Teaching Staff and Study Programme Support
Source: https://www.ugent.be/en/ghentuniv/mission/educational-strategy/teaching-staff-and-study-programme-support Parent: https://www.ugent.be/en/ghentuniv/mission/educational-strategy
Vision on Education Support
What is Ghent University’s Vision on Education Support for Teaching Staff and Study Programmes?
Our so-called Education Support Offer 2.0 is based on the following principles:
- it exists in partnership with faculties and study programmes;
- it is well-founded, contextualized and future-oriented;
- it is aimed at individual members of the teaching staff, and study programmes;
- it combines a focus on basic competencies with an in-depth approach;
- it combines a generic offer with a customized offer for faculties and study programmes;
- it has a broad scope (e.g. quality assurance processes, programme structure, putting the six strategic objectives into practice, and active teaching);
- it is a combination of once-only initiatives and learning track initiatives;
- it contains new professional development modalities (i.e. online, blended, on campus);
- it focuses on peer as well as expert learning;
- it combines demand- as well as and supply-driven initiatives;
- it encourages education innovation;
- it valorizes participation.
Education Support at University Level
The Education and Study Programme Support Team and the Activo team, sets up professional development initiatives for teaching staff and study programmes every year.
Basic Offer for Teaching Staff
The basic course offer for teaching staff aims at strengthening our lecturers’ didactic competencies:
- a mandatory blended learning track for newly appointed members of the professorial staff is to be completed within two years after being appointed. This learning track is offered both in Dutch and in English;
- an elective blended basic learning track open to all lecturers who wish to brush up on their didactic competencies;
- a basic online modular learning track for academic assistants, post-doctoral assistants and teaching assistants, in which participants can independently strengthen their didactic teaching competencies. There is possibility for participating in elective peer-to-peer workshops.
In-depth Training for Teaching Staff
Our in-depth course offer consists of thematic workshops for lecturers. Lecturers and education support staff can choose to participate according to their own needs and interests.
- examples include: how to use UFORA, digital didactics, how to give feedback, how to supervise writing assignments, how to use lecture recordings, … .
- we continuously adjust and complement our offer based on detected needs, for example: specific teaching, feedback or assessment methods.
Course Offer for Study Programmes and Faculties
Our course offer for study programmes and faculties covers content-related issues such as:
- education policy (for example: curriculum design and assessment policy);
- quality assurance;
- Ghent University’s strategic education objectives and their role in the Education Monitor.
Education Innovation Projects
- since 1997, faculties have been given grants to fund faculty education innovation projects;
- the university Activo project implements active education in study programmes.
Networks and Events
- at Ghent University, we organize an annual Education Day for all our teaching staff;
- at Ghent University, we participate annually in the Educational Science Seminars organized by the Ghent University Association;
- at Ghent University, we offer our teaching staff a cross-faculty online community where they can exchange good practices on specific teaching methods or themes.
Education Tips
Our Education Tips platform was launched in 2013 as a result of a university innovation project. Over a short time, it grew into the digital place to be for anyone wanting to know more about high-quality education at Ghent University. In 2020, the platform was given a thorough make-over, both in terms of lay-out and in terms of content.
Education Support at Faculty Level
All faculties have a Faculty Education Support Services Office (in Dutch: FDO [abrr.]), which is responsible for strengthening faculty education policy. The Faculty Education Support Services:
- proactively take quality improvement initiatives;
- offer tailor-made administrative and content-related support to all prospective, returning and graduated students;
- offer support to all teaching staff;
- support study programmes in their quality assurance and curriculum development;
- implement institutional policy frameworks in close consultation with the Education Division;
- play an important role in supervising transformation and improvement processes in study programmes. The Education Quality Assurance Unit closely works alongside with the Activo liaison and a contact person at the Education Division.
Want to know more?
Please contact
- a member of the central Education and Study Programme Support Team
- a member of the Faculty Education Support Services