INSTITUTIONAL SELF EVALUATION REPORT (ISER) 2019
Conclusion and Evaluation part of Institutional Self Evaluation Report 2019 is given in English below. Click here to access the full report (in Turkish).
CONCLUSION AND EVALUATION
Yaşar University made a request to enter the External Evaluation process by the YÖK Quality Board in 2017 within the scope of the University Strategic Plan, and the preparation process for the External Evaluation of Quality was started in the same year. During this period, the objectives and performance criteria of the road maps determined to achieve the strategic goals of the university were embodied, and the monitoring system was designed and put into use. A quality assurance tab was opened on the university internet site and all information, documents and reports regarding the University Quality Policy and practices were presented to the public and to all internal and external stakeholders within the framework of the principle of transparency. Within the scope of KVKK, studies have been initiated by the General Secretariat to obtain the “ISO 27001 Information Security Management System” certificate in order to ensure the quality security of all information systems of the university. Directorate of information processing has been assigned to coordinate and carry out the work on obtaining this document. As a result of all these studies, the ISO 27001:2013 certificate was successfully obtained in March 2019 and subsequently the sustainability process was entered. Yaşar University Energy Management System has received ISO 50001 certificate and has been renewed for two years as of 2019 in line with the standards. Announcements are made in various media on the campus, and students and employees are informed about energy management through panels called bulletin boards. The Office of Strategic Planning and Excellence, which was restructured in the 2017-2018 Academic Year, continued its work on monitoring and reporting processes of quality assurance practices. In the same year, all other commissions and boards, except for the senate, institute, faculties and college boards, were restructured as subcommittees of Yaşar University Quality Commission. The necessary quality culture studies were continued for the effective implementation of the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PUKÖ) cycle in all units of the university. The full execution of the cycle in all processes has been identified as a direction open to development, related improvement and dissemination activities have been initiated, and the Quality Commission has been meeting periodically since this date. The updated real-time performance monitoring information system for the strategic goals of the university was established in 2018. Accordingly, the data collected from the university units were integrated into this system and reported to the senior management. This report was shared with the relevant units again, updated after the due diligence carried out through a participatory process, and the determined measurable targets were announced throughout the university. Within the scope of Yaşar University’s Strategic Plan, in 2018, the program accreditation studies of the School of Foreign Languages (YDYO), Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Communication were emphasized. YDYO English Preparatory Class was entitled to receive the “Commission on English Language Program Accreditation” (CEA) accreditation document for 10 years and the Industrial Engineering and Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Engineering Education Programs Evaluation and Accreditation Association (MÜDEK) accreditation document for two years. Computer Engineering and Software Engineering departments carry out the MÜDEK accreditation application process. In addition, Faculty of Communication, Public Relations and Advertising, Visual Communication Design and Radio, Television and Cinema departments applied to the Communication Education Evaluation Accreditation Board (İLEDAK) accreditation process, and these programs were accredited by passing a successful evaluation process in the 2018-2019 academic year. The MÜDEK accreditation certificate for Industrial Engineering and Electrical and Electronics Engineering was renewed for three years in the 2018-2019 academic year. In line with the university’s strategic plan, Yaşar University was awarded the “Accessible University” award by the Council of Higher Education, especially as a result of the studies carried out by the Disabled Student Unit in order to reach the target of an accessible campus. It became one of the 16 universities that received the Access in Space (Orange Flag) award, and the 7 universities that received the Access in Education (Green Flag) award, given for some faculties and campuses among the 185 universities that entered the evaluation process in Turkey. With the aim of increasing the quality of education and training, curriculum simplification studies have been initiated with the participation of all academic units under the coordination of the University’s associate degree and undergraduate programs, and it has been put into practice as of the spring semester of 2018-2019 academic year. The curriculum simplification studies of the graduate programs were completed by the end of the 2018-2019 academic year with the participation of the relevant institutes and departments. It has been decided to carry out studies by the Information and Technology Transfer Office (BTTO) under the coordination of the Vice Rector for Ar-Ge, Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Financial Affairs Department in order to become a partner in the technopark and establish a technology company in the technopark, which is foreseen in the Strategic Plan of Yaşar University, approved by the panel. Within the framework of these studies, Yaşar University Information and Technology Management, Design and Consultancy Joint Stock Company (YUTECH) was established on 11.12.2019 and the company establishment was published in the Trade Registry Gazette on 16.12.2019. In 2020, it was decided to open a branch of the company under the roof of Teknopark İzmir. Another aspect identified as open to development is that the Vocational School of Justice and the Faculty of Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical-Electronics Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Energy Systems Engineering, Civil Engineering, Software Engineering, Architecture Faculty, in order to ensure the active participation of external stakeholders in the PDCA cycles in all processes, external advisory boards specific to the departments of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design and Architecture are convened. External advisory boards of the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Communication, the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, the Faculty of Business, the Faculty of Art and Design, the School of Applied Sciences, the Vocational School departments and programs, the School of Foreign Languages and the Graduate School of Sciences have been established. Starting from the 2019-2020 academic year, internal and external stakeholder groups consisting of academic and sector experts in each academic unit’s related field have been formed in order to add value to the relevant processes. The programs are subject to the approval of the Department/Program Boards, the School/Faculty/Institute Boards and the Senate, and the “Education Commission” plays a primary role in the final evaluation of the contents and therefore the continuity of the processes. Our university is based on a lean curriculum approach in line with the Bologna curriculum, which is enriched with elective and applied courses in line with the program/departmental needs of the curriculum. In 2019, all graduate programs were simplified through a participatory process and their curricula were renewed. The congruence of program outcomes and objectives is also measured at the end of each semester and for each course, with course evaluation questionnaires updated according to the Kirk Patrick Education Model designed in 2019. E-learning is supported by tools such as the Open and Distance Learning Application and Research Center and the YU Connect mobile application launched in 2019. In this direction, 80 thousand 367 interactions; student, learning environment and instructor. Learning resources are increased in parallel with institutional and academic development. All other infrastructure elements such as our university, dormitory, cafeteria, security and network are also being developed in line with the requirements. There are 45 student societies established in line with the “Student Societies Establishment and Working Principles Directive” in order to develop students’ individual abilities, to work as a team, and to carry out extracurricular activities to meet social and cultural needs. In the sports activities in 2019, 140 athletes participated in 11 branches (Basketball, Volleyball, Tennis, Protected Football, Chess, Sailing, Triathlon, Swimming, Athletics, Archery, Muay Thai) organized by the Turkish University Sports Federation affiliated to the Ministry of Youth and Sports participated in intercollegiate competitions. Our Career and Alumni Center, on the other hand, makes internship and recruitment announcements within the scope of career counseling, carries out activities such as sector introduction meetings, business life seminars and career counseling, and monitors the career development of graduates with the “alumni information system” application developed in 2019. Our university continues to rank 10th among foundation universities in the Entrepreneurial and Innovative University Index 2018. In 2019, our university moved up two places in the URAP Foundation Universities ranking, to 16th place, and to the 92nd place by rising four steps in the rankings of foundation and state universities. It has risen one step in the ranking of foundation universities that do not have a medical faculty and has taken the eighth place. The target is to increase the number of WOS articles to an annual average of 150 and Scopus scientific documents to 210 within five years. Thus, it will have the chance to enter Times Higher Education (THE) rankings. As of February 2020, the number of 2019 WOS articles was 121 and the number of Scopus scientific documents was 156. Considering the 2018 performance, an average of 20% improvement was observed. As stated in the YÖK Foundation Higher Education Institutions 2019 report, Yaşar University ranked fifth among foundation universities with a total research budget of 84,160,127 ₺. In the ranking made according to the self-sourced research budget, it was in the 11th place with 1.000.000 ₺.Our project, which was supported under the 1601 – TÜBİTAK Support Program for Increasing Capacity in the Fields of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, was successfully completed and applied for the 2019 Call for Target and Performance-Oriented Support of Technology Transfer Offices within the scope of 1513 – Tübitak Technology Transfer Offices Support Program. The final decision on our project proposal, which has successfully passed the preliminary evaluation, is awaited. 1601 – Our university, which carries out 1st Stage Implementing Organization Activities within the scope of TÜBİTAK Support Program for Increasing Capacity in the Fields of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, also continues its BİGG-Y Accelerator Program activities. Our university took part in 28 EU-supported projects, which continued until the end of 2019, as a coordinator or partner. Within the scope of our projects, partnerships have been established with 87 different institutions from 29 countries. Our three different EU projects have been selected as good practice examples by the European Commission and the National Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey. Three of our projects were deemed worthy of incentive awards to encourage participation by TÜBİTAK, and one of our projects is in the evaluation phase. Our three projects funded under the Marie Curie program, a total of five Modules and a Chair project that we have won under the Jean Monnet Program, besides institutional prestige and label, are also awards for coordinating researchers. Approximately 3.25% of our project portfolio is supported by internal research funds, while the remaining 96.75% is supported by external funds, which is interpreted as an indicator of the sustainability achieved in this regard.