The quality assurance system for the areas of study and teaching at Clausthal University of Technology is designed to ensure that quality standards are achieved and to enable the continuous improvement of study programs. In order to control quality development, the faculties have implemented a quality control loop that combines the definition of target values, the evaluation of target achievement and the derivation of improvement measures into an annually recurring sequence of events based on the principle of technical control loops.

For each degree program, indicators of target achievement and extensive data on the development of cohort strengths and graduate and dropout figures are collected. The faculties define target values for the indicators at the beginning of each academic year, which are compared with the actual values achieved at the end of the year. In the event of deviations from targets, measures are to be selected from indicator-specific catalogs of measures and implemented. The data from the detailed cohort analyses of the degree programs support the respective program managers in identifying systematic developments at an early stage and initiating control measures if necessary.

The basic structure of the quality control loop is shown in the diagram below.

• The elements in italics (specification of the corridors for the target values, definition of target values, selection and implementation of measures in the degree programmes) are carried out and managed decentrally at the levels of the faculties, study commissions and degree programmes in accordance with the hybrid management approach of the quality management system.
• The remaining elements (principle and process of the control loop, specification of the catalogs of measures and collection of the indicator values achieved) are carried out centrally by the university management and the university administration.
• The decentralized and central control levels are linked by concluding target value agreements and defining reporting obligations between the deans of studies and the Vice President for Studies and Teaching.

More detailed information on the elements and process of the quality control loop is provided in Part 1 of the Quality Management Handbook (QM Handbook) for Studies and Teaching (Quality Management System):
 

• Section 4.2: Indicators of target achievement
• Section 4.3: Quality control measures
• Section 4.4: Quality control loop for teaching and learning