Resources

 

• To monitor the functioning of course units and regularly produce performance indicators to support strategic decision-making.
• To promote the continuous improvement of teaching and learning processes.
• To encourage the responsible involvement of the academic community in the assessment and improvement of teaching, with an expected impact on external evaluation processes, including the accreditation of study cycles.

Yes. The confidentiality of questionnaire responses is guaranteed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Regulation (EU) 2016/679.

The questionnaires apply to all study cycles and all course units.

With a view to extending the assessment of teaching to credit-bearing non-degree programmes, a questionnaire has been administered to students since the 2023/2024 academic year to assess the functioning of course units and modules delivered through the ULearn Moodle platform.

Access the ULearn Moodle platform .

Yes. Responding is mandatory, reflecting the importance attached to internal feedback for continuous improvement and helping to ensure the statistical relevance of the results.

• The UMinho Academic Portal, for students: alunos.uminho.pt > Quality in Education.
• The UMinho Intranet, for teaching staff: Quality > Education > Questionnaires.
• The UMinho App.

The questionnaires follow the annual calendar adopted for the instruments and mechanisms of the Internal Quality Assurance System of the University of Minho (SIGAQ-UM). The calendar is announced by circular issued by the Vice-Rector responsible for coordinating SIGAQ-UM.

The response periods for each questionnaire are publicised through a circular issued by the Vice-Rector responsible for coordinating SIGAQ-UM. An email is also sent to the institutional email addresses of the respondents.

For students, announcements are also published through a banner on the UMinho Academic Portal , the Blackboard platform , the UMinho Students' Union website , the UMinho Facebook page , the UMinho Instagram account , the Students' Union Instagram account , and the UMinho App.

Results are published through the UMinho Academic Portal (Quality in Education) and the UMinho Intranet (Quality > Education > Questionnaires).

For further details, please consult the Procedures for Questionnaires in the Education Area.

Once the response period has ended, students who have not completed the questionnaires required of them lose access to certain Academic Portal functionalities.

To provide a concise and systematic overview of the organisation and functioning of teaching, using automatically collected data relating to contextual information and SIGAQ-UM performance indicators, together with additional information resulting from reflection by teaching teams and programme committees.

• Confidentiality: personal data contained in reports are protected in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Regulation (EU) 2016/679.
• Universality: course unit and programme reports are systematically applied across all study cycles, providing a better understanding of different pedagogical contexts.
• Mandatory participation: participation is an integral part of teaching duties and pedagogical coordination responsibilities.
• Transparency: final versions of reports are made available to pedagogical coordination bodies to support reflection and a sustained process of improvement.

Report production follows the annual calendar adopted for SIGAQ-UM instruments and mechanisms, announced by circular issued by the Vice-Rector responsible for coordinating the system.

The final reports are available through the UMinho Intranet (Quality > Education > Reports).

For further details, please consult the Procedures for Reports in the Education Area.

To identify and alert the University to situations below the expected standard in the functioning of a course unit instance, based on students' and teachers' assessments of teaching and learning, as well as student academic results.

• Confidentiality: questionnaire responses are protected in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Regulation (EU) 2016/679.
• Universality: course unit flagging is carried out systematically and periodically across all study cycles, providing a better understanding of different pedagogical contexts.
• Statistical relevance: a minimum number of data points is required from the sources used by the flagging mechanism for a flag to be considered statistically relevant.
• Transparency: flagging results are communicated to the academic community to support reflection and sustained improvement.

• For students: the UMinho Academic Portal > Quality in Education.
• For teaching staff: the UMinho Intranet > Quality > Education > Questionnaires.

Course unit flagging takes place at the end of each semester, once the data associated with the parameters used by each flagging sub-mechanism become available.

To examine the underlying causes of problems:

• That may have led to a course unit being flagged, particularly where the same type of situation recurs or several flagged parameters occur together.
• Where the competent bodies consider that the action plans proposed by teaching teams in Course Unit Reports (RUC), intended to improve the functioning of the course unit, are insufficient to address the identified problems.

• Confidentiality: personal data contained in pedagogical audit reports are protected in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Regulation (EU) 2016/679.
• Universality: decisions on the relevance of conducting pedagogical audits are considered systematically and periodically across all study cycles, enabling more in-depth analysis of problems.
• Mandatory participation: participation is linked to the objectives and statutory responsibilities assigned to SIGAQ-UM and the Pedagogical Councils in relation to teaching quality.
• Transparency: final versions of pedagogical audit reports are made available to pedagogical coordination bodies to support reflection and sustained improvement.

The decision to conduct pedagogical audits rests with the SIGAQ-UM Monitoring Committee (CA-SIGAQ).

The decision is made after the end of each semester, once the data required to assess the auditability criteria become available.

Approved and completed pedagogical audits are formalised through a resolution of the SIGAQ-UM Monitoring Committee (CA-SIGAQ), signed by the Vice-Rector responsible for coordinating SIGAQ-UM.

Course Unit Pedagogical Audit Reports (RAPUC) are available through the UMinho Intranet to the following participants:

• The Improvement Team;
• The course unit teaching team;
• The Programme Director of the programme in which the course unit is taught;
• The Director of the Department to which the Programme Director belongs;
• The Director of the Department to which the course unit coordinator belongs;
• The President of the Pedagogical Council;
• The President of the School responsible for the programme in which the course unit is taught;
• The President of the School to which the course unit coordinator belongs.