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Butlletí

A quarterly publication of AQU Catalunya

87

October 2017

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EDITORIAL

Subject benchmark statements, the first step towards self-validation (oct/17)

Programme accreditation, or the ex-post quality assurance of degree courses, is the procedure carried out by the overwhelming majority, if not all, quality assurance agencies around the world. It is clearly our “core business” and it is the one that fundamentally defines a QA agency for higher education. Validation, or the ex-ante accreditation of a programme prior to introduction, on the other hand, is a procedure that very few agencies undertake. For AQU Catalunya and all other QA agencies in Spain that belong to the European register it is mandatory pursuant to prevailing legislation (Royal Decree 1393/2007).


AQU NEWS

ARTICLES

  • What do enterprises think about the employability and skills of recent graduates? The employers project
    Do universities in Catalonia adapt programmes of study according to the requirements of enterprise and industry? Do recent graduates have skills gaps or deficits? Which programmes are the best in terms of employability? Do university-industry/enterprise relations help to improve the employability of recent graduates? These are just some of the issues that will be covered by the second survey in the Employers project, work on which has recently been started by AQU Catalunya with the support of Obra Social “La Caixa”.
    Sandra Nieto Viramontes - Project manager of Internationalisation and Knowledge Generation Department
  • The use of subject benchmark statements in the design of new programmes
    The Framework for the ex-ante accreditation, monitoring, modification and ex-post accreditation of recognised programmes (VSMA Framework, AQU Catalunya, 2010) links together the four quality assurance procedures (ex-ante assessment, monitoring, modification and ex-post accreditation) that all recognised programmes of study undergo in accordance with prevailing legislation in order to establish a conceptual commonality and promote greater efficiency in the management of the various QA and review procedures.
    Concepción Herruzo Fonayet and Esther Huertas Hidalgo - Senior advisors of Quality Assessment Department
 

OPINION

  • Subject benchmark statements and degree programmes in Computing

    Pere Brunet Crosa
    President of the committee of experts on the subject benchmark statement Computing and member of the Academy of Europe.

    Last year a group of nine of us were commissioned with a task that was both a challenge and an opportunity as the director of AQU Catalunya asked us to draw up a subject benchmark statement for study programmes in Computing. The idea formed part of a pilot project to establish whether it was possible to convert the current stage of programme validation into a self-validation procedure for institutions proposing new programmes. This would expedite this stage and allow for greater emphasis in the Agency's work to focus on the stages of modification and accreditation. It is useful to bear in mind that 93% of validations carried out in 2015 were positively assessed.

 

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