REGULATIONS ON THE QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM AT THE FACULTY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE I GENERAL PROVISIONS. Article 1

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1 Pursuant to Article 18, Paragraphs 5 and 6 of the Quality assurance in science and higher education act ( Official Gazette no. 45/09), and Articles 34 and 93 of the Statue of the Faculty of veterinary medicine the Faculty Council at its 6 th regular meeting held on 25 May 2011, adopted REGULATIONS ON THE QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM AT THE FACULTY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE I GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1 These Regulations regulate the aim, purpose and areas of evaluation as well as the organization of quality assurance at the Faculty of veterinary medicine: hereinafter the Faculty. Article 2 The aim of quality assurance is to build mechanisms for the promotion and achievement of the highest level of quality in educational, scientific, professional and administrative activities at the Faculty. Article 3 The purpose of the quality assurance system is the establishment of principles, criteria and methods of quality assurance in accordance with the Quality assurance in science and higher education act, the Statute of the University of Zagreb, the Statute of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Regulations on the quality assurance system of the University of Zagreb and taking into account the Standards and guidelines for quality assurance in the European higher education area and ISO 9001 norms. Article 4 The quality culture shall be built in all areas of activity and through all normative acts of the Faculty. Article 5 The basic procedures in the quality assurance system are: - defining the mission and strategy of the quality assurance system, - setting the measurable goals within the defined mission and strategy, - designing the process for the realization of the mission and the strategy as well as the assurance of achieving the objectives, - measurement and analysis of achievements in relation to the aims, - taking action to correct and prevent certain conditions, - defining new aims. Article 6

2 1 All internal and external participants in the educational process, scientific research, professional and administrative activities of the Faculty take part in the creation and the development of the quality assurance system and they use the results of its work. 2 Internal participants are the students, teachers, associates, administrative, technical and the support staff employed at the Faculty. 3 External participants are legal and natural persons connected to the Faculty s activities (for example other educational and scientific institutions, economy, state and local government etc.). II QUALITY ASSURANCE AREAS Article 7 Quality assurance areas at the Faculty include: 1) Rules and procedures to ensure and improve the quality system of the Faculty - development of the quality assurance system, its continuous compliance with the quality assurance system at the University level and its continuous improvement, - development of the strategic and legal documents and the appropriate organizational structure for the monitoring and the improvement of the quality of education, scientific, professional and administrative work, - application of the quality assurance system at the Faculty, - cooperataion with other educational and scientific institutions for the purpose of achieving quality in educational, scientific and professional activity. 2) Approval, monitoring and periodic assessment of study programmes - status of the study programmes, - criteria and procedures for the enrollment of students, enrollment quotas, - content and the learning outcomes, - students load and the award of ETCS credits, - teaching methods in compliance with the learning outcomes, - connection with scientific research and professional work, - acquired knowledge, skills, independence and responsibility, - availability of appropriate equipment, literature and other learning resources, - monitoring of the learning process, teaching and students achievement, - periodic assessment of study programmes, - compatibility with changing market needs and recommendations from the professional associations, - compatibility with similar programmes of other universities, - involvement of students in quality assurance activities. 3) Assessment of students work and assessment of students

3 - evaluation of achievement of learning outcomes and of study programmes objectives, - criteria, rules and procedures for the students assessment, - monitoring the achievement of learning outcomes of courses and programmes, - public assessment and feedback to students, - role of assessment in the process of achieving knowledge and skills for a particular qualification, planning of exam terms, - compatibility of students assessment with relevant legal acts and, - administration of the assessment procedure and ability to check the regularity of the procedures. 4) Quality assurance of teachers - possession of the necessary skills and experience for quality teaching, - continuous education to improve the teaching and learning process, - assessment and self-assessment of teachers, - procedures for employment and advancement of teachers carried out by the institution in order to ensure the necessary competencies of teachers, - rules for allocation of teaching load, - procedures and plans for advancement into titles, - cooperation with scientific and professional organizations home and abroad, - involvement in international and domestic projects. 5) Resources for educational, scientific research and professional activity - teaching staff - Faculty equipped with lecture rooms, labs, practicums, teaching equipment and aids, - availability of equipment to students and staff, - library equipped with necessary literature, - services for student support, - administrative and technical staff, - network of institutions and companies for professional practice. 6) Usefulness of the information system facilities - monitoring the progress and success of students through the study, - information on the students satisfaction with the programme and teachers, - information and notifications relating to the curriculum, - availability of teaching materials, - information on the library, - student-teacher communication, - comparison with similar faculties within The European Higher Education Area, - information on the teachers competencies, - basic indicators of the performance success of the study programme.

4 7) Openness to the public - publication of study programmes and information on study programmes, - information on lifelong learning programmes, - publicity of final plans of study programmes, - publication of normative acts, guidelines and criteria, - publicity of exams, defense of final papers, - accuracy, objectivity and availability of published information and notifications, - protection of personal data. 8) Mobility and international cooperation - mobility of students and teachers towards other universities home and abroad, - involvement in international associations of similar institutions, - conditions for incoming student mobility, - involvement in international teacher, student and non-teaching staff mobility projects. 9) Student support - support to students in their curricular activities (consulting, mentorship, undergraduate assistantship, etc.), - support to students in their extracurricular activities (professional practice, professional development, etc. - support to the disabled students and other underrepresented groups. III STRUCTURE AND OPERATION OF THE QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM Article 8 (1) The Faculty Council shall establish the Committee for quality assurance (hereinafter: the Committee) for quality management at the Faculty, which is responsible for implementing quality assurance procedures in all areas of the Faculty s activities. (2) The Faculty Council may establish other bodies or an organizational unit to ensure the quality system in accordance with the Statue and the Regulations on the internal organization of the Faculty. Article 9 The Committee shall conduct strategic planning and propose guidelines and procedures for quality assurance and improvement. The Committee shall propose specific projects and activities to the Dean and the Council, and encourage innovation and development to ensure and improve quality. The Committee shall propose criteria, standards and procedures for monitoring the quality, as well as the manual for quality assurance system.

5 Article 10 The Committee has 10 members. The members are: - a representative from the board, - four employees in scientific-educational or educational title, - students representative - Secretary acting as a professional services representative. The Faculty Council, shall nominate members of the Committee, except for the Secretary, on the Dean s proposal The Committee members shall elect the president from among its members at the first meeting convened by the Dean. The President of the Committee is also the representative of the board for quality in terms of the ISO 9001 requirements. The president s mandate and the mandate of the members of the Committee is three years. The mandate of a member may be repeated not more than twice consecutively. Article 11 A member of the Committee may be relieved of the duty before the end of mandate if: - s/he stops fulfilling the duties for which s/he has been appointed as a member, - s/he asks for the relief of duty, - s/he does not take part in the Committee s work or fails to comply with the Committee s decisions and with the regulations relevant for quality assurance system, - the Council makes a decision for his/her relief on the Dean s proposal. The decision for the relief of duty shall be made by the Faculty Council on the Dean s proposal, which also appoints another member of the Committee. The mandate of the newly appointed member shall last until the end of the mandate of the relieved member. Article 12 The Committee shall organize, coordinate and conduct evaluation procedures, develop assurance and improvement mechanisms and promote the Faculty s quality. The fore mentioned procedures include the following elements: - self-analysis, development of quality indicators, - participation of students in monitoring the quality of the studies, - researching the success of the studying, as well as causes of poor-quality, inefficient and too long a study, - teachers competencies research, - university staff development through lifelong learning, - administrative and technical staff development, - evidence of improvement in teaching,

6 - quality of general and special competencies realized in a study programme, - strategy planning to improve quality, - implementation of the assessment process and procedure to improve quality at the Faculty, - coordinate the implementation of projects for professional development of personnel (academic, administrative and technical) in the field of quality. The Committee works in sessions. Article 13 The chairman shall convene and chair the sessions. The chairman has a duty to convene the Committee session on the Dean s proposal, or on the proposal of at least three Committee members. The Committee may make decisions if majority of the members are present in the session. The Committee makes decision by open ballot by a majority of the members present. Minutes shall be taken during the sessions. Article 14 The Committee shall make an annual and a long term plan of the activities which they shall deliver to the university Office for quality management. The Committee shall submit its annual report to the Faculty council. IV TRANSITIONAL AND CONCLUDING PROVISIONS Article 15 Amendments to these regulations are made in the same way as the Regulations. The Committee for the Statute is responsible for the interpretation of these Regulations. These Regulations shall come into force eight days after being made public on the bulletin board and on the Faculty s website. These Regulations are made public on the bulletin board and published on the Faculty s website on 31 May, Class: /11-01/23 Registration number: / Zagreb, 31 May, 2011 Dean: Prof Tomislav Dobranić, PhD, DVM