Educational quality of the programme
At VUB the quality of the education takes centre stage. This isn't something we say lightly: we scrutinise our programmes regularly to align them with changing student needs in a rapidly changing society.
This public information is part of VUB’s quality assurance system and was ratified by the Academic Council on 04/09/2023.
Strengths of the programme
- Active involvement of educational teams and students: The course council actively encourages participatory decision-making, ensuring the active participation of all stakeholders. The teaching team takes careful consideration of student needs, both in designing the curriculum and during council discussions.
- Emphasis on sustainability: The curriculum extensively explores sustainability from various perspectives, covering its many aspects. This approach aims to develop business economists who prioritize sustainability in their respective fields.
- Nurturing professional skills: In addition to imparting theoretical knowledge, the program dedicates significant attention to developing practical skills. This comprehensive approach ensures that students are well-prepared for their future careers.
- Cultivating intercultural exchange: Students highly value the opportunity to interact with individuals from diverse nationalities, considering cultural exchange as a means to enhance their future professional identities.
Opportunities
- Alumni engagement: The programme could proactively establish strong connections with alumni, leveraging their expertise and insights to enhance the program.
- Encouraging international involvement: By clearly defining international skills as learning objectives, the programme can effectively monitor and support students' progress and development in these areas.
- Student representation: To enhance student engagement in the program, it is valuable to establish a stable group of student representatives within the program council. This ensures a seamless transition of representation and motivates active student participation.
Current developments
- Profiling: Given the significant diversity among students, clear communication about the unique profile of the programme is essential to reach students with the appropriate prior knowledge. Data on student backgrounds and academic performance provide valuable insights in this regard. The programme staff will finetune the current profiling during a dedicated team day.
- Emphasis on sustainability: The programme maintains the strong emphasis on sustainability that starts in the corresponding bachelor programmes. This is achieved by continuously working on the development of a cohesive curriculum centred around this theme.
- Commitment to a diverse and inclusive educational approach: The programme takes into account various backgrounds and learning needs in its educational approach. Firstly, a preparatory mathematics course is available, as well as individual guidance for mathematics and language throughout the entire programme. For students with exceptional talent, the programme offers an excellence programme and the opportunity to pursue a doctoral track as part of their master's thesis.
Where do we get this information from?
As institution we routinely ask our students to give their honest opinion about the study programme during their academic career. We also consult our professors and assistants and gauge the expectations in the future field of work. We receive structured feedback from our former students and compare our programmes with others at home and abroad. Through a Peer Review every six years an expert panel endorses the programme’s assets and can recommend some actions. Lastly, the Education Quality Council takes a formal decision about the quality and functioning of a programme.
Quality Cycle
Each programme follows a six-year quality cycle. The timeline below shows the schedule for this particular programme.
