A quarterly publication of AQU Catalunya

96

January 2020

AQU Catalunya's extensive experience in the review and evaluation of degree programmes has led to the need for an instrument suited to the circumstances in Catalonia to classify courses of higher education according to the type of learning expected on each level.

The Catalan Higher Education Qualifications Framework (CHE-QF), in line with the Spanish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education (QF-EHEA), or MECES, the European Qualifications Framework and other international frameworks of reference, is an instrument that addresses needs and requirements that have been identified in the higher education system, such as improvements to the design and evaluation of programmes of study.

The CHE-QF gives a broad indication of learning appropriate to attainment at each level of higher education (advanced technical professional qualifications, bachelor's, master's and doctorate/PhD) according to the knowledge, skills and competences for each level of achieved learning. The CHE-QF does not lay down any legally binding regulations, as is the case with the Spanish Qualifications Framework, but rather aims to serve the purposes of benchmarking and as a tool for quality enhancement.

The main new feature of the Catalan Qualifications Framework, as pointed out by Martí Casadesús, the director of AQU Catalunya, is the differentiation between two types of bachelor degree, one with 180 ECTS and the other with 240 ECTS, in addition to achieving comparability and transparency and facilitating the mobility of learners within the European Higher Education Area. Casadesús emphasises that “this instrument will be of particular use to academic managers at higher education institutions in Catalonia and AQU Catalunya's review panels in the design, introduction and evaluation of degree programmes, and to validate the learning outcomes of students.”

The development of the Framework was coordinated by AQU Catalunya and carried out by a group of Spanish and international experts, together with representatives from the Department of Education. It was endorsed by AQU Catalunya's Committee for Institutional and Programme Review (CAIP) at its meeting in July 2019.