Report summary
The group of experts was tasked with assessing two of the Faculty of Health Science’s
study programs – Healthcare 1st cycle and Healthcare 2nd cycle. The first cycle is more
general and widely oriented and the second, master's level, provides further orientation
and specialization options.
The quality assurance procedure manual from 2013 was found to be are outdated and
therefore needs to be updated. Self-evaluation processes are otherwise being carried out
properly, and analysis of surveys and statistics are being carried out. The data contributes
to the creation of informed improvement measures, however, those are sometimes quite
generalised and not very targeted, especially at the level of individual study programs. On
the other hand, the implementation of measures from the yearly action plan at the faculty
level is being monitored closely and the achievement of goals is documented well. In the
process of self-evaluation, it would be sensible to encourage a more active role of members
of the program council and external stakeholders and to include them in the updating of
study content. The group of experts also proposes to strengthen the information of
students about the results of self-evaluation, with an emphasis on updates that were the
result of their initiatives, especially from student surveys. All this contributes to the
development of quality culture and the conclusion of a quality loop.
Course facilitators encourage students to take an active role in the learning process and
introduce student-centred learning, teaching and assessment. Attention is focused on
optimizing the implementation of the study process by eliminating needless duplication of
content. The need to extend the 1st level program was duly recognized - efforts are being
made to correct the situation in this regard, and students are also aware of the struggle.
They generally report quite high workloads but are of the opinion that the faculty takes
care to balance their study obligations and clinical work as much as possible. Students also
believe that the faculty adapts relatively well to their work obligations in most cases, but
there are some possible improvements yet to be made.
The learning process in the undergraduate program is organised so that a part of the
accredited clinical exercises is carried out on mannequins and models, and in the simulation
centre. Even though this satisfies the need for a gradual introduction to work in a clinical
environment, the group of experts warns of possible discrepancies with the guidelines of
the regulated profession. In addition to working to regulate the relevant legal bases during
the transitional period, the group of experts proposes appropriate changes to make the
curricula and syllabus in order to comply with the directive. We also propose to consider
the modularity of the master's study program in the 2nd level, as well as the relationship
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between the number of enrolled students and the resources needed to implement the
program, and the possibilities of employability.
The success of the teacher's scientific research work is currently a weak point, as some
individuals are not active enough in this field. It is also necessary to pay more attention to
the compliance of study course providers with their references in the relevant field of work.
Part of the reason appears to be the high pedagogical workload of some teachers. We
propose measures that would enable course providers to be more involved in more
research work and to encourage their activity and excellence in this regard.
The faculty cooperates very well with related and partner institutions. More than 20
contracts or agreements have been concluded with domestic and foreign institutions, as
well as around 70 Erasmus + agreements. International engagement is well supported and
is attended by students, researchers, as well as professional staff, who also see the
experience as an opportunity to transfer good practices. However, it would be worthwhile
to take measures to allow longer mobility of researchers to promote high-quality research
in cooperation with foreign institutions.
Students are adequately represented, entry, content and exit tutoring is provided.
Assistance to students with special needs is organized in a personalized way, and a
commendable effort is being made to detect and eliminate cases of discrimination or
inconsistent treatment. However, students point out that they face additional costs
associated with the purchase of clinical work equipment, and that sometimes the study
requires the purchase of additional study literature or copying the material, which puts the
financially weaker in an unequal position and raises authorship copyright concerns. We
recommend reviewing and resolving such situations.
Students and graduates generally believe that their studies have provided them with an
appropriate level of eligibility for a successful entry into the work environment. Graduates
are well employable in both domestic and foreign environments. The faculty proved its
worth especially during the Covid19 pandemic when it made sure that clinical exercises
were organized and continued smoothly, which further testifies to the generally well
established mutual trust and cooperation with other health institutions and the wider
environment.