3.3 Progress

Tilburg School of Economics and Management

In 2022, The Quality Resources projects continued to build on previous TiSEM initiatives in line with the strategic goals. Below, we highlight a few specifics in the expenditure of the Quality Resources in 2022—facilitating the hiring of staff assigned to education and strengthening support for educational innovation within the School—the reasons for this, and the involvement of the School Council in the process.

In 2022, as in previous years, TiSEM strived to use these resources to reinforce the quality of education in the best possible way. In some cases, this led to plans being realized with lower-than-expected expenditures. The Quality Resources not spent in 2022, due to lower-than-expected costs or lower expenditures as a result of changed or postponed plans, have been placed in a special reserve. The only exception to this is the underspending within Theme A, with the remaining funds within this theme to be spent in future years. In consultation with the participation body, plans are made for the remaining reserve.

1) Resources for staff assigned to education.

In 2022, the Management Team (MT) reached agreements on the continuation of appointments beyond the current period of the Quality Agreements. This is in response to feedback from various Departments regarding difficulties in spending the Quality Resources to increase the number of staff assigned to education. These measures were introduced to facilitate the process.

2) Additional investment in the organization and support of innovative education projects

Since 2020, TiSEM has funded an innovation program manager from Quality Resources . In 2021, it appeared that a larger support structure was needed to continue to stimulate innovative education projects within the School and to support Schools in experimenting and rolling out innovations. Based on a proposal developed by the innovation program manager and approved by the School Council in December 2021, an additional €150K was allocated from 2022 Quality Resources to build the School’s innovation organization. In addition, in April 2022, with the approval of the School Council, it was decided to fund a new position of Associate Dean of Program Portfolio and Innovation from the Quality Resources . This Associate Dean is responsible for improving the quality of the education portfolio; innovating educational programs at the program, course, and lecture levels; and improving the labor market orientation. Finally, the Associate Dean forms a link with stakeholders involved in educational innovation in the School (e.g., innovation team, Heads of Department, and academic directors) and the Vice-Dean for Education.

Within TiSEM, the following have been accomplished in recent years:

A. Appoint more staff assigned to education

• Intention: more staff assigned to education and a better student-to-staff ratio.

• Realization: In addition to the expansion in appointments realized in recent years from the Quality Resources , in 2022, an additional 6.4 FTEs of additional lecturing staff was funded. Combined with a lower student intake, this has improved the student-to-staff ratio.

B. Perfect PASS

• Intention: Continuation of PASS in the first year.

• Realization: In 2022, PASS was continued with student mentors only. The academic directors are responsible for the content of the PASS programs and choosing which workshops are most valuable to their students. The underspending was partly due to lower staff costs and partly because not all workshops were funded from the Quality Resources .

• Intention: Expand PASS to year 2 and 3 for motivated students.

• Realization: The PASS year 2 program started in 2022. In the spring semester in the form of a pilot, and from September 2022, it was fully implemented. In the end, fewer students than expected registered.

C. Action plan student well-being

• Intention: None.

• Realization: In 2022, TiSEM contributed to a university-wide student well-being plan. This well-being plan focuses on prevention, early detection, intervention, and referral. Students also received access to e-health modules (Gezondeboel) in 2022.

D. Introduce learning analytics

• Intention: Improve the quality at multiple levels by appointing a learning analytics project manager (plus student assistant), developing a learning analytics platform with management information, and supporting the research-driven approach to learning analytics.

• Realization: The Learning Analytics project restarted in October 2020. In April 2022, the position of the Learning Analytics team lead became vacant. This was not filled again until September 2022, resulting in an underspending in this theme. In addition, with the advent of the university-wide Institutional Research and Analytics Program (IRAP), the development of dashboards with actionable education-management information was taken over by a central working group. The lessons and experiences already gained at TiSEM play an important role in this.
  In addition, in 2022, in collaboration with other Schools, several academic studies were conducted with a focus on learning analytics. These studies focus on the relationship between student background and study success, form of education (online versus offline), and student concentration. Finally, a study is being conducted that hopes to provide more insight into the achievement of learning objectives within education.

• In addition, from the Quality Resources , the earlier version of the study thermometer was evaluated, and an improved version was administered to students in November 2022. Based on the results, students were given the opportunity for a tutoring interview. Due to a lower response rate to the questionnaire, the cost of conducting interviews with students was also lower than expected.

E. Improve and streamline thesis supervision

• Intention: The plan for 2023 and 2024 for the purpose of improving thesis supervision is ready in 2022.

• Realization: No costs realized yet.

G. Further embed labor market orientation in education.

• Intention: Strengthen labor market orientation in the programs by appointing 4 FTEs of career services officers (CSO) paid from the Quality Agreements in 2024.

• Realization: As of March 2021, the TiSEM Career Services team consists of three CSOs (two of whom are paid from the Quality Resources ), and one external relations officer. They work together with the academic directors to improve the career orientation of their programs. The use of three CSOs allows them each to specialize more. This adds value to the students because the range offered can be better tailored to the specific needs of students within a program. The external relations officer focuses on establishing closer relationships between TiSEM and external partners, which has resulted in a significantly higher number of students doing internships during their Bachelor's programs, more guest lectures in the Master's programs, and four partnerships with companies.

• Consultation with the CSO team revealed that there is no need for the anticipated fourth CSO. In consultation with the School Council in July 2021, it was agreed to let the fourth vacancy lapse.

• Intention: Build and maintain contact with companies and support students in practical matters regarding internships by 1 FTE internship coordinator as of 2021.

• Realization: The 0.2 FTE internship coordinator filled in 2020 has been expanded to 0.3 FTE in 2021. The staffing has been aligned with the actual numbers of students doing internships and with the size of the internship.

H. Realize Education Innovation Laboratory

• Intention: Promote innovation and digitalization by appointing an innovation coordinator (0.4 FTE).

• Realization: An innovation manager was appointed in 2020. Throughout 2021 and 2022, the innovation manager played an important role in supporting the innovation of TiSEM’s education. Great steps were taken to build an innovation team and structure the innovation process within TiSEM. The innovation manager coordinates collaboration with both decentralized and central support services. Examples of ongoing initiatives include Canvas Course templates and experimenting with educational tools (e.g., Grasple). In addition, the innovation manager researches and supports new initiatives, such as MicroSurveys.

• Intention: Establish an education innovation fund.

• Realization: In 2022, the budget was used to fund five different educational innovation projects. Several other projects were submitted and approved in 2022, but costs will be incurred in 2023.

• Intention: Roll out and embed innovations in the School.

• Realization: In June 2022, an innovation support officer was appointed to lead innovative projects within the School. In addition, in coordination with the School Council, an Associate Dean of Program Portfolio and Innovation was appointed. A number of licenses for supporting software were also secured.

I. Implement system of permanent professionalization

• Intention: Improve the assessment quality by appointing two assessment specialists, one as of September 2020, one as of 2023.

• Realization: Since 2020, one assessment specialist has been appointed for 0.6 FTE. This appointment was expanded to 0.7 FTE as of January 1, 2022. In addition, the vacancy for an assessment specialist planned for 2023 was already filled in September 2022 (0.6 FTE). Administrative support has also been appointed for 0.7 FTE.

• Intention: Personal development of academic staff through participation of 40 staff members per year in the Harvey Brightman Master Teacher Program and of two staff members per year in the Harvard Global Colloqium on Participant-Centered learning.

• Realization: A pilot of the Harvey Brightman Master Teacher Program took place in the fall of 2019 and was evaluated very positively. The second edition of the program was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was not continued in 2021 and 2022. An Associate Dean Professionalization was appointed from these funds. This Associate Dean supports the academic directors and lecturers in their professionalization, plays an important role in developments regarding the University Teaching Qualification (UTQ) and the Senior University Teaching Qualification (SUTQ), and acts as a link between various stakeholders.

• In addition, in consultation with the School Council (February 2022), €24K was transferred to support the Tilburg Center of Business Case Studies. This Center promotes the use of business cases in education.

J. Enhance digitalization in education

• Intention: appoint an innovation coordinator (0.4 FTE).

• Realization: innovation coordinator has been appointed since May 2020.

• Intention: Digitalization of pre-Master's programs starting in 2022.

• Realization: In 2021, Due to COVID-10 the pre-Master’s programs were fully digitalized. This revealed the challenges that fully digital education brings, and the negative effects on study progress. After an extensive exploration for possible cooperation with the Open University, it was decided to no longer proceed with fully digital pre-Master's programs.

Figure 3.3.1.1 Progress on national themes, TiSEM

Figure 3.3.1.2. Progress on Tilburg University themes, TiSEM.

School participation involvement

October 2021 - Budget 2022 presented to the School Council, and the spending plans of the Quality Resources were approved, except the investment of €150K for the support organization for educational innovation at TiSEM.

December 2021 - The School Council consents to a revised sub-plan for the Educational Innovation Support Organization at TiSEM.

April 2022—The School Council consents to the spending of the 2021 Quality Agreements funds.

May 2022—The School Council consents to the use of €222K from the earmarked reserve of the Quality Resources (€372K) to fund two Associate Dean positions.

October 2022—In accordance with the university-wide monitoring cycle, the MT and the School Council discussed the plans (and any adjustments to the original plans) for spending the funds for the Quality Agreements in 2023. All plans received the Council's consent.

Statement TiSEM School Council (February 9, 2023)

In general, we are satisfied with the way in which the MT has informed us about both plans and results related to the Quality Agreements in 2022.

We would like to mention that the current School Council has had little opportunities to influence the plans, as most decisions were made by previous Councils.

As a critical note, the reports on the Quality Agreements do not always reach the Council on the scheduled date before the informal meeting, thus leaving us less time to prepare for the formal meeting. Besides that, the information meeting organized by Academic Services on January 17 was scheduled too late for us, since the TiSEM plan had already been discussed in an earlier Council meeting. Therefore, we think that there is some room for improvement in terms of timely communication about the reporting of the Quality Agreements.

On the positive side, in the first Council meeting, we discussed the fall report and had the opportunity to ask questions. Moreover, we were asked to give input about how to spend the extra budget that was left over. Furthermore, in the Council meeting of the third cycle (February 9, 2023), we were given the opportunity to discuss the 2022 report as well as additional plans for the Quality Agreements budget for 2023. At that meeting, we consented to both the 2022 spending report and the additional plans for 2023.

We hope that in the future, we will have a chance to participate more actively in the matter of the Quality Agreements and potentially propose additional initiatives for 2024 in the subsequent cycles.

Tilburg Law School

In 2022, as in previous years, TLS focused on two topics in particular: small-scale and intensive education and educational innovation. There is also a strong focus on student well-being and labor market orientation. Policies on the various topics will be further reinforced and expanded in 2023 and 2024.

The special circumstances caused by the lockdowns in recent years have given an extra impetus to new initiatives, such as the implementation of blended education within the Bachelor’s program in Rechtsgeleerdheid and pilots in the field of online and blended education. Educational innovation at TLS will continue to be supported by the innovation team in the coming years. In addition, COVID-19 has ensured that student well-being has become an even more important theme. In the coming period, TLS wants to better connect with university-wide well-being policies in this area and seek collaboration with the other Schools in this regard.

The most explicit changes in investment from the Quality Agreements were:

1. Overall, there was a slight overspending in 2022. This is the result of deliberate choices and particularly reflected in the theme "more intensive and small-scale education.” This overspending is largely due to additional Quality Resources that became available in mid–2022. After consultation with students, this budget was eventually spent entirely on appointing additional lecturers in the context of more intensive and small-scale education.

2. The underspending in 2021 has been transferred to 2022 and beyond and will be spent in the coming years on the various themes of the Quality Agreements. The spending of this was determined in consultation with the participation body.

3. In 2023, a budget will be set aside, in consultation with students in the Council, to create a Living Room in Montesquieu Building, in the context of student well-being and improving a sense of belonging.

TLS works intensively with its participation body and the students to use the Quality Resources for concrete improvements of the quality of education within the various themes. It is important to note here that TLS also makes investments from other resources, particularly the School’s strategic resources and NPO resources. An underspending of the revenues from the student loan system in a particular area does not mean that the School has not invested in it. TLS strongly values student and staff participation, so they are also consulted in these investments.

Within TLS, the following have been accomplished in recent years:

A. Appoint more staff assigned to education

• Intention: Expand "small-within-large" to multiple seminars.

• Realization: TLS has invested heavily in recent years in expanding the appointments of academic staff assigned to education. Resources that were not spent in previous years on other themes have been used additionally for this in these years, for example, to ensure the small-scale nature of the Global Law and Rechtsgeleerdheid programs. In addition, investments were made in more small-scale supervision within the course Methode en Technieken van Onderzoek (MTO)/Bachelor's thesis and the supervision of the Master's thesis. Additional lecturers were appointed within all Departments, in part to make the transition to online education. TLS has also invested outside the Quality Agreements, in a broad sense, in expanding the number of FTEs for education.

B. Perfect PASS

• Intention: Increase study success and student well-Being.

• Realization: Academic mentors and student mentors have been trained and appointed. Additional student mentors and academic mentors have been appointed in the Global Law Bachelor's program to ensure continued small-group guidance. In addition, in the fall of 2022, PASS within Global Law was expanded to include the online study thermometer. A study thermometer is now administered to all first-year Bachelor’s students at TLS. This is done as part of early detection and to monitor and promote study success and student well-being. Academic and student mentors, especially at the time of lockdowns, scheduled more contact moments. The student mentors were an easily accessible point of contact. First-year students received lectures in study skills to improve their learning styles and study strategies.

• Intention: Higher evaluations on the labor market preparation component, study success, community building, and student well-being in student evaluations.

• Realization: PASS has been extended to year 2 and 3 in Dutch-taught Bachelor’s programs, with a focus on labor market orientation (See Theme G). All first-year Global Law students attended weekly sessions on social and study skills, thereby explicitly addressing first-year students' well-being and academic integration.

C. Action plan student well-being

• Intention: Community building.

• Realization: TLS increased staffing for educational coordination within the Education Support Team, partly with a focus on student well-being. Additional welcome activities were organized at the beginning of the academic year for both first-year and senior students. Additional investments were also made in 2021 and 2022 to professionalize the (online) introduction. For example, an online platform was purchased and an activity was added to the on-campus program that aims to create more bonding between students. A community building officer was also appointed in the fall of 2022. Finally, TLS contributed to the appointment of the Tilburg University well-being officer in 2022.

• In 2022, a structural budget was made available for the academic directors to spend on activities in the context of community building with the aim of promoting social cohesion and thus indirectly academic integration of students.

• In the fall of 2022, a student assistant was appointed to focus on community building. This student assistant supports academic directors in organizing community building activities and has conducted a benchmark on student well-being. Further preparations were made in 2022 for the realization of a Living Room in Montesquieu Building. Realization of this is intended for 2023. In the area of student well-being, TLS's ambition in 2023 is to connect even better with university-wide policy, joining forces with the other Schools so that more can be achieved in this area.

D. Introduce learning analytics

• Intention: Quality improvement study guidance.

• Realization: A TLS policy officer has joined the university wide IRAP, which is aimed at creating a database of figures and data. This creates a multitude of information that can be used by the administration and policy units. TLS has requested several data from this project and based decision-making on them (such as tightening admission requirements for the intake of university of applied sciences students after their propaedeutic phase). In addition, is being investigated whether a dashboard for academic directors can be delivered.

E. Improve and streamline thesis supervision

• Intention: Improved thesis supervision.

• Realization: As of the 2019–2020 academic year, the TLS thesis track, which was developed in collaboration with the Language Center and academic directors, will be offered to Master's students. This track now consists of two parts: the introductory lectures “How to write a proposal?" and the "Thesis Writing Labs.” In 2022, a second entry point was created so that Master's students can start the track both in the spring and the fall. Since the spring of 2022, a more intensive variant of the Thesis Writing Labs has been offered, and since the fall of 2022, the sessions have been expanded to include individual coaching. In 2023, the track will be evaluated with academic directors, the education coordinator, a student focus group of, and the Language Center.

F. Further embed character building in education

• Intention: Make explicit and, where appropriate, reinforce the five elements of Character in programs.

• Realization: Student assistants have been appointed, supporting the academic directors so that they have more time to improve the content of the program and take up new initiatives, such as the implementation of TEP and the elaboration of the character element. In year 2 of the Dutch-taught Bachelor’s programs, the mandatory Talent and Career Development component has been implemented. This is partly focused on training within TEP, which specifically addresses the elements Skills and Character.

G. Further embed labor market orientation in education

• Intention: Better evaluations on the "labor market preparation" component in student evaluations.

• Realization: The appointment of CSOs has been expanded in recent years. The CSO is directly engaged in the work resulting from this theme (including individual counseling of students on labor market orientation and providing information) and projects aimed at promoting the connection with the labor market. For example, they designed career slides with facts & figures for all TLS courses and organized a Tedtalk event for the TLS Top Class. The number of workshops offered has grown significantly (from 28 in 2020 to 71 in 2021 and 147 in 2022) and more individual counseling sessions have also been held (137 in 2020, 223 in 2021 and 275 in 2022). In addition, the Fit for the Future event aimed at labor market preparation has been taking place since 2020.

• Since the fall of 2022, the mandatory Talent and Career development component has been implemented in year 2 of the Dutch-taught Bachelor's programs. Talent and Career Development is woven into the Bachelor’s programs and forms a connecting link within various (learning) pathways in the programs. It focuses on character building, skills development, and labor market preparation. This component consists of two Talent Management workshops and a Talent Pitch. Talent and Career Development was completed by 193 students in the fall of 2022 and will continue in 2023. A slight increase in the National Student Survey (NSE) score can be observed on this component for all TLS Bachelor’s programs, including those with the Talent and Career Development course pilot. The unweighted average of the programs increased from a 3.2 to a 3.4 in this section.

• Intention: Connection to practice by integrating an internship and/or other practical experience.

• Realization: An Extended Master's program has been created within TLS for the Master’s program in Rechtsgeleerdheid. Within this, three tracks can be distinguished: Education, Research, and Practice. For Education, since the fall of 2021, students have the opportunity to graduate in two specializations instead of one. This can be done by adding a semester to the standard program (of two semesters).

• For the Research track, since the spring of 2022, students have been able to shadow a researcher and (co-)write an academic article in an additional semester. This can be seen as a connection to practice toward an academic career. Five students participated in the first cohort for the Research track.

• The Practice track will start in the fall of 2023. Here, students will do an internship at an organization in an additional semester and follow a training program. The internships have been arranged and students can sign up for them now.

• TLS sees an increase in enrollment in the Master’s in Rechtsgeleerdheid for the academic year 2022–2023. We suspect that, in part, this is due to the Extended Master's program.

• Intention: Invest in English language level

• Realization: To improve the English language level, the Language Center has developed several online modules for the Bachelor’s programs in Global Law and Rechtsgeleerdheid.

H. Realize Education Innovation Laboratory

• Intention: Implement at least two educationally innovative digitalization projects.

• Realization: Seed money was spent on digitalization projects arising from lecturers’ ideas and supported and realized by the innovation team. This mainly involves funding for tools and licenses (e.g., FeedbackFruits and Comproved).

• Intention: Promote innovation and digitalization.

• Realization: The education policy staff has been expanded by 1.6 FTEs for sustainable educational innovation. They are drivers and coordinators of the projects resulting from the Quality Agreements and take care of the monitoring and evaluation of these.

I. Implement system of permanent professionalization

• Intention: Promote participation in SUTQ educational innovation projects. And increase the number of lecturers with an SUTQ qualification by at least two per year by means of the School Board, each year, submitting several SUTQ themes that are valuable to the organization to the academic staff.

• Realization: Seed money has been made available for School SUTQ projects. In 2022, one lecturer, as part of her SUTQ project, claimed this budget. She obtained her SUTQ with her research on online education within the Law and Technology Master's program. TLS is also affiliated with SUTQ certification efforts at university level. In 2023, two or three SUTQ certification candidates will be nominated by TLS.

• Intention: Improve assessment quality and professionalization of lecturers.

• Realization: To this end, first of all, the specialist staffing was temporarily expanded with an education and assessment specialist for 0.3 FTE. She supports and advises lecturers and academic directors, especially in the field of assessment. Several workshops have been offered and Q&As organized for lecturers. TLS has strengthened the role of the Assessment Committee, and here too the assessment specialist provides support.

• In addition, intensive support is provided to lecturers in digital assessment through Testvision. For this, specific attention is paid to assessment quality.

J. Enhance digitalization in education

• Intention: Improve the quality of education through deployment of digital resources in education.

• Realization: During the coronavirus period, much attention was paid to professionalization through workshops, training, and coaching of lecturers to redesign existing education to online education at the individual and program level. In September 2021, a pilot started offering three Master’s programs and one Bachelor’s program in a blended manner. As of the fall of 2022, blended education continued in this pilot form supported by the innovation team and for which one specifically designated innovation specialist was hired in 2022. In addition, intensive support has been provided to lecturers by student moderators, who provide practical support for the online and blended lectures. By the fall of 2022, a total of 711 hours of support has been provided. The pilots will end after the 2022–2023 academic year. In the period November 2022 through February 2023, the pilots were evaluated, and in the first half of 2023, a decision will be made by the Board and the academic directors at which program an online or blended variant will be continued structurally. This decision will also be discussed in the School bodies.

• Intention: More intensive education through (more) digitalization in education.

• Realization: Educational innovation is firmly on the map within TLS. Additional staffing is provided for lecturers to focus on educational innovation. As a result, a digitalization effort has been made within the new course MTO/Bachelor’s thesis, where the thesis file has been embedded. In addition, a lecturer is coordinating the implementation of blended education within the Bachelor’s in Rechtsgeleerdheid.

• In mid–2021, TLS appointed an Innovation Team. The Team focuses on supporting, professionalizing, and unburdening lecturers. At the beginning, this was done primarily at the individual request of a lecturer. Students have indicated that it is important for as many students as possible to benefit from educational innovation. Partly because of this, the Innovation Team started implementing blended education in year 1 of the Bachelor’s in Rechtsgeleerdheid in the fall of 2022. This involved the Innovation Team, together with the lecturing team, redesigning all first-year courses in the fall semester. The Team has also done this exercise for the spring courses. Beginning in January 2023, the revised spring courses will be offered. Other courses will eventually be blended as well. Also, lecturers from other courses can already work on their own requests, in collaboration with the Innovation Team, to improve or redesign their courses.

Figure 3.3.2.1 Progress on national themes, TLS

Figure 3.3.2.2. Progress on Tilburg University themes, TLS

School participation involvement

An interim update was discussed with (the student party of) the School Council in June 2022. In this meeting an update was given on the state of affairs and the perspective for the rest of 2022. The input of the students resulted in interim adjustments to a number of agreements. Within TLS, further conversations with School Council students about the Quality Agreements were held at various times, both inside and outside formal meetings. These included updates on the progress of spending, technical preliminary meetings in which students were explained how to read the financial documents, and sessions in which students could provide input. These discussions generally focused on the topics of community building, student well-being, and labor market orientation. Additionally, in November 2022, the Innovation Team gave a presentation on blended education at the School Council meeting. Students provided feedback on the results of the Innovation Team.

On February 1, 2023, the realization of the 2022 Quality Agreements was presented and discussed in the School Council. TLS once again expresses its appreciation for the pleasant and constructive cooperation with the students. This good cooperation has allowed the School to realize concrete quality improvements in the past period, which can be further reinforced in the coming years. TLS is convinced that this good cooperation with the students can be continued in order to work together for even better education.

Statement TLS School Council (February 9, 2023)

In this letter, the School Council members of Tilburg Law School will share their reflection on the process of applying the revenues from the student loan system (studievoorschotmiddelen) in 2022. The School Council, especially the student members, have been involved in the process of contributing, selecting, and investing ideas to provide TLS students with the right tools and information for their further academic, professional, and social development. In addition to the monthly School Council meetings, the students have been invited to various meetings and sessions to ensure their participation in the decision-making on the allocation of the revenues from the student loan system. They have also initiated several meetings themselves in order to discuss the development of educational policy initiatives. The above mentioned will be elaborated upon in this memo.

To begin with, before every School Council meeting, the student advisor of the School Board held a preliminary meeting with the students of the Council. During these meetings, the student advisor elaborated on the documents, and the students were able to ask questions in order to help them prepare for the Council meeting. Besides the monthly preliminary meetings, whenever financial documents were put on the agenda for the School Council meetings, the students and staff members were invited for a technical preliminary meeting in order to prepare them properly. As such, the School Board ensured that the students were informed sufficiently to discuss these complex matters during the Council Meeting. This contributed to the discussion of the spending of the revenues from the student loan system. During the Council meetings, the realization and reflection upon the allocation of the revenues from the student loan system were discussed in depth.

In addition to this, during our Council meetings, the School Board actively informed the members of the School Council about the progress of the implementation of the policy ideas. For example, after the School Board having consulted the School Council, it was decided to invest in the Innovation Team of the EST. To make the results of these investments more concrete, one of the colleagues of the Innovation Team was invited to discuss the results of the work of the Innovation Team more in depth. The students expressed their enthusiasm about the results achieved by the Innovation Team.

In addition to the preliminary and Council meetings, the students were invited to informal brainstorming sessions. During these sessions, the students were asked to share their ideas on education and the potential of the School to contribute even more to the development of the students. Besides that, the EST policy advisor, the student advisor, and the Secretary of the Board discussed the development of the Living Room within Montesquieu Building with the students. Partly due to their enthusiastic responses, it has been decided to further develop this idea in practice. Also, in the process of further developing this idea, the students were consulted on a regular basis, and informal meetings were planned to discuss the plans. At this stage, the School Board expects to realize the Living Room in September 2023.

In addition, the student members of the School Council initiated several meetings to discuss the development of educational policy initiatives. To illustrate, the students initiated a meeting with the policy advisor of the Innovation Team to discuss the further development of blended learning. Besides that, some of the students also had an informative meeting with the Vice-Dean for education to discuss study load and the process of designing the TLS programs. The Vice-Dean for Education gave the students additional information about the opportunities for blended assessment.

The School Council would like to express their appreciation for the collaboration with the School Board.

Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences

In recent years at TSB, as at Tilburg University as a whole, the emphasis has been on how the School could best ensure the quality of education and assessment, given the special circumstances resulting from COVID-19. Tilburg University has invested heavily and university-wide in educational innovation. These university-wide investments in educational innovation made it possible for TSB to actually focus the Quality Resources more strongly on the two main pillars of the School’s Quality Agreements spending plan: small-scale education and PASS. The progress of the measures was regularly discussed in the School Council meeting. This allowed the School Council to keep track of developments in educational innovation, student support, and other adjustments in education and assessment, and to provide feedback on the measures.

The most explicit changes in investment from the Quality Agreements were:

1. Significantly more staff assigned to education have been appointed in recent years than originally budgeted (Agreement A). This has positively affected the student-to-staff ratio but only to a limited extent due to student growth.

2. More investments in PASS were realized. Attention to student well-being remained high in 2022. The School Council also kept the TSB MT on its toes by regularly calling attention to student well-being. Work was done in PASS meetings to improve study skills. Attention to student well-being remains a core component of School’s policy. There was also additional focus on skills in the revision of PASS.

3. Although slightly more than in 2021, funding for EduiLab is limited in scope. In 2022, firm investments were made in educational innovation, but these investments were spread across multiple Quality Agreements. See, for example, under Agreements J. (Enhance digitalization in education) and I. (Implement system of permanent professionalization). For clarity, it has been agreed with the School Council that the resources for the Education Innovation Fund will be used within Agreement J. (Enhance digitalization in education). Both Quality Agreements aim to strengthen educational innovation.

Within TSB, the following have been accomplished in recent years:

A. Appoint more staff assigned to education

• Intention: more staff assigned to education and a better student-to-staff ratio.

• Realization: As planned within TSB from the beginning of the Quality Agreements, most of the Quality Resources have been invested in more staff assigned to education to promote more intensive and small-scale education. In four years, the number of students at TSB has increased by 40% to over 4,800 students in 2022–2023. Investments from the Quality Agreements have positively affected the student-to-staff ratio but limited due to the growth in student numbers. In recent years, the coronavirus situation forced a focus on how the School could best ensure the quality of education and assessment. At the same time, it became necessary to pay extra attention to interactive forms of education (online and to the extent possible on campus) so that students, although remotely, could still experience belonging to and being connected to the Tilburg academic community. In 2022, after the lifting of the coronavirus restrictions, education could be normalized again, preserving what had been learned in the previous two years.

B. Perfect PASS

• Intention: Continuation of the mentoring program in all three Bachelor’s years.

• Realization: Mentoring continued, in addition student mentors were introduced.

• Intention: Improving labor market orientation in PASS in year 2.

• Realization: An inventory of activities aimed at labor market orientation identified gaps in the range of activities offered, both within and outside curricula.

• Intention: Increase excellence and skills through a new excellence program.

• Realization: The plan in 2020 was to develop a new excellence program. It was agreed within TSB to adjust the action to skills in general for the benefit of all students with more focus on skills, inside and outside the programs (e.g., within PASS). In 2023, a working group with lecturers from all study programs will develop a proposal on what skills (should) be offered in education, and how they can be embedded within the curriculum or within PASS.

C. Action plan student well-being

• Intention: None.

• Realization: TSB invests on this theme primarily from other resources. From Quality Resources , TSB contributed to a university-wide student well-being plan in 2022. This well-being plan focuses on prevention, early detection, intervention, and referral. Students have also been given access to e-health modules (Gezondeboel) in 2022.

D. Introduce learning analytics

• Intention: Gain insight into the effectiveness of educational processes and educational materials by appointing a project manager and student assistant and develop and implement a platform in 2021–2022.

• Realization: During the first period of the Quality Agreements, TSB joined the Learning Analytics pilot that was already running at TiSEM. From that pilot, a number of concrete questions that were on TSB's mind were answered. The possibilities of introducing learning analytics at the curriculum and individual course level will be explored as part of the TSB 2022–2027 Strategy. Furthermore, TSB is investing in the university wide IRAP.

F. Further embed character building in education

• Intention: Express and, where appropriate, reinforce the five elements of character education in the programs by assigning additional staff to make an inventory and implement the five elements in all curricula.

• Realization: The inventory has taken place for some of the training programs. The costs are lower partly because slightly fewer programs were reviewed than planned, and partly because of an overestimate of the costs. A full inventory is planned for 2023.

G. Further embed labor market orientation in education

• Intention: better evaluation of students on labor market orientation through continuation of 1 FTE to CSO.

• Realization: The appointment of the CSO was extended in 2022 (belongs within Quality Agreement B). An internship officer was appointed for English-taught Bachelor's programs. An inventory of activities was made; it will now be determined which activities can be rolled out more broadly. For 2023, this will be continued within PASS (Quality Agreement B), so that improving labor market orientation is an integral part of the revision of PASS. It will also be examined whether good initiatives (e.g., appropriate workshops) can be rolled out in more courses.

H. Realize Education Innovation Laboratory

• Intention: A minimum of two course-level educational innovation projects per year using an educational innovation fund.

• Realization: The Blended Learning Toolkit Project, including the implementation of blended learning in two Bachelor’s in Psychology courses has been realized. The instructional designer and the innovation coordinator support educational innovation projects. An "Educational call" has been issued and good use is being made of this for course-level projects. The ambition is to expand the number of projects and also start projects at the level of curricula/courses/programs, in line with the Tilburg University Strategy, and the plans as formulated in the new multi-year program around blended learning (TUNED IN). In 2023, this will be continued within the theme Enhance digitalization in education (Quality Agreement J). Both Quality Agreements aim to promote educational innovation.

I. Implement system of permanent professionalization

• Intention: Professionalize academic directors by establishing a leadership program.

• Realization: Because the leadership program for academic directors was created from other resources, this action will be removed from this list as of 2023.

• Intention: Increase the number of lecturers with an SUTQ by funding participation in the SUTQ program.

• Realization: Three SUTQ projects were started in 2021, with two completed in January 2022. One new SUTQ project started in 2022. Candidates were selected in 2022 for a new group starting in 2023. Consideration is being given to how to motivate staff to obtain an SUTQ.

• Intention: Full implementation of assessment policies at the School, program, and course level by expanding assessment expertise.

• Realization: Assessment policies for all but one program are available and being implemented. Now that almost all programs have developed assessment plans, the focus in 2022–2023 has shifted to embedding them in the educational process and cycles.

J. Enhance digitalization in education

• Intention: Appoint an innovation coordinator (0.2 FTE).

• Realization: An innovation coordinator had already started in 2021. A second instructional designer was recruited in 2022. Both instructional designers provide support to lecturers and have coordinating tasks, such as the "educational call.”

Figure 3.3.3.1 Progress on national themes, TSB

Figure 3.3.3.2 Progress on Tilburg University themes, TSB

School participation involvement

The TSB School Board and School Council agreed to place emphasis on more staff assigned to education and mentoring of students. Progress was regularly discussed with the School Council. This allowed the School Council to keep track of developments in educational innovation, student supervision, and other adjustments in education and assessment and to provide feedback on the measures.

• The monitoring schedules were explicitly discussed during the March and September 2022 meetings.

• In December 2022, the School Council agreed to a rearrangement/bundling of the Quality Agreements.

• The implementation of the 2022 plans was reported to the School Council in January 2023. The School Council gave its consent.

The School Board believes that the School Council had an important role in the creation of the plans (in 2019 and 2020), and it remained an important consultation partner thereafter. In the fall of 2023 the lines for the coming years will be discussed again with the School Council.

Statement TSB School Council (February 10, 2023).

Also in 2022, TSB's School Council was heavily involved in the Quality Agreements.

• During the School Council in February, the spending of the Quality Agreements funds was addressed during the discussion of the 2022–2026 internal budget;

• During the School Council in March, the issue of the spending of the Quality Agreements funds was addressed in the analysis of the 2021 financial statements, including the additional investment of €189K in 2021.

• Also on the agenda at the March School Council meeting was the 2021 Quality Agreements report. We then discussed the topic of mentoring under PASS, for which some areas of concern still exist: the student-to-staff ratio and how to deal with changes in the School’s excellence program. We gave our consent to the report.

• In June and September the School Council discussed with the MT the School’s education strategy, the consequences for the spending of the Quality Resources . During the September meeting, the Quality Agreements report for the first half of 2022 was discussed. The School Council gave its consent to the report.

• Finally, in the December meeting, the School Council discussed and agreed to the precise consequences of the education strategy for the spending of the Quality Resources, based on a proposal from the MT.

The School Council notices that the Quality Agreements have helped to further improve the quality of education. The School Council is consulted regularly (almost every meeting) on the Quality Agreements.

The 2022 Quality Agreements report was discussed in the School Council on January 26, 2023. The council urged the MT to ensure student involvement in educational innovation projects. The MT has made commitments to this. Hearing those commitments, the council consented to the 2022 report.

Both student and staff members of the School Council are satisfied with how the School is engaged in educational innovation and improvement.

Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences

In 2022, TSHD was able to use the resources of the Quality Agreements to its satisfaction. In almost all themes, TSHD was able to carry out the intended work and associated spending as planned. The exceptions to this mainly have to do with previously spent resources or resources carried forward due to the duration of contracts and projects.

For 2023 and 2024, TSHD has clearly laid out how they will spend the remaining resources. The annual plan for 2023 has already been presented. In the fall of 2023, it will be detailed how the last resources of these budgets will be allocated in 2024. The School Council was closely involved throughout the process. The progress of the planned initiatives was regularly discussed at the School Council meetings.

The most explicit changes in investment from the Quality Agreements were:

1. Themes 2/3 and 6, Agreements B, C, and I: perfect PASS, student well-being, and implement system of permanent professionalization
   The structural deployment of student assistants has been an issue since the start of the Quality Agreements. These student assistants have been deployed for student guidance, PASS, and providing support for lecturer professionalization. In practice, these themes overlap in the work these student assistants do for the School. In addition, a PASS working group and a PASS coordinator were appointed at TSHD at the end of 2022 to perfect and professionalize TSHD's PASS activities (Agreement B). Part of the 2022 resources have been transferred to 2023 to help achieve this goal. This transfer was discussed with the School Council at the end of 2022.

2. Theme 4, Agreement G: further embed labor market orientation in education
   The CSO funded from these resources will receive a contract extension starting in 2023 to implement the successfully newly introduced labor market orientation activities (societal challenges). Part of the 2022 budget has been reserved for this purpose and will be transferred to 2023. This transfer was discussed with the School Council at the end of 2022.

3. Theme 5, Agreement H: realize EduiLab
   Due in part to the duration of certain innovation projects and the different nature of their funding, TSHD has transferred part of the 2022 budget to 2023 for this theme. This was discussed with the School Council at the end of 2022. In addition, in 2023–2024, TSHD expects to need a significant portion of this innovation budget for TUNED IN.

4. Theme 6, Agreement J: enhance digitalization of education
   €19K of the 2023 budget was already used in 2022 for the appointment of a teaching assistant and instructional designer, whose contracts extend through 2023.

The following have been accomplished within TSHD in recent years:

A. Appoint more staff assigned to education

• Intention: More staff assigned to education and a better student-to-staff ratio by hiring an average of 5.4 FTEs per year.

• Realization: Additional lecturing staff (3.5 FTEs) was recruited from the revenues from the student loan system in 2019 for the programs that had the strongest growth in student numbers in previous years. In 2020, no revenues from the student loan system were used on this topic, but additional staff was hired from TSHD’s own reserves. In 2021, substantially more was invested on this theme than originally budgeted, to help staff and students through the difficult educational conditions of the past year. In 2022, the planned investment was realized.

B. Perfect PASS

• Intention: Publish an annual calendar with all PASS activities and a quick reference card to improve visibility and accessibility of the student mentors.

• Realization: Annual calendar and Quick Reference cards were developed on schedule.

• In addition, the coordination and communication of PASS was improved during the year by a working group. The remaining budget goes to this working group, the cost of which will continue through 2023.

C. Action plan student well-being

• Intention: Structural deployment of student assistance (2.6 FTEs per year). This will promote development opportunities for students and more available time for the academic staff for TEP implementation elements.

• Realization: In recent years, a structural deployment of 2.6 FTEs of student assistants have been realized for this theme. These student assistants function as student mentors for new pre-Master’s and Master’s students. In addition, they support lecturers in online education. All student assistants have also participated in training for this purpose. By 2022, the planned investments from the Quality Resources will have been realized.

F. Further embed character building in education

• Intention: Deploy 0.4 FTE for a TEP coordinator to develop character-building activities in the courses, to further integrate "character" into the courses as part of TEP. Implementing character-building activities will create more dialogue and make education more interactive, thus increasing the quality of education.

• Realization: A TEP coordinator was appointed in previous years. In 2022, the planned investments were realized.

• Intention: 1 additional FTE for participation of academic staff and academic directors in character-building activities, to make character-building elements clearly visible in Bachelor’s and Master’s programs

• Realization: This was started in 2021 and this investment continued in 2022.

G. Further embed labor market orientation in education.

• Intention: Continuation of the 0.6 FTE for the CSO and an expansion of 0.2 FTE for the internship coordinator.

• Realization: An internship coordinator and CSO were assigned to the study programs in 2021. A portion of the budget was transferred to 2023 and 2024 to increase the number of working hours of the CSO's appointment to 0.8 FTE. In 2022, additional curricular activities were offered to students in the form of Societal Challenges. TSHD would like to embed this into the regular curriculum in the future.

H. Realize Education Innovation Laboratory

• Intention: Deploy (0.2 FTE) innovation coordinator and other staff (0.1 FTE), for the purpose of coordinating and stimulating educational innovation.

• Realization: Budgeted investments were realized on this.

• Intention: Establish an innovation fund (€40K) to finance four educational innovation projects annually (€10K per project).

• Realization: Several projects have taken place in recent years and similarly in 2022. Due to the duration of certain educational innovation projects and the different nature of their funding, TSHD has transferred a portion of the 2022 budget to 2023 for this theme. In addition, in 2023–2024, TSHD expects to need a significant portion of this innovation budget for TUNED IN.

I. Implement system of permanent professionalization

• Intention: Structural deployment of 1.3 FTEs of student assistants to provide lecturers with opportunities for professionalization.

• Realization: Student assistants have been recruited for all TSHD Departments. These student assistants are deployed as student mentors for new pre-Master's and Master's students and for supporting lecturers regarding (online) education and assessment. All student assistants have also participated in training for this purpose. In addition, in cooperation with the central support unit, professionalization activities have been developed and implemented (webinars, question hours, peer feedback sessions), with a focus on online education.

J. Enhance digitalization in education

• Intention: Continued deployment (0.2 FTE) of the innovation coordinator to facilitate the development of initiatives related to digitalization in education and to implement TSHD’s vision for digitalization.

• Realization: A Teacher Support Team has been established for TSHD lecturers to turn to for questions and support. TSHD has set strong ambitions regarding the development of blended education in TSHD's study programs. To support this and to inspire lecturers, investments have been made in a support structure for educational innovation. €19K of the 2023 budget was already used in 2022 for the appointment of a teaching assistant and instructional designer, whose contracts extends through 2023. Anchored in the study programs, this new support structure will have a positive impact on lecturers' workload and will give them space, time, and inspiration to further develop digitalization in their education.

Figure 3.3.4.1 Progress on national themes, TSHD

Figure 3.3.4.2 Progress on Tilburg University themes, TSHD

School participation involvement

The School Board has involved the School Council in the plans for the resources of the Quality Agreements over the past year and a half as follows:

• September 28, 2021: proposed changes in spending 2022–2024. The School Council agreed to the proposed changes.

• February 24, 2022: 2021 spending report. The School Council consented to the report and drafted a letter of reflection.

• September 6, 2022: introduction session for the new School Council explaining the Quality Agreements cycle.

• October 6, 2022: proposed changes to spending for 2023–2024. The School Council consented to the proposed changes.

• February 8, 2023: 2022 spending report. The School Council consented to the report and drafted a letter of reflection.

Statement TSHD School Council (February 8, 2023).

We would like to hereby inform you that the members of the School Council of the Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences (TSHD) have been involved in the development of a spending plan for revenues from the student loan system for the upcoming period. The purpose of these revenues is primarily to improve the quality of education at TSHD, and concrete Quality Agreements have been drawn up to that end. In the School Council meeting of October 6, 2022, unanimous positive advice was given by Council members on the proposed plan. Council members are very satisfied with how the available money was used in 2022. The funds have benefited, among other things, the deployment of student assistants and the improvement of online education. Funds have been transferred from 2022 to 2023. Also, in the School Council meeting of October 6, 2022, a unanimous positive recommendation on the report on the spending of the Quality Agreements resources in the past year (2022) was reached and expressed.

If a critical note may be added in this already positively intended letter, it is the relative paucity of transfer of know-how from the previous cohort of the TSHD School Council members and, in addition, the sometimes-spotty distribution of English translations of documents related to the Quality Agreements. Going forward, the Council feels that the on-boarding process for new members could be streamlined by consultations with outgoing members regarding key documents related to the Quality Agreements and those that require consent from Council members. The School Council is confident that budgets for themes listed in the Quality Agreements will continue to contribute to further innovation and professionalization of education at Tilburg University in general and TSHD in particular.

Tilburg School of Catholic Theology

TST has chosen to focus on three main themes. The motivation for these, decisions made to adjust them, and the involvement of the School Council will be discussed in more detail below. Partly because of COVID-19, emphases have shifted somewhat and the development of digitalization in education has gained momentum.

The 2022 budget has not been fully spent and will be transferred to future years. Spending plans for the additional budget from 2023 will be prepared in the coming months and presented to the School Council for consent.

The most explicit changes in the investments from the Quality Agreements were:

1. The deployment of the CSO, who was appointed for the purpose of embedding labor market orientation in education (Agreement G), was lower than budgeted. In addition, this appointment was no longer paid for from the Quality Resources as of September 2022 in consultation with the participation body. The budget that became available will be used for other activities within this theme, such as lectures and excursions in the context of labor market orientation (working title "Later als ik groot ben” (Later when I grow up))

2. Digitalization in education is and has been a major focus regarding the TST Quality Agreements. Because of COVID-19, this development has gained momentum and new didactic methods have been developed at a rapid pace. Whereas initially the budget was intended for the development of a blended learning program, COVID-19 caused the School Board to expand the spending targets.

The following have been accomplished within TST in recent years:

A. Appoint more staff assigned to education

• Intention: more staff assigned to education

• Realization: The hiring of 0.3 FTE of additional lecturing staff resulted in an increase in small-scale educational activities by students in the international Bachelor's program.

B. Perfect PASS

• Intention: Increased guidance of Bachelor’s students/contribution to the quality of education.

• Realization: To achieve greater study success, TST added an external member to the Program Committee.

• Intention: Expand the number of working hours of the education coordinators for intensive study support of (international) students.

• Realization: Through a temporary extension of the appointment of a staff member, the student advisor/educational support was unburdened. This has created space for the guidance of international students. Experience has shown that the group of international students in particular needs a lot of guidance.

G. Further embed labor market orientation in education.

• Intention: Better preparation for the job market. Prepare students well for their future profession and guide them in the choices that need to be made for that purpose.

• Realization: In order to provide students with the opportunity for a good job market orientation, a CSO was appointed for 0.1 FTE. With the help of the academic staff, she developed a specific range of activities for theology students. Because the CSO's deployment is lower than originally budgeted, additional activities were organized, such as lectures and field trips in the context of labor market orientation (working title Later als ik groot ben). As of September 1, 2022, the cost of the CSO will no longer be funded from the Quality Resources , leaving more budget available for additional activities.

I. Implement system of permanent professionalization

• Intention: Professionalized lecturing staff.

• Realization: By July 2019, 100% of TST's academic staff had obtained the UTQ. TST considers it important that its employees can continue to develop themselves in order to offer education in a professional way and improve quality. The lecturing staff participated in various courses and coaching programs, such as English language courses and a program to become a trainer in Klinisch Pastorale Vorming (Clinical Pastoral Education). An assessment specialist was appointed (0.1 FTE), who supports the Assessment Committee, established a School Assessment Policy, and ensures the assessment quality. Unfortunately, this staff member left employment in 2022, and recruitment for a new staff member is underway.

J. Enhance digitalization in education

• Intention: Better use of digitalization and language learning support for TST students.

• Realization: The digitalization of education is and was an important spearhead in the TST Quality Agreements. Because of COVID-19, this development has gained momentum and new didactic methods have been developed at a rapid pace. Whereas the budget was initially intended for the development of a blended learning program, spending has been adjusted. To properly support lecturers in a way of providing education that has changed greatly for them, ICT support has also been expanded. Academic staff received a temporary extension or temporary appointment to develop blended learning courses.

Figure 3.3.5.1 Progress on national themes, TST

Figure 3.3.5.2 Progress on Tilburg University themes, TST

School participation involvement

All of the above plans were discussed with and consented to by the School Council. Quality Agreements were considered in every School Council meeting. On January 13, 2023, the justification of the Quality Resources 2022 was adopted.

Statement TST School Council (January 13, 2023).

In today's consultation meeting, January 13, 2023, the TST School Council discussed in detail with the acting Dean and Director of the School the expenditure of Quality Resources in the calendar year 2022. In the process, an explanation of the spending was provided, and several questions about it were answered satisfactorily. Over the past year, the Council had recurring discussions in consultation meetings with the School Board about the spending of these resources.

The School Council notes that, in 2022, the Quality Agreements were implemented in accordance with the agreements and that this implementation was adequately trackable, and thus gives its consent to the use of the resources.

The Council is confident that the use of the Quality Resources can contribute to the professionalization of education at TST. In the coming year, the Council will remain actively involved in the implementation of the Quality Agreements.

Also read

3.1 Quality Agreements at Tilburg University

3.2 Control and monitoring

3.4 Reflection