Share30 years of AQU Catalunya: three decades of working with and for students
Throughout 2026, AQU Catalunya is publishing monthly news articles looking back on the Agency's three decades of history from different perspectives. The September article highlights the direct relationship the Agency has maintained with university students throughout these years.
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Throughout AQU Catalunya's 30-year history, student participation in the Agency's activities has been a constant feature. The quality of higher education cannot be understood without the involvement of the different stakeholders who form part of it, and students have played a specific role in this journey. Today, students take part in the evaluation of institutions and degree programmes, as well as in various forums for participation, consultation and decision-making within the Agency.
In the early years of quality assurance in higher education in Catalonia, and in line with the principles of the European Higher Education Area, AQU Catalunya had already committed to involving students in external evaluation processes. This was a pioneering initiative in Spain: the presence of students on evaluation committees and panels made it possible to introduce a perspective beyond the strictly academic one and give greater weight to their experiences and perceptions during evaluation visits and in reports. Students were not regarded merely as recipients of the university system, but also as stakeholders able to participate actively in quality evaluation.
Tailor-made training
Student participation in evaluation processes also made it necessary to provide training so that students could fulfil this role with a sound understanding of quality assurance processes and criteria. Against this background, in 2005 AQU Catalunya launched the Training Programme in Quality Assurance for University Students. One of the programme's objectives was to foster a culture of student participation in internal quality assurance systems and external quality assurance processes.
The initiative attracted interest beyond Catalonia and was presented as an experience or good practice at various international forums. Training is not merely an initiative from the past, but an area of work that AQU Catalunya continues to pursue today. Further editions of quality assurance training for students are still being organised in collaboration with the Council of Students of Catalan Universities (CEUCAT). These activities help students become familiar with quality assurance systems and processes and provide them with the tools to participate both in universities' internal processes and in AQU Catalunya's external evaluations. They also serve to build students' capacity to contribute more knowledgeably to the improvement of the university system.
A permanent forum for participation
Another significant milestone in the three-decade relationship between AQU Catalunya and university students was the establishment of the Agency's Student Commission in 2010. The Commission was conceived as a permanent forum for participation and dialogue between students and the Agency, in keeping with the principles of the EHEA. Subsequently, following the approval of Law 15/2015, the Commission was renamed the Student Committee. Its functions include broadening and systematising student participation in AQU Catalunya's evaluation activities, advising the Agency on projects that affect students, and taking part in studies of interest to this group. The Committee marks a shift from participation primarily linked to evaluation processes towards a more structured and permanent role within the Agency itself.
This evolution is also reflected in student representation on AQU Catalunya's governing bodies and within its evaluation structures. Students are currently represented on the Agency's Governing Board, with two student representatives appointed by the Council of Students of Catalan Universities. Students also sit on the Advisory Commission, and provision has been made for their participation in the Institutional and Programme Review Commission (CAIP). Student participation is no longer limited to involvement in a particular visit or evaluation process, but also extends to the forums in which the Agency's quality policies and procedures are defined, advised on and developed.
A dedicated (and innovative) channel
The most recent step in this journey is the Student Report. This initiative, launched by AQU Catalunya's Student Committee in collaboration with CEUCAT, aims to provide students with a dedicated channel through which they can contribute their perspective to accreditation processes. The project underwent a pilot phase between 2019 and 2023 and was subsequently consolidated methodologically. Students themselves prepare, approve and issue the report, independently of the management teams of the institution and the university, setting out their views on the aspects under evaluation. For the renewal of institutional accreditation, the Student Report is a mandatory part of the process, whereas for programme accreditation it is voluntary. The initiative is particularly noteworthy for its innovative nature and is a pioneering experience in our context, as it brings students' voices directly into the accreditation process and makes them a complementary source of evidence alongside the other information gathered during the process.