Butlletí

A quarterly publication of AQU Catalunya

80

January 2016

EDITORIAL

Twenty years!

On 29 October 2016 it will be twenty years that AQU Catalunya has been in existence.

The regulations that have shaped the Agency are: Legislative decree 355/1996, 29 October, whereby the Agency was established as an instrument for the external review of quality assurance and enhancement in the universities and higher education system in Catalonia; Act 1/2003, 19 February, concerning the universities in Catalonia (LUC, the Catalan Universities Act), which transformed the Agency from a consortium into a public entity and granted it the powers and jurisdiction to undertake the review and assessment of teaching staff; and, Act 15/2015, 21 July, on the Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency/AQU Catalunya (AQU Catalunya Act), which provided for better compliance with European standards, a more flexible structure and further underpinned its powers as a QA agency.

Many people have contributed their talent to making AQU what it is and making it bigger and better.

The Agency has been fortunate to have been led by various important academics, for example, as president, Dr. Antoni Serra Ramoneda (1997-2008) and Dr. Joaquim Prats Cuevas (2008-2013); as director, Dr. David Serrat Congost (1997), Gemma Rauret Dalmau (1998-2006), Javier Bará Temes (2006-2009), Josep Anton Ferré Vidal (2009-2013) and Martí Casadesús Fa (2013-present); as chairpersons of the teaching assessment committees, Dr. Joan Rodés (2003-2014), Dr. Lluís Torner (2014-act.), Dr. Teresa Garcia-Milà (2003-2005), Dr. M. Lluïsa Hernanz (2005-2014) and Dr. Joan Nogué (2014-present), and many other recognised academics who have been involved in review panels and contributed with their knowledge and understanding to the growth of AQU Catalunya.

AQU NEWS

• AQU Catalunya at the presentation of the report, "The teaching profession in Europe"10.12.2015
• Josep Grifoll joins ECA Board10.12.2015
• Rethinking teacher training for the future of education, by Joan Manuel del Pozo09.12.2015
• Inaugural meeting of the AQU Catalunya Appeals Committee02.12.2015
• Inaugural meeting of the Governing Board of AQU Catalunya01.12.2015
• AQU Catalunya attends the 10th European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF)27.11.2015
• AQU Catalunya participates in a new meeting of the ASEAN QA project19.11.2015
• The President of AQU Catalunya appears on El Punt Avui's TV programme, L'Illa de Robinson13.11.2015
• AQU Catalunya participates in the 3rd Conference of Directors of Schools of Doctoral Studies05.11.2015
• The employability and skills of new teachers. The opinion of preschool, primary and secondary education institutions 29.10.2015
• EQTeL project Sustainability Plan meeting29.10.2015
• Call for applications for study grants for the Employers project29.10.2015
• Summary of the accreditation of Bachelor and Master's degree programmes20.10.2015
• AQU Catalunya signs collaboration agreements with the Consell d'Aparelladors and ENGINYERS BCN13.10.2015
• AQU Catalunya workshop event: "How can teacher training be improved and enhanced?"08.10.2015

ARTICLES

• The Institutional and Programme Review Commission (CAIP)
  Pursuant to Law 1/2003, 19 February, concerning the universities in Catalonia (LUC), the present-day AQU Catalunya was established with specific functions as the main instrument for the promotion and assurance of quality in the system of higher education in Catalonia. In order to facilitate the adaptation of AQU Catalunya to the new scenarios resulting from developments in the culture of quality and new requirements at European level concerning quality assurance bodies, and also to encourage innovation in teaching, research and management, the Parliament of Catalonia recently passed new legislation specifically dealing with the Agency, for which there was broad consensus both in the universities and at political level.
  Josep Manel Torres - Coordinator of Quality Assessment department
• The AQU Catalunya Appeals Committee
  One of the main new developments introduced by Law 15/2015, 21 July, on the Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency (AQU Catalunya), is that all review of decisions related to quality review and assurance, certification and accreditation is to be carried out by a collegiate body called the Appeals Committee.
  Jordi Escolar Bañeres - Legal advisor

OPINION

• We came to university to learn
  

  Lluís Forcadell Díez
  Coordinator, CEUCAT (the Union of Students at Catalan Universities/Consell de l'Estudiantat de les Universitats Catalanes) and member on the Governing Board, AQU Catalunya

  The Faculty of Geography and History, University of Barcelona (UB), Monday, 8.30 a.m. I'm having a coffee before heading into the library. January is a nasty month for exams because you still have a mince pie in one hand and a glass of cava in the other. January is not the best month for anybody.
  
  I huffed, drank the remains of my coffee and was getting ready to enter the library when I saw a Faculty Assembly banner that said, in big red capital letters: "Graduating doesn't mean learning." This made me smile. How many times have my classmates and I said, "I don't know why I study so much if, one week after the exam, I've forgotten everything"? And how often have I heard graduates say, "this won't be any use at all to you when you start working"? Whatever Bachelor's or Master's degree you are taking, it's all the same, the feeling that is common among students is that "you don’t come to university to learn", although it is true there are subjects where this is more extensive.

AQU RECOMMENDS

• The employment outcomes of Master's degree holders
• Big (and small) data meets quality assurance
• The skills challenge among the adult population
• Student Engagement UPC