A bimonthly publication of AQU Catalunya

57

November 2011

The European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) has accepted AQU catalunya's request to undergo the second ENQA coordinated review to make an analysis of the Agency's compliance with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG).

Behind its willingness to again undergo the international external review process for QA agencies, AQU Catalunya harbours a twofold desire. On the one hand, its desire to equal and, if possible, improve its rating in the first international review in 2007 and, on the other, to possess a valuable instrument for moving forward with the continuous enhancement of its activities from an international perspective.

The review process will start during the last quarter of 2011 with the Agency's self-evaluation report. It is envisaged that approval of the report will be given in March 2012. Following its approval, it will be referred to the members of the international external review panel designated by ENQA, in order for the site visit to AQU Catalunya to be organised in the spring of 2012.

Successfully passing the external review facilitates agreements on the mutual recognition of reviews carried out by the Agency with other national and international agencies and institutions. The most obvious case is the Agency's ability, in accordance with Spanish regulations, to carry out the ex-ante accreditation of recognised university degree programmes and awards. The only agencies (at the Autonomous region level) in Spain to carry out such ex-ante accreditation activities are those that have passed the international external review, are full members of ENQA and that are registered with the EQAR. Out of the eleven agencies that currently operate in Spain, five are authorised to carry out evaluations for the ex-ante accreditation of degrees (the corresponding agencies for the regions of Castilla-León, Galicia, Andalusia and Catalonia, and the national agency, ANECA).