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Març 2008

On commission by the Directorate General for Universities (DGU), AQU Catalunya has, for the third year running, carried out the ex ante assessment of the academic aspects of proposed Masters programmes offered in the 2008-2009 academic year. The DGU also commissioned AQU Catalunya to evaluate modifications for the 2008-2009 academic year proposed by the universities to recognised Masters programmes that are already running.

Proposals for Masters programmes must include all of the necessary information showing their conformity with Royal Decree 1393/2007, 29 October, concerning the authorisation of recognised university degree programmes; Royal Decree 56/2005, with the modifications of Royal Decree 1509/2005 for postgraduate degrees; and the standards for university programming in Catalonia proposed to the DGU by the Interuniversity Council of Catalonia.

Royal Decree 1393/2007 gives details of the conception and expression of university autonomy according to which it is the universities themselves that set up and propose, in accordance with the established rules, degree programmes and degrees to be taught and issued, without their being subject to the existence of a pre-established catalogue set by the authorities, as was compulsory up until now. In particular, the Royal Decree specifies that the purpose of Masters programmes is for the student to undertake advanced study of either a specialised or multidisciplinary nature, orientated towards either an academic or professional specialisation, or to promote the start of research work.

In line with previous processes, the approval of a proposal for a recognised Master's degree programme involves two independent aspects that require approval from two different bodies: on the one hand, the DGU checks the general data, establishes whether the proposal conforms to the established legal standards and if its authorisation is justified within the context of university planning; on the other hand, AQU Catalunya undertakes an assessment, made by a group of experts (here referred to as reviewers) in the different fields of knowledge, of the academic quality of the proposals.

The Agency used the same methodology designed for previous processes, with slight modifications, to carry out the corresponding assessment of the quality of the proposals. Mention is made of the fact that the methodology conforms to the European standards for quality assurance, the degree programme accreditation standards approved by the Quality Assurance Committee (CAQ) within the framework of the Pilot scheme for the adaptation of degrees to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), the joint criteria set by the REACU (Spanish Universities Quality Agencies Network), and those stipulated in Royal Decree 1393/2007.

One of the new developments introduced this year in the assessment process was the inclusion of an overall higher number of reviewers from outside of Catalonia. As can be seen from table 1, the total number of reviewers participating in this process who work in institutions outside of Catalonia was approximately 65%. An analysis of the distribution of the reviewers according to the subject area being evaluated (Humanities, Social Sciences, Experimental Sciences, Health Sciences and Technical Subjects) and where they are from (see table 2) shows that at least 50% of the committee members were from an institution from outside the Catalan higher education system. Mention is made of the specific case of the Social Sciences, where the percentage of reviewers from outside of Catalonia was more than 70%.

Table 1. Place of origin of the reviewers who took part in the assessment of proposals for Masters degrees (offered in the 2008-2009 academic year)

Table 2. Place of origin of the reviewers who took part in the assessment of proposals for Masters degrees (offered in the 2008-2009 academic year) according to fields of knowledge

Seventy-nine (79) proposals for Master's programmes were assessed this year, distributed by universities as shown in table 3. More than 50% of the proposals were submitted from two universities, the Universitat de Barcelona (26 proposals) and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (20 proposals). The highest number of proposals for Master's programmes were submitted by the Social Sciences (30 proposals, or 38% of the total). The other subject areas were homogeneously distributed, each one submitting between 15 (Humanities) and 11 proposals for Master's programmes (Health Sciences and Technical subjects) (see table 4). A summary table is also given with the results, by subject area and university, of the assessment process of new proposals for Master's programmes.

Eleven (11) proposals were unfavourably assessed (or 13.9% of the total number of proposals submitted). Shortcomings detected in a large number of proposals that were unfavourably assessed were connected with the competence profile; the scientific and professional interest and/or relevance of the proposal; the profile and criteria for entry to the programme of study; and the teaching staff. In certain cases, shortcomings were also detected in aspects associated with the assessment methodology used to determine student learning and in the way the proposal was orientated.

Table 3. Proposals for Master's programmes (offered in the 2008-2009 academic year) submitted and assessed by the ATP Committee, according to universities

Table 4. Proposals for Master's programmes (offered in the 2008-2009 academic year) submitted and assessed by the ATP Committee, according to subject areas

 Summary table