboratory Sciences	4 Years	Semester
Nursing	Nursing	4 Years	Semester
Artificial Intelligence and Data Science	Artificial Intelligence and Data Science	4 Years	Semester

Bologna Process

The Bologna Process is a series of ministerial meetings and agreements between European countries to ensure comparability in the standards and quality of higher-education qualifications.[1] The process has created the European Higher Education Area under the Lisbon Recognition Convention. It is named after the University of Bologna, where the Bologna declaration was signed by education ministers from 29 European countries in 1999.

The Bologna Process has come about as a result of a series of agreements signed in 1999 by Ministers of Higher Education of 29 European countries. It was named after the University of Bologna, Italy, where the declaration was signed. The Bologna Process is a purposeful and multidimensional education system. It was initially aimed to offer a unified standard for equalisation of graduate degrees among European countries, especially when transferring from one university to another, applying for higher degrees from universities in other countries, or applying for a job. With the expansion of the Process and its implementation by many countries, along with the involvement of several academic organizations as consultative members (such as the Council of Europe, UNESCO and European University Association). The impact of the Bologna Process has gone beyond its initial purpose of unifying graduate degrees. It has now become a modern and impactful education system, which has been used successfully to systematise education programmes and constantly renewed and developed.

Aims of the Bologna Process

In the world of academia, various education systems are implemented in different countries. One of these systems is the Bologna Process, a recognised global system that has been implemented for years in most European and some non-European countries. The aims of the Bologna Process are:

1. Creating a system for harmonising the standard and quality of university degrees, that was originally intended for European countries;

2. Enhancing the employability of graduates to get job opportunities throughout their life careers;

3. Creating a system that can easily equalise university degrees, especially because degree certificates in this system are accompanied by a diploma supplement which explains the content of the certificate;

4. Applying a system based on ECTS credits that students obtain in different courses in their area of study;

5. Encouraging academic exchange since students, researchers and teachers can be easily accepted at institutions that implement the Bologna Process. Students can undertake part of their studies at a different university that implements the Bologna Process;

6. Encouraging cooperation among institutions of Higher Education in developing quality assurance, research, training and education programmes.

Definition

Term

Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Kurdistan Regional Government

The Ministry

University of Human Development

The University

Colleges at the University of Human Development, each College consists of a number of Departments

Colleges

The basic scientific unit in a College

Departments

Accountancy unit of the Colleges

Accountancy unit

The body in charge of monitoring the implementation of the Bologna Process at the University

Directorate of Quality Assurance

The entire educational system adopted

Bologna Process

A season of study in the Bologna Process

Semester

Credits used as a standard means for comparing the volume of learning based on the defined learning outcomes and their associated workload

ECTS (European Credit Transfer System)

Each subject that is taught in the Bologna Process

Course

Any assignments that students have to do (such as: homework, project, seminar, reports, visits, etc.) or any other activities that teachers find necessary and suitable and are approved by the Department

Activity

It refers to end-of-semester exams

Exam

It is used only in relation to exams

Term

It is an exam taken within a semester

Mid-term exam

It is a short exam taken during a lesson in a semester

Quiz

It is an optional exam decided by the teacher in a semester that can carry some marks

Test

It refers to all duties done by students, consisting of class attendance, exams, homework, studying in the library, carrying out projects, presenting seminars, attending seminars and the like.

Workload

It refers to all the days from start to end of a semester as officially decided by the University. Each semester consists of 15 weeks.

Teaching Period

ECTS Credits

......................

1. To get a BA degree, students should obtain at least 240 ECTS credits.

2. The time period for BA studies consists of 8 semesters, or more, depending on the requirements of the Department.

3. Each semester consists of 30 ECTS credits, or fewer, depending on the requirements of the Department.

4. Each semester consists of 15 weeks. .......

5. A maximum of 6 courses can be taught in a semester.

6. Each course can carry up to a maximum of 8 ECTS credits.

7. The workload to achieve one ECTS credit is 25 hours, that can be spent on any of the following activities:

a. Theoretical and/or practical lessons taught by the teacher; b. Students’ study at home; c. Students’ study in lab and/or library at the University; d. Time spent with the teacher during office hours; e. Time allocated for writing reports and doing research as required in some courses; f. Time allocated for placement, i.e. relevant practical work experience in a private or public institution; g. Time allocated for exam preparation.

8. If possible, the Departments can arrange placement for students, taking into account the following points:

a. Placement can be done for a course or more and it can take up to several weeks.

b. The placement should practically serve the education process and should be related to a course or more, and students should physically work in the place. At the end of the placement, students should write a report or research under the supervision of the teacher assigned to them.

c. The placement should practically serve education process and should be related to a course or more, and students should physically work in place. At the end of the placement, students should write a report or research under the supervision of a teacher assigned to them.

d. The placement should not carry more than 30 ECTS credits.

e. The placement should take place in an institution which has already been checked by the Scientific Council of the Department and found an appropriate ground for students to carry out their experiments.

f. The supervising teacher assesses students’ placement experiment through supervising their work and assessing their reports and researches carried out as part of the placement.

g. If a student has not passed in the placement assessment, the supervising teacher and the Department will decide as to whether the student should repeat the placement or return to the University to take necessary courses instead of the placement.

h. The Departments that arrange placement should have certain alternative courses for students who are unwilling to take on placement - in fact the placement should be within the framework of such courses.

i. Students who choose to take on placement have to pay the same tuition fee as the alternative course(s).

j. The placement should take place at institutions with which the University has signed a memorandum of understanding and agreement, or institutions that have been approved of by the College Council.

9. Each department should have two types of courses: compulsory and optional. Students should take and pass all the courses specified by the Department. The Department has the authority to make changes in the optional courses and adapt them to the necessities of modern day provided that it is approved by the University Council.

10. The time period of study is open, i.e. students are not obliged to complete their studies within a specific time limit. However, the Departments can specify a time limit based on academic standards, as follows:

a. Taking into consideration the courses that are currently taught in the Department and allowing students to continue taking other courses that are required to get the degree.

b. Requiring students to take new courses in case the previous courses have undergone drastic changes.

11. Distribution of Marks

............

a. 40% - 60% of the marks is allocated for end-of-semester exams.

b. 40% - 60% of the marks is allocated for assignments, quizzes and in-term exams as required by the teacher.

c. For each of these activities, there should be documents for all students. These documents will be kept until November next year, and then sample documents (2 highest, 2 average and 2 lowest) will be kept in the archives of the Department and the rest of the documents will be kept in store according to the University instructions.

d. The total grade should not exceed 100 marks.

............................................................................................................................................................................................

Distribution of Marks

1. 40% - 60% of the marks is allocated for end-of-semester exams.

2. 40% - 60% of the marks is allocated for assignments, quizzes and in-term exams as required by the teacher.

3. For each of these activities, there should be documents for all students. These documents will be kept until November next year, and then sample documents (2 highest, 2 average and 2 lowest) will be kept in the archives of the Department and the rest of the documents will be kept in store according to the University instructions.

4. The total grade should not exceed 100 marks.

5. The marks will be counted based on the ECTS Grading Scale, as follows:

.............

Level

Mark

GPA Grade

GPA Grade Point

90-100

4.0

85-89

B+

3.3

80-84

3.0

75-79

C+

2.3

70-74

2.0

60-69

D+

1.3

50-59

1.0

0-49

0.0

4.4 Counting GPA

The grade point average (GPA) is counted as follows:

GPA = ∑ (ECTS*Points) / Total ECTS

Student Feedback

University of Human Development highly values and appreciates student feedback. Student input is the nexus between quality learning and the development and management of teaching activities, decision making and strategic policies that help maintain educational standards. UHD teams of experts meticulously observe and process student feedback to design, create and employ measures that help enhance learning quality. This is an integral part of UHD’s quality assurance system. UHD’s assessment teams of quality assurance deems student feedback on teaching quality, learning environment, and administrative efficiency to be of eminent importance that contribute to and facilitate better learning quality. UHD commits itself to the maintenance of optimised policies and procedures that are continually assessed and engendered through collaborative partnership to ensure the implementation of supporting practices that focus on students’ concerns and recommendations.

Teacher Portfolio

A traditional outlook may define portfolios as collections of certificates, diplomas, CGPAs, standard test scores, educational and academic documents, and formal evaluations expressed in referee letters, records of publications, conference attendance, etc. UHD essentially considers teachers’ portfolios to transcend these conventional attempts to define a ‘portfolio’ and rather takes into account an individual’s personal and interpersonal skills and their teaching and educational philosophy. This view informs UHD and the instructors likewise about the levels of success in both of the teaching and learning areas. It provides an opportunity for the instructors to assess their own success and evaluate their teaching abilities in light of their professional development. UHD continually tries to enhance its instructors’ teaching and personal experience. This helps both parties highlight the areas where instructors might need to further develop their skills to facilitate learning outcomes.

Continues Academic Development

UHD has adopted the belief that learning does not stop where one is given a certificate that marks the completion of the requirements for the academic programs. Academic staff at UHD join a variety of different academic activities to promote their provision of the learning material to their students and further refine their understanding of their own learning. The activities are largely marked by seminars, book clubs, and readings sessions that are mostly held weekly. The seminars and readings are announced on different platforms so that interested academics, researchers and students can join and share, discuss, and evaluate ideas and interpretations together. It provides a unique opportunity for the instructors and the students to be involved in collaborative and active learning together. This helps reduce the affective filters and assists in better student engagement with research ideas in their fields of study. Discussions and analyses encourages academic excellence and promotes research ideas.