COBRA

Students regularly exchange positive or negative experiences among themselves about their study programme. KU Leuven also tries to gear its quality assurance to those experiences. It has been using a formal quality assurance method for several years: COBRA. The COBRA method allows KU Leuven to collect targeted, applied and relevant information about the quality of education. It does this together with lecturers as well as students.

Below you will find more information about COBRA and student interviews. Do not hesitate to ask a question via the contact form at the bottom of the page!

What is COBRA?

COBRA stands for cooperation, reflection and action, with a focus on checks and balances. These principles determine the way KU Leuven guarantees the quality of your education.

How does COBRA work?

In terms of content, COBRA discusses three levels: programme level, faculty level and university level. Students, faculty and other staff reflect on problems and formulate action points and solutions. The COBRA method is divided into four-year cycles, each with 2 years of soft, low-threshold walkthrough and 2 years of hard, formal walkthrough.

Find out more

If you would like to take a look at the four-year quality report of your course, you can go to KU Leuven's programme guide. There you will find a COBRA sheet for each programme. As a student or staff member of the university, you can consult additional documents in addition to the COBRA reports.

COBRA-academy

Help, I'm a discussion leader! What do I do?

Will you get to work as a discussion leader? Then you will be the moderator during one or more of the biannual COBRA discussions with students. You will try to engage absent members, put participants at ease and lead the conversation in the right direction. But you are certainly not alone! Stura provides all kinds of training to get you fully prepared for your student talk.

This formation is designed for all conversation leaders. You will learn about conversation techniques, conversation preparations, room layout and reporting. It also discusses the theory and ethical issues surrounding COBRA. You follow the basic formation entirely online via Toledo, KU Leuven’s learning platform.

Do you still feel you could use some extra preparation, after going through the Toledo module? No problem! We have quite a few additional training opportunities.

Do you have any specific questions about moderating COBRA talks? Don’t hesitate to request a guidance moment via e-mail or via the form below! Someone from Stura will answer all your questions and guide you where necessary.

Would you like to practice a conversation? Then you can attend a physical or digital moment as a conversation leader in which a conversation simulation happens. Request one via e-mail or the form below and you will hear from us as soon as one is organised.

Contact us!