INTRODUCTION
This report is the self-assessment report of the Department of Philosophy within the scope of our University's Quality Assurance studies. In the first part of the report, general information about the department is given and in the other parts of the report, respectively; students' admission, student exchange, horizontal-vertical transfers and success evaluations, department outcomes, education plan, teaching staff, infrastructure, budget and conclusion are included.
0.1. INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Department of Philosophy, affiliated to Sabire Yazıcı Faculty of Arts and Sciences, started its activities in 2013-2014 academic year and accepted its first students. It has four departments: History of Philosophy, Systematic Philosophy and Logic, History and Philosophy of Science, and History of Turkish Islamic Thought. It graduated its first students in 2017. There are three assistant professors and four research assistants in its staff.
1. STUDENTS
1.1. The aim of the Department of Philosophy is to provide our country and the world with philosophers who can look at intellectual activities, especially philosophy, science and art, from different perspectives and critically, who know the importance of the history of philosophy and science, who have developed argument analysis and argumentation skills, who have high self-confidence, creativity, decision-making and application capacity.
1.2. In the department, the policies applied in the admission of students with horizontal and vertical transfer, double major, minor and student exchange practices, as well as the courses taken in other institutions and/or programs and the evaluation of the credits earned are implemented under the regulations and directives defined in detail by Aksaray University. These directives and regulations are available at https://ogris.aksaray.edu.tr/Mevzuat.
1.3. Student mobility through agreements and partnerships to be established with other institutions by the program is carried out in cooperation with Aksaray University External Relations Office.
1.4. In order for our new students to adapt to the university and programs faster and easier, Orientation Training is given to students, educational objectives, course outcomes, rights and responsibilities of students, distance education processes, ECTS (Bologna Information Package), student exchange programs, quality assurance, program accreditation, Advisor Meetings are held face-to-face or digitally at the beginning of each academic year on issues such as increasing awareness and expectation levels, career planning and management, management of success level, prevention of possible grievances related to the student's educational life (add-drop, extracurricular activities, total compulsory and elective courses, projects, internships, seminars). For distance education counseling, the student can communicate with his/her advisor via e-mail. The follow-up of this process is carried out by Aksaray University Quality Coordinatorship.
1.5. Measurement of students' success in all courses and other activities within the scope of the program is carried out in accordance with "Aksaray University Associate and Undergraduate Education and Examination Regulation - 10.01.2023" with transparent, fair and consistent methods.
1.6. Students who meet the graduation requirements in the program are graduated according to the procedures and principles in the relevant articles in the "Aksaray University Associate and Undergraduate Education and Examination Regulation - 10.01.2023". In order for a student to successfully complete his/her education and obtain a bachelor's degree from the Philosophy Program, he/she must be successful in all of the compulsory and elective courses (equivalent to 240 ECTS) and must have a GPA of at least 2.00 out of 4.00.
2. PROGRAM EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
2.1. The educational objectives of the program are currently included in Aksaray University Bologna Information Package.
2.2. Philosophy is a multifaceted discipline that questions and investigates many issues such as reality, various elements of reality and their knowability, the conditions of existence and being, what a good life is or how it should be, the importance of virtues and values for human societies, the rightness or wrongness of the actions of individuals or institutions based on reason. Philosophers ask questions about all kinds of human activities and contribute to the development and deepening of the perspectives of those involved in these activities with the answers they propose to these questions. The aim of our department is to provide our country and the world with philosophers who are able to look at all kinds of intellectual activities, especially philosophy, science and art, from different perspectives and critically, who know the importance of the history of philosophy and science, who have developed the ability to analyze and form arguments, and who have high self-confidence, creativity, decision-making and application capacity.
2.3. The aims of the program are compatible with the core tasks of the faculty and the department.
2.4. Various internal and external stakeholders of the program are included in the process according to their relevance to the activities in the academic season and course curricula.
2.5. The educational objectives of the program are defined in the Bologna Information Package of Aksaray University with their current status and published online in an easily accessible way.
2.6. In line with the requirements of the internal and external stakeholders of the program, the objectives of the program are updated at intervals in accordance with current conditions and returns.
3. PROGRAM OUTCOMES
3.1. The outcomes of the program are defined in Aksaray University Bologna Information Package and published as follows in a way to provide easy accessibility through online channels. According to this
1. To master the fields of knowledge that are the product of reasoning processes specific to the discipline of philosophy and the concepts in these fields.
2. To gain the ability to comprehend, understand, and practically evaluate and interpret philosophical problems through the distinctive basic methods, insights, and theories of the discipline of philosophy within the framework of the history of philosophy.
3. To become an individual who can analytically evaluate social, political and cultural problems and propose solutions to these problems from a philosophical perspective.
4. To develop methods of analyzing, evaluating and interpreting philosophical texts, which are essential for in-depth understanding and analysis of philosophical problems.
5. To have a philosophical perspective on knowledge in general and science, art and religion in particular.
6. To be equipped with the major problems and concepts in the basic fields of philosophy such as philosophy of knowledge, philosophy of science, philosophy of being, ethics, politics and philosophy of religion, as well as the theories and movements that have emerged in these fields.
7. To be an individual who is aware of the importance of virtues such as respect for the rights of human and non-human beings, pluralism and tolerance with the philosophical perspective he/she has acquired.
8. To be an individual who can freely and objectively research, criticize and evaluate various problems and issues that he/she may encounter throughout his/her life.
9. To make a habit of creative and coherent thinking by using the basic methods of philosophical reasoning.
10. To be an individual who uses the philosophical skills he/she has acquired effectively in practical life.
11. To be an individual who can take responsibility and play an active role in teamwork with the help of the philosophical virtues developed during his/her undergraduate education.
12. To have a perfect command of Turkish and to speak at least one foreign language at a level to follow the international philosophical literature.
3.2. An assessment and evaluation process used to periodically determine and document the level of achievement of program outcomes, measurement of students' achievements in all courses and other activities within the scope of the program are carried out in accordance with "Aksaray University Associate and Undergraduate Education and Examination Regulation - 10.01.2023" with transparent, fair and consistent methods.
3.3. In accordance with the "Aksaray University Associate and Undergraduate Education and Examination Regulation - 10.01.2023", students prove that they have achieved the program outcomes by successfully completing the theory and practice courses in the program curriculum.
4. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
4.1. As evidence for continuous improvement of the program;
- Meetings with education and training commissions,
- Academic board meetings,
- All meetings organized by the affiliated faculty can be shown.
In addition, activity reports, job descriptions and work flow charts are available on the faculty web page and these are constantly updated.
4.2. As a department, improvement suggestions from all internal and external stakeholders are taken into consideration and discussed in the necessary committees and implemented if deemed feasible.
5. EDUCATION PLAN
5.1. The Department of Philosophy has a four-year education plan (curriculum) that supports the educational objectives and program outcomes. The curriculum includes the common components and discipline-specific components given in this criterion. This curriculum is updated in accordance with the current YÖK Bologna Process.
5.2. The educational methods to be used in the implementation of the education plan are organized in accordance with the aim of providing students with the desired knowledge, skills and behaviors.
5.3. An education management system that will ensure the implementation of the education plan as envisaged and ensure its continuous development is organized in accordance with the "Aksaray University Associate and Undergraduate Education and Examination Regulation - 10.01.2023".
5.4. The education plan of the program is organized in accordance with the YÖK Bologna Process. The education plan includes 60 ECTS credits of basic science education per year.
5.5. Our department offers 30 ECTS credits of basic sciences and philosophy each semester. The basic sciences within the general discipline of Social Sciences and courses that are close and complementary to this discipline are sufficient ECTS credits.
5.6. The curriculum of our department includes 16 ECTS courses from the fields of psychology and sociology that complement the philosophy program.
5.7. A main application/design experience, in which students will use the knowledge and skills they have acquired in previous courses and which will include relevant standards and realistic constraints and conditions, is made ready by the instructor of the course in accordance with the course and physical factors.
6. TEACHING STAFF
6.1. The teaching staff of the program is organized according to the decision of "Aksaray University Norm Rosters, which was prepared within the framework of the Regulation on the Determination and Use of Instructor Norm Rosters in State Higher Education Institutions and accepted by the decision of the University Senate dated 26/12/2019 and numbered 22 of its meeting 2019/22-12".
6.2. The teaching staff of the program is regulated according to the decision of "Aksaray University Norm Rosters, which was prepared within the framework of the Regulation on the Determination and Use of Instructor Norm Rosters in State Higher Education Institutions and accepted by the decision of the Senate of our University with the decision numbered 2019/22-12 of the meeting numbered 22 on 26/12/2019.
6.3. The criteria for the appointment and promotion of faculty members are determined and implemented according to the "Aksaray University Directive on Promotion and Appointment to Faculty Membership", as well as being aimed at ensuring and improving the above-mentioned.
7. INFRASTRUCTURE
7.1. Classrooms, laboratories and other equipment are arranged in a way that helps to prepare an adequate and learning-oriented atmosphere to achieve the educational objectives and program outcomes.
7.2. Appropriate infrastructure is provided by the relevant units to allow students to engage in extracurricular activities, meet their social and cultural needs, support their professional development by creating an environment for professional activities, and revitalize student-faculty relations, and are carried out according to the "Aksaray University Extracurricular Activities Course Directive".
7.3. Computer infrastructures are used to support the educational objectives of the program and for scientific and educational studies of students and faculty members.
7.4. Library facilities offered to students are provided by "Aksaray University Library and Documentation Department". Library facilities continue to be developed to be sufficient to achieve the educational objectives and program outcomes of the program.
7.5. Necessary security measures in the teaching environment and student laboratories have been taken by the unit to which the program is affiliated, and the infrastructure arrangement for the disabled is carried out by the same unit.
8. INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT AND FINANCIAL RESOURCES
8.1. To ensure the quality of the program and its sustainability, the activities and programs carried out by the program are carried out with the administrative support, constructive leadership, financial resources and distribution strategies of the university.
8.2. Resources are developed by the university administration.
8.3. Resources are developed by the university administration.
8.4. Support staff and institutional services to meet program requirements are supported by the administrative and technical staff of the university.
9. ORGANIZATION AND DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES
9.1. All decision-making processes within our department are organized in a way to support the realization of program outcomes and achievement of educational objectives.
10. PROGRAM-SPECIFIC CRITERIA
10.1. Program-specific benchmarks are provided.
CONCLUSION
100.1. While the aims and outcomes of the program are regulated according to the Bologna Process, the education and training process of the program is carried out according to the academic calendar of the university. The program aims to increase the success level of the students with its academic staff and the sustainability of the development of the program and continues the education and training process by supporting it with up-to-date resources. With this understanding, the Department of Philosophy integrates the goal of enriching the academic philosophical equipment of our students with an interdisciplinary approach required by the age, with an understanding of agency to always reach better in academic requirements and competencies.
