Quality management is the foundation of Laurea's operations and a tool for continuous improvement. As different monitoring and development measures, it is linked to all Laurea UAS and, therefore, a part of the organization's management, strategic work, and internal performance management. Quality management aims to maintain Laurea's quality culture and develop it further. All members of the Laurea community and the key stakeholders participate in the development of quality.
The basis for the quality management system in Laurea UAS is the cycle of continuous improvement: Plan – Do – Check – Act. The following philosophy realizes the cycle of continuous improvement in Laurea: Plan refers to operational planning. Do refer to the description of processes and acting by them. The check refers to operational monitoring and evaluation using set indicators. Act refers to the implementation and documentation of development measures selected based on monitoring, evaluation, and feedback data and monitoring the effectiveness of these measures.
The aims of Laurea's quality management system include To produce information that supports management and the achievement of Laurea's strategic goals and strategic intent, To systematically produce operational data that supports quality improvement To standardize quality management procedures and methods and to improve their efficiency To enhance the quality culture of Laurea UAS and the participation of Laurea community members in quality work To support the spreading of acceptable practices nationally and internationally.
A higher education institution's quality policy refers to the quality system's goals and fundamental principles and the delegation of responsibilities for quality management.
The goal of the quality policy in Laurea UAS is to support Laurea's values, strategic intent, and strategic goals. The quality policy promotes continuous improvement of the operations in line with the strategy. A process of integration occurs between the quality system of Laurea UAS and the management system, where the Operating and Financial Plans (OFPs), in which the strategy is translated into practical terms, form a link between the two systems. From the beginning of 2015, key goals and development targets have been recorded in the Operating and Financial Plans (OFPs) at the institution's level as a whole and its profit centers.
Laurea has engaged in ongoing and goal-oriented development work. A Strategy Implementation Plan, which steers Laurea's operations and quality work, was drafted for the first time in 2005. A uniform quality management system was created for Laurea UAS in 2006–2007. The international evaluation was launched in 2008, and the importance of international evaluation to operational development has increased since that time as internationalization targets were introduced for education, research, and development. As evidence of Laurea's quality culture, the Laurea quality guarantee system passed the FINHEEC audit in 2010.
The quality management process in Laurea UAS is based on the PDCA cycle and the principle of continuous improvement. The purpose of quality work is to support the achievement of Laurea's strategic intent in 2020. "Laurea aims to be an international developer of well-being and competitiveness of the Helsinki Metropolitan area in 2020."
The agreement informs operational planning concluded between Laurea UAS and the Ministry of Education and Culture for 2013-2016. Similar agreements are concluded at four-yearly intervals. They contain the targets set for Laurea's operations, including degree numbers and indicator targets. An agreement on how to target achievement will be monitored and how the operations will be developed. The Laurea level targets are translated as goals for individual profit centers recorded in each profit center's Operating and Financial Plan.
The operations of Laurea UAS are described using operating models and process descriptions. The purpose of the process is to standardize Laurea's operating methods and clarify the organization's delegation of work and responsibilities. The process descriptions can, for example, be utilized as familiarisation material. Precise definitions of the process stages, a delegation of work, tasks, and responsibilities also support development work. Functions and services are also being harmonized and developed to meet the needs of the organisation's activities. Key documents, including the Rules of Procedure, the Degree Regulations, the Project Manual, and the LBD Manual, provide practical operations guidelines and support uniform practices.
Laurea UAS are evaluated utilizing internal and external evaluations and information collected through the feedback system. The evaluation focuses on targets of strategic importance. Target achievement is monitored using indicators defined in the Operating and Financial Plans. The indicators to be monitored are based on the performance agreement with the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Laurea2020 strategy, and the funding model. The monitoring, evaluation, and development data in the quality management system are described in the Laurea QPR portal. The operations are evaluated at the Laurea level, part of the FUAS co-operation, and at the national level.
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