The aim of Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH) is to ensure and continuously improve the quality of its educational and research activities, as well as the effective operation and performance of its services, in accordance with international practices, particularly those of the European Higher Education Area and the principles and guidelines of the Hellenic Authority for Higher Education (HAHE).
The evaluation of teaching is carried out in accordance with Procedure D-5.6 of DUTH’s Internal Quality Assurance System (IQAS), through the collection and analysis of evaluation data and the assessment of the resulting findings. This process is repeated every academic semester. The evaluation results are of particular importance for monitoring and continuously improving the quality of teaching, both for each individual instructor and for each Study Programme. Through the teaching evaluation process, students are given the opportunity to express their views on the modification and improvement of individual courses and, consequently, of the Study Programmes themselves, through the relevant committees of the Academic Units. At the same time, the process helps identify potential shortcomings in the Study Programme or areas in which teaching staff may require further improvement. In addition, the evaluation of teaching is taken into account both in the internal evaluation of Study Programmes and in their external evaluation and accreditation.
The evaluation of teaching takes place between the 8th and 11th week of classes from the beginning of each academic semester. The exact opening and closing dates of the evaluation period are determined by each Department, while the individual steps of the process are described in detail in the relevant procedure (Procedure 5.6) of the Internal Quality Assurance System of DUTH’s Quality Assurance Unit (MODIP) (MODIP, 2024).
Throughout the evaluation period, the results are not visible to instructors and are accessible only to DUTH’s Quality Assurance Unit. Following the end of the examination period, once grades have been entered by the Department Secretariats and MODIP has been duly informed, each instructor gains access to the evaluation results for the courses they teach or co-teach. These results are presented in the form of the mean and standard deviation of students’ responses.
Each instructor also has access to the detailed results of the student evaluation of their teaching, including information such as the number of students who participated in the evaluation, the score for each question, and any comments submitted by students, where applicable.
The Internal Evaluation Group (OMEA) reviews the evaluation data concerning courses and instructors and discusses the findings with the Department’s administration in order to identify and implement actions that safeguard the quality of teaching. At the beginning of each academic year, OMEA presents the Department Assembly with a summary of the student evaluations from the previous academic year. OMEA also provides course-evaluation data to the Department Assembly in support of any proposals for revising the Undergraduate Study Programme.
The Department of Accounting and Finance also presents and discusses the evaluation results with student representatives. Students’ proposals concerning the Undergraduate Study Programme, as well as the content and overall profile of the courses offered, are recorded and taken into consideration.