The programme, its governance and management structure

The SOLO programme is a product of inter-organizational arrangements embedded in the structures of home institutions and their JP units. As described in the cooperation agreement, it is a research programme oriented and “closely linked to the research facilities” of five European partner schools. Contributions of non-European partners through student and scholar mobility as well as different perspectives and takes on the field of studies are seen by interviewees as programme enrichment. The programme is comprised of a total of 120 ECTS and shares a common concept or, as it is called, a general profile. University B aims “as a leading institution [to] provide portals into different [disciplinary] directions”

(Academic, interview, 26 October, 2015) as a broad-based orientation. Each PI is focused on specific topics, unique curriculum and thematic specializations.

Students have a choice in selecting the area of studies and engaging in depth at PIs;

however, as JP staff note, the final placement decision rests with the admissions team.

The consortium is responsible for student selection. The lead institution pre-screens all applications. All PIs representative staff members participate in the process of a final student selection. The consortium offers Erasmus Mundus grants to some selected ‘highly qualified’ students. Selection criteria are explicit and publicly available. These include the applicant’s academic excellence (previous study results and ‘quality’ of the institution that awarded the first degree); language skills; motivation and academic potential; extra-curricular activities and/or work experience. Scholarships are offered by the EU Commission which sets the amount and which country nationals would be entitled to receive funding. Also, the consortium may offer university scholarships.

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Based on student needs, the PIs profile, and specialization tracks, the consortium offers Year 1 and Year 2 study placements to students; thus SOLO students study at two different European universities (full partner institutions), as a rule, at each one for one academic year. In addition, they may opt for a semester at a third university, usually at a non-European university (associate member of the consortium). As noted by respondents, it does happen that not all student preferences may be accommodated which sometimes lead to application withdrawal by a prospective student. The consortium agreed that up to 120 students could be accepted into the programme with the provision to review this number, if necessary. Average student enrolment since 2009 is about 70 students.

The consortium also holds joint Winter and Summer Schools every year for all enrolled students. These schools offer workshops and lectures led by the teaching staff of all full PIs. Student groups from PIs come together to get to know their peers and to experience the transnational nature of the study programme.

According to the Cooperation agreement, the rector of the coordinating institution represents the consortium in all legal aspects (CA, 2010, p. 11). In practice SOLO is run by a consortium head (University B), a consortium coordinator (University B), an executive secretary (University C), and academic and administrative coordinators from all full PIs. JP staff in these positions form the core group of SOLO, having responsibilities described later in this section. They are members of a Steering Committee which is “a final decision-making body overall responsible for the implementation and the execution” (ibid., p. 4) of the programme.

According to the agreement, the committee may serve as an arbitration body in case disputes arise. Most of these staff members were interviewed for this study as they are directly involved in the developments of the programme and are responsible for its overall quality.

The consortium head is an academic and manager. All major curricular developments and consortium partnerships were initiated by the head of the consortium. He is an active academic, teaching in the programme, liaising between consortium and local faculty as well as institutional authorities, when need arises,

“‘translating [to them] cultural sensibilities” (Consortium head, interview, 27 October, 2015) of working in a collaborative project with institutions from various continents. The head of the consortium is directly involved in dialogues with consortium members about further developments in the Steering Committee meetings, at Winter/Summer Schools, as well as other academic events organized by the consortium such as forums and conferences.

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The day-to-day programme management and coordination is carried out by the consortium coordinator, a staff member of the coordinating institution, and local coordinators from all PIs. While in the EM framework the main coordinator is the head of the programme also responsible for academic matters, in this particular JP the consortium coordinator is an administrative staff member. She directly communicates with all PIs and is responsible for coordination and information sharing among them, public information (e.g., a website), student selection and the admission process coordination, documentation, student support services (from the first contact with all admitted students until they graduate), the organization of main SOLO events such as Summer and Winter Schools, graduation, student feedback and programme evaluation activities, and reporting to the EU. The consortium coordinator also serves as the local co-coordinator of the JP.

Local coordinators are responsible for the implementation and execution of SOLO at their home institutions (CA, 2010, p. 12). They are in close contact with each other and serve as liaisons between the Consortium and their home university (faculty, students, other university units), as well as mediators between faculty and students. Local coordinators are authorised “to discuss, negotiate and agree [on]

decisions or provide recommendations” (ibid., p. 3) for SOLO developments.

Academic coordinators (also called Study directors or Program directors at respective institutions) are involved in the review of student application, teaching activities, thesis supervision, curriculum related questions and discussions regarding programme planning, changes and improvements, and alignment to institutional and/or national study programme requirements. They are involved in course reviews, to varying degrees, student evaluation and feedback reviews and reporting to the EU. Administrative coordinators organize and administer student support services related to admissions, documentation, course selection, alumni network, and general problem-shooting. Due to the specificity of the inter-institutional and the transnational nature of the programme with a diverse student body, so called ‘special services’ are provided to students such as orientation, social and cultural activities, assistance with regard to visa and residence permits, registration at the city, housing, medical insurance contracts, help with bank accounts.

This core group of JP staff came up with such organizational and structural arrangements, the roles and responsibilities as they saw fit with the nature of the joint project. There was a requirement on behalf of the consortium that each PI would have a local coordinator who would devote time specifically for the SOLO

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project and be an active member of the Steering Committee involved in planning and developing JP activities, monitoring JP quality via formalized quality reviews as described in the following section. Universities A, B and C have administrative staff (coordinators) working only for SOLO, whereas the positions of such staff at universities D and E include other responsibilities beyond JP matters.

6.1.4. Formal quality related developments: consortium strategy,