Programme 2025

Parallel session I. Student drop-out

Academic failure remains a significant challenge for higher education institutions today, as it affects not only the efficiency of the educational process vymazat čárku but also the strategic goals of institutions regarding quality of education, funding and university reputation. At the same time, it has a significant impact on the higher education funding system, as every student who does not complete the studiesrepresents, from the perspective of the education system, an expenditure of funds that has not led to the desired outcome - namely, the acquisition of a profession applicable to the labour market.

The workshop will focus on a comprehensive analysis of the factors leading to academic failure, a methodology for its systematic monitoring, and proposals for possible measures to reduce it. Together, we will seek answers to the following questions in three thematic blocks:

1. What are the main causes of academic failure in higher education? Are we currently seeing an increasing trend in academic failure? Are we lagging behind other countries in this regard? Does academic failure always correlate with the difficulty of degree programmes? What role does employability play in the labour market?
2. Can careful monitoring of results bring about the necessary change? Will AI help us uncover new connections between failure rates and specific study aspects? Do universities have adequate feedback mechanisms to identify the causes of academic failure?
3. What measures can we take to improve our students' learning outcomes (of our students - toto pryč)? Will an individualized approach to students help in this regard? Are we guiding our students toward the right approach to learning?

Objectives:

The workshop aims to identify current issues and causes of academic failure and share best practices through several examples from Czech universities. However, the main focus will be an interactive discussion among all participants, which should lead to a common conclusion in terms of identifying weak points and suggestions for possible measures.

Parallel session II. Degree programmes evaluation and re-accreditation

Internal evaluation of degree programmes is one of the essential pillars of the internal quality assurance system at Masaryk University. From the outset, we have focused on curriculum design, specifically, the application of principles and rules for creating and organizing the content of degree programmes through learning outcomes and their connection to teaching and evaluation methods.
Although we consider learning outcomes to be a well-established and firmly rooted concept in many respects, current trends prompt us to question whether internal evaluation is sufficiently focused on the quality of teaching itself. Are the learning outcomes not only formally correct but also substantively relevant? Are they genuinely integrated into the learning process, and is it verified that students achieve them? Do teachers have the tools and skills to adapt their teaching to meet the intended outcomes? And how can we support them in this regard? In other words, through internal evaluation, we aim to ensure that the programme not only formally meets  mandatory standards but also confirms that it is being effectively taught.

Objectives: 

Through this workshop, we will collaborate to find answers to these questions and share best practices. We will discuss how to better reflect on innovative teaching methods, effectively engage academic community members in this process, and ensure that the outcomes lead to real improvements. A key part of this will involve sharing examples of good practice and identifying barriers to the effective implementation of quality teaching principles in degree programmes.

Coffee break

Parallel session I. Student drop-out

Academic failure is still a major challenge for higher education institutions today, as it affects not only the efficiency of the educational process, but also the strategic goals of institutions in terms of quality of education, funding and the reputation of the university. At the same time, it is an area that has a significant impact on the higher education funding system, as every student who does not complete the studies they have started represents, from the perspective of the education system, an expenditure of funds that has not led to the desired goal, i.e. the acquisition of a profession that is applicable on the labour market. The workshop will focus on a comprehensive analysis of the factors leading to academic failure, a methodology for its systematic monitoring and a proposal for possible measures to reduce it. Together we will seek answers to the questions in three thematic blocks:

1. What are the main causes of academic failure in higher education? Are we currently observing an increasing trend in academic failure? Are we lagging behind foreign countries in this respect? Does academic failure always go hand in hand with the difficulty of study programmes? What role does employability play in the labour market?
2. Can careful monitoring of results achieve the necessary change? Will AI help us to uncover new links between failure rates and specific aspects of study? Do universities have sufficient feedback mechanisms to identify the causes of academic failure?
3. What measures can we choose to improve the learning outcomes of our students? Will an individual approach to students help in this regard? Are we guiding our students towards the right approach to learning?

Aims:

However, the main focus will be an interactive discussion of all participants, which should lead to a common conclusion in terms of identifying weak points and suggestions for possible measures.

Parallel session II. Degree programs evaluation and re-accreditation

Internal evaluation of degree programmes is one of the essential pillars of the internal quality assurance system at Masaryk University. From the very beginning, we have focused on curriculum design, i.e. the application of principles and rules for the creation and organisation of study programme content through learning outcomes and their connection to teaching methods and assessment methods. And although we consider learning outcomes to be a well-established and firmly rooted concept in many respects, current trends lead us to question whether internal assessment is sufficiently focused on the quality of the teaching itself. Are learning outcomes not only formally correct but also substantively relevant? Are they actually integrated into the learning process and is it verified that students are achieving them? Do teachers have the tools and skills to adapt teaching to the intended outcomes? And how to support them in this goal? In other words, we want to support, through internal assessment, that the programme not only formally meets the mandatory standards but also verifies that it is well taught.

Aims:

Through the workshop we will work together to find answers to these questions and share good practice. We will discuss how to better reflect on innovative teaching methods, effectively engage members of the academic community in this process and ensure that the findings lead to real improvements. An important part of this will be sharing examples of good practice and identifying barriers to the effective application of quality teaching principles in degree programmes.

Coffee break

Closing

Final presentation of the outputs of the parallel groups from the Czech perspective of quality assurance and agreement on the further procedure.