Audit of Aalto University

The quality system supports continuous developments in core activities

Aalto’s quality system ensures that our core activities are systematically assessed and enhanced and that they meet acceptable national and international standards. Elements of the quality system are systematically embedded in the university’s governance and daily activities.

Aalto’s well-functioning quality system tangibly supports the enhancement of core activities and management through a variety of tools, such as regular internal and external evaluations that focus on key areas of the university’s operations (e.g., the long-term evaluation programme described in section 3.4), feedback and development mechanisms that engage members of our community and stakeholders, an annual clock for the university management processes and a clear quality policy and PDCA cycle. The Aalto Handbook clarifies the responsibilities for the quality and development of core activities.

Aalto actively monitors its performance in international rankings and has markedly improved in rankings specific to science, art, technology and business. This has enhanced Aalto’s competitiveness and visibility. Additionally, the School of Business participates in international accreditations and has Triple Crown status (AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS)—an honour held by only few business schools worldwide.

Sharing of good practices improves operations and fosters internal cooperation

Aalto University believes in the value of sharing good practices to fully realise the potential for internal learning and cooperation. Good practices are shared through regular peer meetings, such as the Aalto Leaders’ Dialogue, professors’ council, development team (comprising school’s development managers and Leadership Support Services), the Service Leader Seminar and the EDI committee.

Some examples of good practices that are broadly applied at Aalto include the use of risk maps in annual risk assessment and management and the lessons learned from remote and hybrid ways of working. Additional examples include the sharing of information in collaborative networks, crisis communication practices, the use of data and web analytics in decision-making and developing communication and marketing content, and student marketing and recruitment steering groups.

Aalto strives to build a participatory and impactful quality culture

At Aalto, quality management is a collective undertaking. Efforts are systematically directed towards ensuring a wider sense of ownership of quality management processes and the PDCA way of working at all levels. Aalto’s quality culture promotes participation, open discussion and continuous improvement of the university’s activities and operations (Figure 6). Progress in this regard has been commendable and in line with the feedback from the latest quality audit.

Figure 6. PDCA through a participatory approach

The university promotes the active participation of Aalto community members and stakeholders in quality system processes. Well-developed formal feedback channels ensure that members of the Aalto community have adequate opportunities to influence decision-making and contribute to the development of operations. Student feedback and course development and student representation in various management units are integral components of the system. Improvements made based on feedback are communicated to the university community. This has built mutual trust and commitment.

External partners also engage in Aalto’s research, teaching and lifewide learning. Stakeholder engagement was commended in the latest quality audit and has continued to progress. However, Aalto still lacks a comprehensive way to collect service feedback despite several good individual cases.

Aalto’s quality system is continuously assessed and developed

The purpose of Aalto’s quality system is to support the management and development of core activities. To ensure that this is achieved, a periodic review of the quality system is conducted. A thorough evaluation is carried out every six years as part of the quality audit by FINEEC, and an interim review of developments in the quality system is conducted every three years. Elements of the quality system are reviewed annually during the University Review. Aalto also periodically assesses its strategy in order to revise strategic choices continuously and proactively. This complements the current annual strategic processes that fine-tune the system incrementally.

The information obtained from quality management processes is used to improve the quality system. For example, a feedback survey is administered every year for annual strategic planning processes, and developments based on it are undertaken in subsequent rounds. This feedback was used to prioritise focus areas in the annual strategic processes and reduce overlaps by combining the University Review and the self-evaluation of the quality audit. Merging the Research, Art and Impact assessment (RAI) and Teaching and learning Evaluation Exercise (TEE) is also being considered. Feedback is also currently being used to further improve the follow-up on strategic plans and milestones and budgeting issues in the University Dialogue. Furthermore, the Aalto Handbook has been extensively updated to enhance its visibility within the Aalto community and further improve the university’s quality culture.

An important feature of the quality system is its flexibility in enabling schools and services to use quality management procedures and processes in ways that serve their specific needs and disciplinary contexts. The annual strategic processes ensure a degree of consistency in the implementation of quality management procedures across schools and services, and they serve as an umbrella for all information collection to avoid ad-hoc requests. Through the Leadership Support Services (LSS), the university management coordinates the university-wide quality work.