The Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle (PDCA)

The PDCA approach aims to lead to quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement in a continuously changing student-centered learning environment.

The cycle involves the following four steps or interlinked phases:

1. Plan: establish direction and ambitions, develop and work out the details of policy in accordance with objectives, and plan activities based on a systematic analysis of the environment and the available resources
2. Do: implement the planned activities
3. Check: evaluate the implementation, measure the results, critically reflect on the results, and compare the outcomes with the stated goals.
4. Act: draw conclusions and formulate points for improvement, modify plans where necessary and/or formulate objectives for the period ahead. Once the objective has been achieved, it is important to safeguard the policy, in which case the ‘A’ stands for Adapt.

Each sector or section at Alexander College (Services/Administration, faculty, degree programme, module) has its own PDCA cycle

Cohesion is imperative in order for all levels and functions of quality assurance to work towards common goals and standards. The Alexander College vision and mission acts as the common ground, the basis for unifying levels and functions and implementing the College’s strategy.

Each organisational level within the College has at least one Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle of its own. The Agency DIPAE and the Institution’s Internal Regulations, Internal Quality Assurance Committee’s guidelines broadly stipulate how the institution’s structure is arranged and the division of responsibilities. They also state who at the various levels carries final responsibility for the quality of education and quality assurance with respect to the programmes.

The system covers:
For an individual Module
For a Degree Programme
For the Institution

The most important criteria of the system include the evaluation and review of the content of the programme of study, based on the most recent research in order to update the programmes. Further, the identification of changes to the needs of the society, the workload of the students and lecturers, and the results of their study. It also involves the effectiveness of the students’ assessment, the expectations, needs and satisfaction with the programme offered, the evaluation of the learning environment as well as the support services offered.