Students regularly provide feedback to lecturers on their attended courses. These evaluations are conducted at faculty level. The results form the basis for a joint discussion between lecturers and students. They highlight areas for potential improvement and are incorporated into the teaching review meeting which takes place regularly between faculty and university management.

The initial phase of a degree programme plays a crucial role in the student’s subsequent academic journey. With the aim of systematically improving its services, OTH Amberg-Weiden regularly surveys first-year students about their start to university life. Key topics include perceptions of OTH Amberg-Weiden, the decision to study there, settling in at the university and an assessment of the guidance and support services available at the start of their degree programme.

In order to assess the quality of current academic conditions from the students’ perspective, OTH Amberg-Weiden regularly surveys its Bachelor’s students. The survey focuses on the course content, the curriculum and the level of support provided within each degree programme. In addition, students assess their workload, their examination experience and the general conditions of studying at the university. This feedback enables OTH Amberg-Weiden to identify strengths and areas for improvement in its degree programmes and, where necessary, to initiate appropriate measures.

OTH Amberg-Weiden regularly surveys students on its consecutive and professional Master’s programmes about their study experience. The survey focuses on the transition from a Bachelor’s to a Master’s degree and an assessment of the respective programme, including workload, examination conditions and general study conditions. Students on professional Master’s programmes are also asked additional questions about their specific study and supervision arrangements.

OTH Amberg-Weiden currently takes part in the Bavarian Graduate Survey (BAS) every year. This survey is conducted externally by the Bavarian State Institute for Higher Education Research and Planning (IHF) in Munich and is aimed at Bachelor’s and Master’s graduates approximately 1.5 years after their graduation. The survey focuses on a retrospective assessment of the quality of the degree programme, an evaluation of the skills acquired and their career start or rather their transition to a further degree programme.

The COVID-19 pandemic presented all members of the university community with a major challenge that was both unforeseeable and sudden. Teaching was almost entirely moved online. But were all those involved sufficiently prepared (technically) for such a far-reaching change? Did distance learning work? What advantages and disadvantages did the digital learning environment bring for teaching and studying? To find this out, all students and teaching staff were invited on several occasions during the pandemic to take part in a survey conducted by the Research and Innovation Laboratory for Digital Teaching (FIDL).

The teaching review meeting takes place in each faculty at least once every three years. The aim of the meeting between representatives of the university management and the faculties is to discuss quality-related aspects of the degree programmes as well as potential areas for improvement in the organisation and structure of the programmes. Student representatives are involved in a public session held at the start of the meeting.

External experts are regularly invited to critically review and monitor the individual degree programmes. Aim of the external review is to obtain recommendations from independent experts on the introduction and further development of OTH Amberg-Weiden's degree programmes. Whilst a group of advisory board members regularly reviews the academic and content-related aspects of the degree programmes, individual peers assess the quality-related criteria on an ad hoc basis as required (e.g. prior to the introduction of degree programmes). Professors from other universities specialising in related fields qualify as peers; members of the advisory board also include company representatives, external students and alumni. An advisory board meeting takes place at least once every two calendar years.