Description of the IQAS

Ensuring the quality of education at the highest possible level is one of the strategic goals of the Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce (JKU). This objective is guaranteed through cooperation, support and the dissemination of best practice in the field. These are developed, inter alia, at cyclical meetings of deputy deans of faculties/branches for education, deputy directors of institutes and deputy heads of deoartments for education, representatives of academic staff, the representative of the Students' union and selected employees of the University, forming the University Committee for Education. Its sessions are a place for meetings, joint dialogue, cooperation and taking many actions in the field of ensuring and improving the quality of education at the Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce.

The basis for the activities and implementation of the processes related to the quality of education are the relevant legal documents of various levels, such as:

the Act - Law on higher education and science,
relevant regulations of the Minister of Education and Science,
Statutes of the JKU,
ordinances and circular letters of the Rector of the JKU,
resolutions of the JKU Senate,
study regulations including annexes.

The system includes:

the presentation of the University's/Faculty's educational quality policy,
the principles of staff management (including a system of motivation and staff development) and infrastructure related to teaching,
the organisation of studies,
curricula,
the educational process, the conditions for teaching and the effectiveness of achieving the assumed learning outcomes,
the ethics of implementing the teaching process,
the administrative service principles,
the promotion of the University's/Faculty's quality system,
continuous improvement of the Internal Educational Quality Assurance System.

An important element of the educational quality system are the internal procedures, at University level - university-wide procedures, at Faculty level - faculty procedures. They are subject to constant review and updating. Currently, following the elimination of several procedures, including their consolidation, among the procedures of the University's Educational Quality Assurance System (UEQAS) and Internal Educational Quality Assurance System (IQAS) are:

within the UEQAS:

General procedure for quality assurance and improvement of education - labelling of procedures;
Procedure for providing access to information;
Procedure for handling complaints, resolving conflict situations, preventing discrimination and violent behaviour.

within the IQAS:

Procedure for establishing and discontinuing tertiary and postgraduate programmes and modifying their curricula;
The procedure for assessing the achievement of the assumed learning outcomes ;
The procedure for assessing the functioning of the Internal Educational Quality Assurance System;
The procedure for ensuring students' accessibility to education, learning support, social participation, academic development and benefits;
Procedure for surveys carried out as part of the IQAS;
Procedure for tracking the careers of graduates;
Procedure for the supervision of classes.

In connection with the entry into force of Act 2.0 in the 2018/2019 academic year, work has been undertaken to adapt the procedures of the IQAS to the applicable provisions of the Act and the regulations issued on its basis (the aforementioned procedures).

The aim of the System is to build a culture of quality - shared responsibility for education.

External institutions acting to improve the quality of education are the Polish Accreditation Commission, the Accreditation Commission of Academic Medical Universities, the National Accreditation Council of Schools of Nursing and Midwifery and the University Accreditation Commission, whose assessment determines the rank of the unit and the level of quality of education.

The activities of the IQAS cover students of all faculties, levels and forms of study, participants of postgraduate studies and employees of the Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce.

The Educational Quality Assurance System at the Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce is built with respect for the autonomy and specificity of the faculties and other teaching units of the University. Individual units develop detailed procedures for quality assurance of education using their good experiences in this area and modify them under the influence of the recommendations of the University Committee for Education and external stakeholders.

Scope and operation of the System:

The scope of the System includes main, support and improvement processes. These mainly concern:

the organisation of the teaching process,
the implementation of the educational process,
the human and material resources of the faculties as the basic organisational units of the University and interfaculty units,
the functioning of the faculties as the basic organisational units of the University and the interfaculty units in the external environment.

The functioning of the System involves planning, organising, implementing, monitoring and improving the processes included in its scope. Each unit within the structure of the System carries out specific tasks resulting from the specific nature of its activities.

The documentation at the level of the University primarily includes:

overarching documents (including: Act 2.0, JKU Statutes, Regulations of studies and doctoral studies, resolutions of the Senate, ordinances and circular letters of the Rector),
university-wide procedures,
instructions.

The documentation at the Faculty level consists primarily of:

overarching documents (including: Act 2.0, JKU Statutes, Regulations of studies and doctoral studies, Resolutions of the Senate, Ordinances of the Rector, Resolutions of the Faculty Council, ordinances of the Dean),
faculty procedures,
instructions, regulations.

The day-to-day administrative support of the Internal Education Quality Management System, supporting the activities of the University's Education Quality Committee. The Education Quality Section is in charge of education quality and the coordination of projects aimed at ensuring and improving the quality of education at the University.

Glossary of terms of the IEQAS:

higher education	first-cycle studies, second-cycle studies
first-cycle studies	a form of training in which candidates holding a secondary school leaving certificate are admitted, leading to a first-cycle qualification
second-cycle studies	a form of education for which candidates with at least first-cycle qualifications are accepted, resulting in obtaining second-cycle qualifications
postgraduate studies	a form of education for which candidates with at least first-cycle qualifications are accepted, resulting in obtaining postgraduate qualifications
form of study	full-time studies and part-time studies
full-time studies	a form of higher education in which at least half of the ECTS credits included in the study curriculum are obtained as part of classes with the direct participation of academic teachers or other persons conducting classes and students
part-time studies	a form of higher education study in which less than half of the credits covered by the curriculum may be obtained with the direct participation of academic staff or other instructors and students
field of study	education provided by a higher education institution, assigned to at least one discipline of science/art
curriculum	description of the learning process, which specifies: 1) the learning outcomes referred to in the Act of 22 December 2015 on the Integrated Qualification System, taking into account the universal characteristics of the first degree defined in that Act and the characteristics of the second degree defined in the regulations issued on the basis of art.7 sec. 3 of that Act; 2) a description of the process leading to the achievement of the learning outcomes; 3) the number of ECTS credits allocated to the subject.
study schedule	element of the curriculum, including in particular the names and codes of the subjects, their location in the semester, the forms of instruction and their duration, the ECTS credits and the form of credit,
education standards	a set of educational rules for studies preparing for the teaching profession and for professions for which the requirements for the educational process and its outcomes are set out in European Union law
Polish Qualifications Framework (PQF)	it is a method, convergent with the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), of defining, ordering and describing qualifications, including both learning outcomes achieved in the process of formal education (e.g. schools, universities) and non-formal education - achieved outside the general, vocational or higher education system (e.g. qualification, language, specialist - certified courses), as well as learning outcomes achieved in the framework of informal education (e.g. experience and professional practice, internships, student placements, independent learning). The Polish Qualifications Framework is an integral part of the Integrated Qualifications System (IQS), in which there are uniform, defined and consistent standards for describing qualifications and procedures for assigning the appropriate level of the Polish Qualifications Framework to qualifications. The learning outcomes covered by the Polish Qualifications Framework and the frameworks of all countries using this framework are convergent with the European Qualifications Framework and correspond to its individual levels.
learning outcomes	the body of knowledge, skills and social competences acquired by the learner in the learning process.
ECTS credits	credits defined in the European Credit Transfer System as a measure of a student's average workload, required to achieve learning outcomes; an ECTS credit corresponds to 25 30 hours of student workload, including both the academic course work and the individual workload related to this subject.
education profile	one of two study profiles: the general-academic profile, where more than half of the ECTS credits are allocated to subjects related to the academic activity conducted at the university, or the practical profile, where more than half of the ECTS credits are allocated to subjects developing practical skills.

Useful Links:

Polish Accreditation Commission - www.pka.edu.pl
National Accreditation Council for Schools of Nursing and Obstetrics - www.mz.gov.pl/wwwmz
University Accreditation Commission - www.uka.amu.edu.pl
Polish Qualifications Framework (PRK) - https://www.kwalifikacje.gov.pl/polska-rama-kwalifikacji
European Association for Quality Assurance - www.enqa.eu
Polish Rectors Foundation - www.frp.org.pl
National Academic Exchange Agency - https://nawa.gov.pl/
National Representation of Doctoral Students - www.krd.org.pl
Ministry of Science and Higher Education - www.nauka.gov.pl
Parliament of Students Republic of Poland - www.psrp.org.pl
Polish Educational Portal - www.edu.info.pl
Erasmus Programme website - www.erasmus.org.pl
Foundation for the Development of the Education System - www.frse.org.pl
Scholarship-training fund - www.fss.org.pl
Conference of Rectors Academic Schools of Poland (CRASP) - www.krasp.org.pl
General Council for Higher Education - www.rgsw.edu.pl
Foundation for Polish Science - www.fnp.org.pl
National Contact Point for EU Research Programmes - www.6pr.pl

Last updated: December 2021