Folkwang

Strategic foundations of the quality work

The strategic basis for developing the dialogue-oriented quality-related work specific to colleges of music and art revolves around preparing quality targets – which explicitly do not answer the question of what quality is in art, and how this is proven. The quality targets are instead formulated based on the logic of agreeing on ‘quality work guidelines’. When preparing the university’s internal consultations on these guidelines, it became clear that structuring and agreement are best achieved if communication initially ‘only’ relates to the process architecture of the Folkwang University of the Arts’ organisational structure. The formulated ‘quality-related work guidelines’ were incorporated into the architecture of the core processes in order to specifically develop and agree on a quality-targets system:

 

 

The quality-target system developed and ultimately agreed on for the Folkwang University of the Arts is thus based on the process architecture and the ‘guidelines for dialogue-oriented quality-related work’ formulated therein (see ‘Process architecture’ graphic):

 

 

  • Guideline for the core process of Studies and Teaching:
    ‘From course applicant to individual personalities with artistic excellence’
  • Guideline for the core process of Communication, Events and Co-operations:
    ‘From the interdisciplinary Folkwang approach to socio-political players’
  • Guideline for the core process of Research and Artistic Development Projects:
    ‘From innovative idea to professional implementation with international reach’

The quality-target system is structured based on the classic model:
Strategic targets are formulated out of the overarching core-process guideline. The strategic targets are operationalised and linked up with methods, instruments and concrete measures for achieving them. For example, the matrix for the strategic target of ‘ensuring and further developing the quality of the studies and teaching’ is provided here in the core process of Studies and Teaching:

The strategic quality targets and associated operationalisation serve as institutionalised bases for further developing and implementing quality-related work at the Folkwang University of the Arts.

Read a detail account of the strategic foundations of Folkwang’s quality-related work in the new Quality Work Guide (see Downloads) or here:
Jesse, 2021: Dialogue-oriented quality-related work: A model for designing and implementing quality-related work at colleges of art and music. In: ‘Quality in studies, teaching and research’ handbook, No. 77/2021, p. 77-110, DUZ

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