Quality Policy of the School of Medicine for the development and improvement of the Postgraduate Programme "MSc in Medical and Surgical Retina Modern Approaches"

The Quality Assurance Policy of the School of Medicine is fully aligned with the quality policy of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. The School is committed to providing high-quality higher education, in Greek and in other languages, to the students who choose it, by organising and delivering Postgraduate Programmes of high academic standards and significant added value, in both Greek and English, in the most important areas and fields of the Department's discipline.

Furthermore, the Department seeks to develop a creative environment of research, free scientific expression and work for all staff and members of its academic community. The Department is committed to applying this quality policy to all the postgraduate programmes it offers and will offer in the future, implementing the quality procedures provided for by the Institution's Internal Quality Assurance System (IQAS), with the ultimate aim of their continuous improvement. Through this Quality Policy, the academic identity and orientation of the Postgraduate Programmes are strengthened, their purpose and subject are promoted, and specific annual objectives are pursued; the means and methods of achieving these are defined, and the participation of stakeholders in their evaluation and redesign is ensured.

In particular, to implement this policy in the Postgraduate Programme "MSc in Medical and Surgical Retina Modern Approaches", the School undertakes to apply the quality processes/procedures provided for and analysed in the Quality Manual of the Institution's IQAS, as applied at the level of the School's programmes of study with the necessary adaptation to this Programme, in close cooperation with the University's Quality Assurance Unit (MODIP). All quality assurance procedures of the Department's postgraduate programmes are subject to inspection, review and revision, carried out annually by the Internal Evaluation Team (OMEA) in cooperation with the Institution's MODIP. The processes and procedures applied to monitor and continuously improve the quality of the Postgraduate Programmes are as follows:

1. Implementation of a Quality Assurance Policy for the Postgraduate Programmes, which includes specific quality assurance actions aimed at creating a framework within which the Postgraduate Programmes must operate.
   • The Quality Assurance Policy of the "MSc in Medical and Surgical Retina Modern Approaches" is published on the Programme's website: https://surgretinal-en.med.uoa.gr/quality_policy
2. Allocation and management of the resources of the School's Postgraduate Programmes through procedures that contribute to optimal choices, so as to create a suitable environment for achieving the Institution's objectives of providing the necessary resources in staff, funding, infrastructure and equipment, so that the Programmes operate and their effectiveness in achieving their quality objectives is continuously improved.
3. Setting Quality Assurance Objectives annually for all of the School's Postgraduate Programmes that are operating or are due to start operating within the academic year. For each Programme, following consultation and agreement between the Department and Programme management, specific, measurable and directly observable annual quantitative and qualitative objectives are selected, which are assessed using specific indicators. Achieving these objectives is considered crucial to improving the effectiveness of the internal functions (administrative, educational, research) of the Postgraduate Programmes.
4. Periodic Internal Evaluation and Monitoring, on an annual basis, of all the School's Postgraduate Programmes, in cooperation with and with the support of the Institution's MODIP. In all Programmes, an internal evaluation and assessment of all the procedures implemented is carried out, so that, by identifying elements and issues for correction and applying improvements agreed with MODIP, the set objectives are achieved, with the ultimate result of improving the School's Programmes.
5. Collection of quality data: measurement, analysis and improvement of the Postgraduate Programmes of the School of Medicine, applying effective procedures for collecting and analysing information on the postgraduate programmes (data on students, teaching staff, the structure and organisation of courses, teaching and the provision of services to postgraduate students, etc.), and feeding data into the HAHE Integrated Information System for Quality Assurance (OPESP) and into the internal information systems of the Departments and the Institution.
6. Public information on the Postgraduate Programmes of the School of Medicine. Through this process, all information concerning the Programmes is made directly accessible, up to date, and stated objectively and clearly. The existence of a dedicated space on the Department's website presenting the Programmes, the existence of a dedicated bilingual page for them, and the procedures for checking and updating their content are monitored.
7. External Evaluation of the School's Postgraduate Programmes. All the School's Programmes undergo periodic accreditation by the Hellenic Authority for Higher Education (HAHE), carried out through external evaluation by committees of independent experts.

Applying the above procedures to the Postgraduate Programme "MSc in Medical and Surgical Retina Modern Approaches" will ensure:

1. the appropriateness of the structure and organisation of its curriculum;
2. that the learning outcomes and the resulting qualifications of the Programme's graduates correspond as closely as possible to level 7 of the European and National Qualifications Framework for Higher Education;
3. the promotion of the quality and effectiveness of the Programme's teaching, through its monitoring by its Coordinating Committee, the OMEA, the Department's management and the NKUA MODIP;
4. that the qualifications of the teaching staff, and in particular of external collaborators, are appropriate for teaching postgraduate students;
5. the drafting, implementation and review of specific annual quality objectives for the improvement of the Programme;
6. the level of demand in the labour market for the qualifications acquired by graduates, through regular surveys of labour-market needs and monitoring of the careers of the Programme's graduates;
7. that the support services provided to postgraduate students – including students with disabilities – are of high quality and meet their needs for effective study, e.g. easily accessible and available administrative services and libraries, online services, scholarships and student welfare services appropriate to the Programme;
8. the efficient use of the Programme's financial resources derived from tuition fees, so that the necessary services are provided to postgraduate students and the operation of the programmes is facilitated in the Department's facilities, as well as anything else required, e.g. site visits outside the Department for their comprehensive training;
9. the annual internal evaluation and review of the quality assurance system for the Programme, in cooperation with the OMEA and the Institution's MODIP.

Quality Objectives

The quality objectives on which the School of Medicine will focus its efforts for the Postgraduate Programme "MSc in Medical and Surgical Retina Modern Approaches" are the following:

1. Continuous strengthening of the educational process – student-centred learning
2. Strengthening the quality culture in the Programme
3. Activating study counselling – strengthening the Academic Advisor scheme and the links between graduates and the labour market
4. Active participation of students in Internal Evaluation procedures
5. Quality of the research output of the Programme's teaching staff, based on publications and scientific impact
6. Further development of mobility and outreach through interaction of students with specialist scientists from institutions outside NKUA and through strengthened international cooperation
7. Participation of the Programme's students in research activities and greater participation in international research and educational programmes and international scientific conferences
8. Linking the Programme with doctoral studies
9. Engagement, cooperation and networking with graduates of the Department and the Programme
10. Participation of the Programme's postgraduate students in ERASMUS
11. Further improving accessibility for students with disabilities – strengthening the adequacy of the Programme's educational infrastructure and support services for students with disabilities
12. Development of Management Information Systems and e-Government Services