The Evaluation System at TUM

Evaluation at TUM involves the systematic collection and analysis of data for the review and improvement of measures concerning all aspects of study and teaching.

The evaluation of studies and teaching at TUM is not an isolated process but an integral part of the university’s quality management system. It is an essential tool for the continual improve­ment of studies and teaching, providing important feedback on course implemen­tation, degree program manage­ment and graduates’ post-university develop­ment. This feed­back, in turn, serves as the basis for the improve­ment of course structure and design, revisions of module content, and the develop­ment of new degree programs.  

Evaluations must be properly timed and employ the appropriate tools and methods for data collection in order to yield useful and relevant information. Students’ class­room experience, the teaching profile of the respective school or college, as well as the organizational structures and conditions of the learning environ­ment must all be taken into consideration.

The TUM evaluation system thus operates at three levels: individual courses, degree programs, and schools and colleges. Specific instruments are employed at each level to collect requisite information and coordinated with one another to enable the continual (self)­evaluation of all members of the university community. 

Student feedback is gathered in each school or college every semester through regular, written course evaluations in the form of either hard-copy or online question­naires, while feed­back on degree programs is gathered from current students and graduates through written evaluations every two years. The evaluation of TUM’s schools and colleges is conducted by external auditors, who examine their strategic orientation in research, studies and teaching. 

A Quality Manage­ment Circle in each of TUM’s schools and colleges is respon­sible for analyzing evaluation results. This committee performs an analysis of the strengths and weak­nesses of the evaluated unit on the basis of evaluation results and agrees upon improve­ment measures, whose implemen­tation they regularly monitor.