Degree Course Development

In accordance with the guidelines for the establishment of a degree programme, there is a defined procedure:

1. The idea for a degree programme is concretised on the basis of a concept. The core content of the concept is the qualification objectives of the degree programme with regard to the skills that students should acquire. The Department of Didactics, E-Learning and Quality Management provides a form and documents for this purpose and advises those responsible. The documents can be found in the internal area.
2. Once the faculty has approved the establishment of the degree programme on the basis of the concept, the degree documents are drawn up. These include the examination and study regulations with annexes as well as the module handbook and any admission regulations.
3. All documents are made available to the Didactics, E-Learning and Quality Management Unit. The staff unit then obtains the external reviews and consults with the student body.
4. Once the expert opinions are available, the Rectorate Committee for Degree Programme Development deals with the establishment of the degree programme. This committee is made up of the Vice-Rector for Education, the Legal Department, the Department for Student and Academic Affairs, the IT Service and Media Centre, WINGS GmbH Quality Management and the University's Didactics, E-Learning and Quality Management Unit.
5. Following the committee's decision, the documents are passed on to the committees. After the Faculty Council, the Rectorate and the Senate have been consulted, the documents are submitted to the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
6. The Rectorate decides on the initial accreditation. The degree programme is included in the accreditation cycle.

If changes are made to a degree programme, the type of changes must first be checked. A distinction is made here between significant and non-significant changes. Significant changes require an external review and must be submitted to the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Significant changes are

• Change in the qualification objective,
• Change in the name of the degree programme,
• Changes to the degree programme,
• Changes to the curriculum through the inclusion of new compulsory modules with the omission of existing compulsory modules amounting to more than 10% of the total number of compulsory modules based on ECTS points,
• Changes to the ECTS credits required for the degree

The procedure:

1. The documents for changing a degree programme are made available to the Didactics, E-Learning and Quality Management Unit, which checks the documents and obtains external expert opinions in the event of significant changes. The staff unit also consults with the student body.
2. All documents are then sent to the Rectorate Committee for Course Development, where they are reviewed by the Vice-Rector for Education, the Legal Department, the Department for Student and Academic Affairs, the IT Service and Media Centre, WINGS GmbH Quality Management and the Didactics, E-Learning and Quality Management Unit.
3. The committees are then referred to the Rectorate Committee. After the Faculty Council, the Rectorate and the Senate have been consulted, the documents are submitted to the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the event of significant changes. In the case of non-substantial changes, only the responsible ministry is notified.

If the Faculty decides in the Faculty Council that a degree programme is to be closed, it must be ensured that all currently enrolled students can complete the degree programme. This degree programme is referred to as a discontinued degree programme. No more students are enrolled on the programme.

The degree programme can only be closed once all students have successfully completed it or have been exmatriculated.

The Department of Student and Academic Affairs or the Examination Office for Distance and Online Study Programmes will inform the faculty of the possibility of closure as soon as there are no more students enrolled on the degree programme in question. A cancellation statute is also required for the closure of the degree programme. This is drawn up by the legal department.

The faculty submits the application for closure and the cancellation statute to the Rectorate and the Senate.

The university publishes the cancellation statute and notifies the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture Mecklenburg-Vorpommern of the closure of the degree programme. The Department of Didactics, E-Learning and Quality Management removes the degree programme from the Accreditation Council's database.