A bimonthly publication of AQU Catalunya

51

November 2010

In the editorial that I wrote a year ago from now, I expressed my interest in bringing the Agency's activities more in line with the needs of Catalan universities, given that an external review body like AQU Catalunya, while being independent of the Administration and the universities, must also be fully aware of the situation in the system of higher education in which it operates.

At the beginning of this year, the "Research assessment in the Humanities and Social Sciences" workshop was one example of the closer relationship between the Agency and the Catalan scientific and academic community. Attracting more than three hundred people, the workshop served as a forum for constructive dialogue between the participants. One result was the publication of a book with the same name, and approximately 2,800 copies have been subsequently distributed nationwide. The aim of the publication is for debate and discussions to continue, mainly between the quality assurance agencies, so that an assessment model for the abovementioned disciplines can be perfected.

In the final quarter of the year, and for the first time in its history, the Agency has been holding briefings in every Catalan university to present the Framework for the ex-ante assessment, monitoring, modification and accreditation of recognised degree courses (VSMA Framework). The purpose of these briefings is to explain the Framework to the universities and to obtain the opinion of the people involved in its implementation and running.

With half of the briefings already carried out, our initial impression is that the initiative is, for the most part, being regarded as positive. The fact that all of the stakeholders can come together in the same place generates communication that is direct and transparent, and where anyone can freely express their thoughts, doubts and suggestions.

The process of transforming the Catalan higher education system in a globalised world is unstoppable. And, in spite of the many (important) questions that it raises, it also opens up different challenges and opportunities. The implementation of a system of continuous review, made up of all the stages through which recognised degree programmes have to go through (ex-ante assessment, monitoring, modification and accreditation), is one of these. If this process is understood as being one of merely "covering the basics", it will be of little use; if, on the other hand, the members of the university community, and especially the academic staff, can integrate this system into the normal development of a degree programme, we will then have a highly useful instrument of great potential for detecting (and implementing) strategies for continuous enhancement.

The quality of a degree depends on the people who have created it and who participate in its development and delivery. The quality assurance agencies can assist the universities, amongst other things, in establishing benchmarks, in giving an objective viewpoint, in determining what gives shape and form to a degree's quality, and also in advising and placing the universities on a firmer footing with regard to internal quality assurance systems (clear examples are the AUDIT  and SUPORT programmes, aimed at the heads of the technical quality units in the universities).

There are many people in the universities, government and the Agency who are working on the quality assurance and continuous enhancement of thousands of recognised degrees offered and awarded by the universities in Catalonia according to EHEA guidelines. It is important that everyone feels we are all headed in the same direction with common objectives, with each one fulfilling their responsibilities and taking account of the specific nature of their immediate context.

The Agency needs to know how to listen and to furnish answers that are as appropriate as possible to the universities' different requirements, with quality being assured at all times. Bonds of involvement and collaboration will also need to be established with each and every one of them, because this will be the only way to be strong both internally and externally.

I would like to compliment those responsible in the different universities for the great reception we have been given, and all academic and technical staff for their constructive participation in helping us to perfect the VSMA Framework.

Our commitment to being aware and attentive to the needs of the universities continues unabated.