Quality Policy of the academic unit for the development and improvement of the Joint Postgraduate Programme in Social Neuroscience, Social Pedagogy, and Education

The Joint Postgraduate Programme in "Social Neuroscience, Social Pedagogy and Education" is implemented with the collaboration of: a) the Department of Pedagogy and Primary Education (DPPE), b) the School of Medicine and c) the Department of Biology, of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (UoA), which jointly contribute to all requirements to ensure the high quality of the education provided to the students of the Programme.

The Quality Assurance Policy in all three collaborative Departments/Schools, the Department of Pedagogy and Primary Education (DPPE), the School of Medicine, and the Department of Biology, is fully harmonized with the University's quality policy, making the aforementioned Departments/Schools absolutely dedicated and committed to providing high-quality Greek- and foreign-language higher education to the students, organizing and implementing Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Doctoral Programs of high academic standards and significant added value, both in Greek and English, in the most important areas and fields of science of the above Departments/Schools. In addition, the three collaborating Departments/Schools seek to develop a creative environment of research, free scientific expression and work for all staff and members of their academic community.

The Department of Pedagogy and Primary Education, the School of Medicine, and the Department of Biology are committed to the implementation of this quality policy in the "Social Neuroscience, Social Pedagogy and Education" Programme, which offers and will keep offer to the future, implementing the quality procedures provided, with the ultimate goal of its continuous improvement. Through the aforementioned Quality Policy, the academic character and orientation of the aforementioned Programme is strengthened, its purpose and object are promoted, as well as the implementation of specific goals set each year, while the means and ways of achieving the above are determined and ensured the participation of interested parties in its evaluation and redesign processes.

In particular, for the implementation of this policy, the Department of Pedagogy and Primary Education, the School of Medicine and the Department of Biology are committed to apply also in their postgraduate programmes the quality processes/procedures provided for and analyzed in the University's Quality Manual, and applied to the level of the Study Programs of the three Departments, with the case-by-case required specialization/individualization in their Postgraduate Studies Programmes and in close collaboration with the University's Quality Assurance Unit.

All quality assurance procedures of the "Social Neuroscience, Social Pedagogy and Education" Programme of the Department of Pedagogy and Primary Education, the School of Medicine and the Department of Biology, of UoA are subject to inspection, review and revision, which are carried out on an annual basis by the respective authority, in collaboration with the external examiners board.

The processes - procedures applied to monitor and continuously improve the quality of the Joint Postgraduate Programme in "Social Neuroscience, Social Pedagogy and Education" are as follows:

1. The Policy Implementation for Quality Assurance of the Social Neuroscience, Social Pedagogy and Education, which includes specific quality assurance actions, with the aim of creating a framework for the Programme to operate.
2. The allocation and management of the resources of the "Social Neuroscience, Social Pedagogy and Education", through procedures that contribute to the optimal decision in order to achieve the creation of an appropriate environment for the achievement of the University's goals as towards ensuring the provision of the required resources in necessary staff, funding, infrastructure and equipment, so that it operates and also continuously improves the effectiveness of the Programme in terms of the degree of achievement of the quality objectives it sets.
3. The Establishment of Quality Assurance Objectives on an annual basis for the Social Neuroscience, Social Pedagogy and Education. Specific measurable and directly observable annual quantitative and qualitative goals, which are evaluated by specific indicators, are selected, after consultation and agreement of the Programme's Curriculum Committee. Achieving these goals is considered crucial for improving the efficiency of the internal functions (administrative, educational, research) of the Joint Postgraduate Programme.
4. The Periodic Internal Evaluation and Monitoring on an annual basis of the JPP in "Social Neuroscience, Social Pedagogy and Education" of the Department of Pedagogy and Primary Education, the School of Medicine, and the Department of Biology in collaboration and with the support of the respective authority. Internal evaluation and assessment of all the processes carried out in the Programme, so that through the identification of elements and issues for correction with the implementation of jointly agreed improvement actions with the respective authority, the goals that have been achieved be defined, with the final result of the improvement of the JPP of the DPPE, the School of Medicine, and the Department of Biology of the UoA.
5. The Quality Data Collection: measurement, analysis and improvement of Social Neuroscience, Social Pedagogy and Education. Effective procedures for the collection and analysis of information related to the JPP (the data of the students, the teaching staff, the structure and organization of the courses, the teaching and the provision of services to the students of the Programme, etc.) are applied and the data are provided to the respective information system of the examining authority, as well as to the internal information systems of the DPPE and the University.
6. The Publication of the Information of the JPP in "Social Neuroscience, Social Pedagogy and Education". Through this specific process, all the information concerning the Programme becomes immediately available, up-to-date and formulated with objectivity and clarity. The existence of a specialized space on the website of the Programme, as well as on the website of the DPPE for the promotion of the Programme, the existence of a special bilingual page for it as well as the procedures for checking and updating its content are checked.
7. The External Evaluation of the JPP in "Social Neuroscience, Social Pedagogy and Education". Periodic certification procedures are applied by the respective authority, which is carried out through external evaluation procedures by a committee of independent examiners.

The implementation of the above procedures ensures: a) the appropriateness of the structure and organization of the Joint Postgraduate Programme of the DPPE, the School of Medicine, and the Department of Biology, b) that the learning outcomes and the resulting qualifications of the graduates of the Programme, it is sought to respond to the maximum extent possible with the European and National Framework of Higher Education Qualifications level 7, c) the promotion of the quality and effectiveness of the teaching work in the JPP of DPPE, the School of Medicine, and the Department of Biology, through monitoring of the Coordinating Committee of the Programme, the respective authority, the administration of the three collaborating Departments/Schools and the Univeristy, d) that the qualifications of the teaching staff, especially the external collaborators, are suitable for the education of its postgraduate students, e) the drafting, implementation and review of specific annual quality objectives for the improvement of the JPP in "Social Neuroscience, Social Pedagogy and Education", f) the level of demand for the acquired qualifications of graduates in the labour market through the investigation at regular intervals of the needs of the labor market and monitoring the course of the graduates, g) that the supporting services provided to the postgraduate students - are of high quality - cover their needs for effective monitoring, e.g. easily accessible and available administrative services and libraries, online services, scholarships, and student care services suitable, h) the efficient utilization of the Programme's financial resources derived from tuition fees to provide the necessary services to postgraduate students and to facilitate the operations at the DPPE facilities, but also in everything else required, e.g. on-site visits to places outside the Department for their comprehensive training i) carrying out the annual internal evaluation and review of the quality assurance system for the Programme with the cooperation of the respective authorities.