Butlletí

A quarterly publication of AQU Catalunya

81

April 2016

EDITORIAL

Faculty certification is now a reality: a small step forward in the right direction

On different levels in the university system in Catalonia, people have become weary of insistently calling for accreditation to be focused more as an institutional process as to the tedious, one-by-one analysis of each degree. This means, and to refer to models that are being applied in many European countries, prioritising the quality assurance of the internal management systems used by higher education institutions instead of evaluating each individual degree course that they run. Either this or at least a composite process whereby certification of the HEI can take place in tandem with programme accreditation.

Aside from a purely economic analysis (it will escape no-one's attention that a review of an HEI at institutional level will inevitably require fewer resources for everybody involved than a review of all of the institution’s study programmes), there is also an important conceptual aspect. If quality assurance has shown that the HEI itself is running correctly and according to certain standards, this will mean that the delivery of study programmes is also organised and taking place correctly and it thereby assures their quality. In other words, it’s as simple as quality assurance of the "process", as to each specific resulting "product".

AQU NEWS

• First meeting of the Institutional and Programme Review Commission31.03.2016
• Awarding of AUDIT certificates to programmes in the Performing Arts and Visual Arts23.03.2016
• Meeting of an ECA Working Group at AQU Catalunya16.03.2016
• Publication of the results of the call for applications for grants for follow-up studies based on the findings of the Employers Survey 201409.03.2016
• Composition of the Standing Committee of AQU Catalunya's Governing Board 18.02.2016
• AQU Catalunya signs a cooperation agreement with the Association of Advertising and Public Relations 16.02.2016
• Meeting on the launch of the TeSLA project02.02.2016
• Meeting of the IMPALA project at AQU Catalunya27.01.2016
• Results of the first call for applications in 2015 for the accreditation of research and advanced research22.01.2016
• Results of the assessment of research carried out in 2015 by teaching and research staff at public universities in Catalonia and other institutions covered by agreements with AQU Catalunya 22.01.2016
• AQU Catalunya releases the report on the results and findings of the Master's graduate survey 21.01.2016
• Results of the second extraordinary call for applications in 2015 for tenure-track lecturer reports21.01.2016
• AQU Catalunya participates in a European project to design an online assessment system18.01.2016
• AQU Catalunya participates in the ISLAH project15.01.2016

ARTICLES

• Equity for graduates in access to and going on from university
  Directed by Helena Troiano, Education and Work Research Group (GRET), Autonomous University of Barcelona/UAB, the study consists of four chapters written by different authors.
  Sandra Fachelli, Jordi Planas, Albert Sànchez-Gelabert, Mijail Figueroa, Marina Elias, Dani Torrents and Lidia Daza - Education and Work Research Group (GRET), Autonomous University of Barcelona/UAB
• Effects of the crisis on graduate employment outcomes
  The study analyses the effects of the economic crisis on the employment outcomes of graduates from Catalan universities, with attention being focused on the following variables: unemployment, occupation, the employment quality index, salaries, continuing education, job satisfaction and employability.
  Authors: Marc Saez and Maria Antònia Barceló - Statistics, Econometrics and Health Research Group (GRECS), University of Girona, CIBER Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP)
• AQU Catalunya participates in the TeSLA project (Adaptive Trust-based e-assessment System for Learning)
  As part of the European framework programme Horizon 2020, the European Commission has endorsed the TeSLA innovation and research project (Adaptive Trust-based e-assessment System for Learning), the objective of which is to define and develop a system that facilitates online examination in such a way that guarantees authentication and authorship at different points in the learning process
  Esther Huertas - Project manager, AQU Catalunya

OPINION

• AQU Catalunya's CLiC Commission fulfils its objectives and completes its work
  

  Joan Nogué
  President of Tenure-track Lecturer and Collaborating Lecturer Commission

  As you may know, pursuant to the Catalan Parliament's passing of Law 15/2015, 21 July, dealing with the Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency (AQU Catalunya), the issue of reports for tenure-track junior lecturers now comes under the jurisdiction of the Research Assessment Commission, and the CLiC Commission that up until recently was responsible for tenure-track and collaborating teaching staff (non-civil servant, non-PhD junior lecturer and auxiliary teaching staff) at Catalan universities has consequently now been dissolved. Given that all teaching assessment is now concentrated under one commission, the situation is much more rational, operational and logical, and it will result not only in the saving of public funds, but also provide a more comprehensive, complete and progressive overview of the academic and professional careers of teaching staff at Catalan universities.

AQU RECOMMENDS

• Maintaining a quality culture in doctoral education at research-intensive universities
• The Future of Jobs. Employment, Skills and Workforce Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution
• Graduate job satisfaction in Catalonia and the factors determining the evaluation by graduates of their degree studies
• Equity and the effects of the crisis on graduate employment outcomes