The aim of this article is to describe the various mechanisms available to the section in AQU whose area of work is Teaching Staff and Research to gauge user satisfaction with the public service that it provides. More specifically, this refers to the assessment and accreditation of candidates to contract teaching staff positions at public universities in Catalonia who require a favourable preliminary report, in the category of tenure-eligible lecturers, and an accreditation of either research or advanced research for senior lecturers and professors, respectively.
The sources for measuring satisfaction are as follows:
The compilation of complaints, acknowledgments, inquiries and suggestions made through the website mailbox and the Agency's teaching staff-related mailbox (professorat@aqu.cat). All complaints are dealt with as non-conformities whereas suggestions are appraised for inclusion, wherever possible, as enhancement proposals. Of note is the number of e.mails ( a total of 5,839) to professorat@aqu.cat that were replied to in 2019. Following an analysis of the volume and categories of all of the inquiries, actions were introduced to restructure, clarify and make information more accessible. Núria Márquez - Technician and coordinator in teaching staff assessment
Ex-ante assessment to establish eligibility for contract staff selection procedures at institutions in the system of higher education in Catalonia, as a prerequisite that demonstrates that an individual has a certain level of research ability. Once accreditation has been obtained, candidates then apply to selection and recruitment procedures that are the responsibility of higher education institutions, which endorse calls for applications, set the requirements in terms of requisite experience, specialisation and capabilities, and select the individuals who best fit the profiles of available posts.
Assessment and accreditation of merits in research (periods of six-years), in connection with productivity-based remuneration for public service and contract teaching and research staff, which accredits an individual's research during a given six-year period, under the terms provided for by law. In the case of the public universities, it is the institution's Social Council (Consell Social) that, at the proposal of the Governing Board, allocates the corresponding remuneration.