A bimonthly publication of AQU Catalunya

36

May 2008

The AQU's 2008 Activities Plan, which sees the continuity of most of the measures from the previous year, is considerably influenced by the enactment of Law 4/2007, 12 April, which amended Law 6/2001, 21 December, on Universities (Spanish Universities Act); Royal Decree 1393/2007, 29 October, concerning the reform of recognised higher university degree programmes; the bringing in line of the universities with the EHEA's European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance; and the results of the external review of the AQU, in accordance with these standards.

The main activities envisaged for the year, as endorsed by the Agency's Board of Management, are as follows:

• Accountability: drawing up of reports on the quality of the HE system in Catalonia and maintenance of the ISO 9001:2000-based internal quality system.
• European quality assurance area: continuation of the SUPORT-UTQ and AUDIT programmes, development of the AQU's Strategic Plan and implementation of peer review processes with other Spanish and European QA agencies.
• Institutional quality evaluation: compliance of Master's and Bachelors programmes, follow-up and accreditation, review of attached HE institutes and the carrying out of the third graduate employment survey.
• Teaching staff assessment: issuance of pre-selection reports for appointment to posts of tenure-track and collaborating teaching staff (pending regulation); accreditations for research and advanced research; reports on teaching, certification for the evaluation of merits in teaching and administration; evaluation of merits in research, assessment of the work of teaching staff in private universities.
• Cooperation and exchange: coordination with the universities in Catalonia, cooperation with other agencies and associations connected with quality assurance in higher education, organisation of workshops and other events.
• Communication: setting up of the new website; restructuring of the information bulletins on quality assurance in the universities.