A bimonthly publication of AQU Catalunya

74

September 2014

The Government of Catalonia's Executive Council (Govern), at its meeting held on 26 August 2014, approved the AQU Catalunya Bill (Projecte de llei de l'Agència per a la Qualitat del Sistema Universitari de Catalunya), which undergirds the Agency as a strategic instrument for the internationalisation of the university system in Catalonia by providing it with the legal and organisational tools to further consolidate its position as an agency of reference at European level. 

The Bill attributes new functions to the Agency, including the quality assurance, certification, auditing and accreditation of universities and higher education institutions. It will also be able to conduct trend analysis in higher education and follow trend developments at national and international level, advise and give guidance to the universities to promote excellence in the services they provide and draw up reports on deficits in quality detected in the universities. One new development is that contract programmes are defined as the instrument for relations between the Agency and the Government of Catalonia's department with authority over higher education and universities.

Other significant new developments approved in the Bill are the inclusion of a student representative on the AQU Board of Management, with the intention of lending force to the Agency's transparency and accountability to society, and the setting up of a Commission of Appeal responsible for reviewing the proceedings of the Agency's review, certification and accreditation bodies.