A bimonthly publication of AQU Catalunya

39

November 2008

The university requires mechanisms that enable teaching and research systems of the highest quality to be attained. The external review of syllabus designs and academic and research staff accreditation are suitable elements for setting a threshold of excellence and enabling academic and research organisations to have the best staff, optimum strategies and the highest level of consistency between their aims and outcomes. It is for this reason that the Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency (AQU) is, and must increasingly become, a key element in providing Catalan universities and research centres with the tools to attain the highest level.

Furthermore, the Agency's intention, together with the active participation of the universities, focuses on being the essential body for the enhancement and coordination of policies concerning quality and excellence that already form part of the programme designs and practice of these institutions.

The legal framework in Spain authorises an agency like AQU Catalunya to exercise all of its functions to achieve the aforementioned goals. In accordance with both the legislation amending the Spanish Universities Act (known by the acronym LOMLOU) and the Statute of Autonomy for Catalonia, the Agency can be designated as the key institution for the quality enhancement of the university system. Spanish regulations that develop the legislation on universities do not however currently allow for it to exercise certain of its fundamental functions as a QA agency, even though it complies with international standards and is a full member of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA). It will therefore be necessary to incorporate the functions of degree assessment and evaluation, all teaching and research staff accreditation, and the review of the R&D and innovation system into the Agency's activities.

This will involve the improvement of the Agency's internal structure and organisation and also call for the Catalan Government to appropriately negotiate with the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation so that AQU Catalunya is well provided for the work that it is called to carry out, the aim of which is the continuous enhancement of the Catalan university system.