AoL - Assurance of Learning

Assurance of Learning (AoL) is a quality management tool which evaluates study programs as a whole. It allows to monitor whether students acquire those competencies and skills which the program is designed to offer.

AoL complements Leuphana’s well established quality management tools such as teaching evaluations, which focus on individual courses and teaching staff, and the student-teacher-exchange in Quality Circles. In comparison, AoL allows to reflect on and implement measures for strategic improvement of the programs and study experience.

For more detail, please download our “AoL handbook”. Key information on the data collection process can be found in “AoL in a nutshell”.

The key to the Assurance of Learning system are the Program Learning Competencies. The current and first loop of AoL at the School of Management and Technology is based on four overarching Learning Competencies which substantiate the main lines of School's mission:

1. Disciplinary strengths for interdisciplinary thinking: Students critically reflect on and apply academic knowledge in interdisciplinary contexts.
2. Entrepreneurial perspective: Students develop and evaluate solution-oriented propositions.
3. Responsible management: Students act responsibly in their decision-making.
4. Scientific research competences: Students demonstrate high standards of scientific research.

The Learning Competencies define a framework of educational expectation for all degree programs and set a range of competencies that our students should acquire in their time at the School of Management and Technology. In a next step, program directors, program coordinators and Team AACSB together will re-define the Learning Competencies that will guide the following AoL loop.

AoL allows those responsible for study programs to continuously monitor whether overarching learning goals are being achieved. The Team AACSB of the Dean’s Office supports with regard to the different operational steps.

The Assurance of Learning is a systematic process based on measurements of student learning, the identification and implementation of improvements and the monitoring of outcomes through repeated measurements. For this, measurable Learning Objectives are defined for each Learning Competency.

AoL is based on three data sources. The first way of data collection builds on specific modules that are suitable for evaluation on one or more Learning Competencies. The second way of data collection is based on the final bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD theses. Both evaluations take place alongside the regular grading. The third way of data collection is based on the integration with  Quality Management tools such as Quality Circles and Internal Assessment Procedures.

For more detail, please download our “AoL handbook”. The data collection process at a glance can be found in “AoL in a nutshell”.

Information from AoL is integrated into the school’s encompassing Quality Management process. In this process, the program manager and faculty discuss the findings and include the information into the program’s teacher-student discussion that takes places every year. Team AACSB facilitates this process together with Team Q. In this process, data is evaluated, measures and improvements are being developed and documented. Improvements usually concern the curriculum design, the evaluation process itself, or the teaching coordination.

Your contact for any question regarding AoL is Dr. Lotte Lutz of the Dean’s Office Team.

We are happy to receive your feedback, either in person or via email at aol@leuphana.de.

Dr. Lotte Lutz
Universitätsallee 1, C6.011
21335 Lüneburg
Phone 04131.677-1995
lotte.lutz@leuphana.de