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Butlletí

A quarterly publication of AQU Catalunya

85

April 2017

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EDITORIAL

From evidence to decision making

For a considerable number of years now evidence of both a quantitative and qualitative nature has been gathered, and above all consolidated, on the system of higher education and universities in Catalonia and how it functions. This is true on all levels, from HEIs, faculties, schools and institutes, courses, teaching staff, etc.

As a result of a long period of serious and continuous work, for example, the Secretariat for Universities and Research has a powerful database in UNEIX that offers all types of indicators for use in an infinite number of analyses (course pass rates, equity, drop-out rates, gender equality, and so on).

AQU Catalunya also assumes its share of the work by gathering quantitative indicators, for example, on the transition of graduates into employment and qualitative indicators, including the analyses periodically carried out of all programmes of study delivered in Catalonia and the assessments and accreditation of teaching staff. This year the Agency faces the in-house challenge of upgrading the information system that handles and manages all evidence relating to degree courses so that all information becomes consolidated into one database that will better serve the purposes of IT management and programme analysis.


AQU NEWS

ARTICLES

  • The accreditation of bachelor and master's programmes: results 2014-2016
    The Guide to the accreditation of recognised bachelor and Master's degrees was endorsed in November 2013. As of that moment, the eighty (80) programmes that were to undergo accreditation in 2014 began the work of reflecting on the delivery of their programmes from ex-ante accreditation (validation) onwards, which was analysed and drawn up in a self-assessment report on each programme.

    The first site visit to an institution was carried out in May 2014. From then until the end of 2016 AQU Catalunya carried out the external review of 616 programmes (312 undergraduate and 304 Masters). 567 (92%) formally applied for accreditation and out of these AQU has processed and completed 511 (90%). The University of Barcelona (UB) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona accounted for 40% of the total number of applications received.
    Josep Manel Torres - Head of Quality Assessment Department
  • The assessment of candidates for the Serra Hunter faculty staff recruitment programme
    The main aim of the Serra Hunter Programme is the recruitment of high quality contract teaching staff, regardless of their country of origin, by public universities in Catalonia.

    At the request of the Serra Hunter Programme, support was provided by AQU Catalunya's Research Assessment Commission (CAR) in the 2016 call for applications with the pre-selection assessment of the CVs of candidates who applied for places. Applications received under the Serra Hunter Programme were assigned to the same review procedure as applications for pre- and non-career grade (tenure track/lector) teaching staff and the assessment of research by senior lecturer staff in the second call for applications in 2016. Support had previously been provided in 2013 and 2015 (there was no call for applications under the Serra Hunter Programme in 2014).
    Esteve Arboix - Head of Assessment of Teaching Staff and Research Department
  • The first year of work on the TeSLA project. The experience of AQU Catalunya
    El The TeSLA project is currently in its second year of development and all of the objectives and deadlines set at the outset of the project for 2016 were fulfilled and complied with. In its role as leader of WP4 (Work Package 4), AQU Catalunya has been working together with ENQA and EQANIE to establish and define the different aspects and parameters for quality assurance within the framework of the project. The work is set out in the three following reports submitted to the European Commission under the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon 2020.
    Roger Roca - Project manager of Internationalisation and Knowledge Generation Department
 

OPINION

  • Experience and reflections on the assessment of additional dimensions

    Jordi Riera
    Vice-rector for Academic Policy and Deputy Rector, Universitat Ramon Llull

    On the occasion of the seminar held at the headquarters of the Aragon Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education/ACPUA, “Assessment of the internationalisation and other dimensions of programme excellence”, in which the Director of AQU Catalunya, Dr. Martí Casadesús, took part, I also had the opportunity to speak as vice-rector for Academic Policy at the Universitat Ramon Llull, as we had previously participated with AQU in assessment procedures involving additional dimensions.

    Within the context of my presentation I was able to share our experience as a university in participating in the assessment of a series of additional dimensions, which are assessed on an optional basis that is complementary to the compulsory procedure of accreditation for all recognised degree programmes.

 

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