ShareAQU Catalunya publishes the Framework for Improving the Institutional Quality of the Catalan Higher Education System
In developing the framework, the Agency considered the opinions of Catalan universities and the prevailing international trends, which underscore the momentum behind building a solid foundation of internal quality assurance as a basis for external quality assurance at the institutional level.
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AQU Catalunya has today published the Framework for Improving the Institutional Quality of the Catalan Higher Education System (QUALINS Framework), a new reference framework for quality assurance in the Catalan Higher Education System (SUC). The new framework, approved on 2 April by the AQU Catalunya Governing Board, replaces the Framework for the Validation, Monitoring, Modification and Accreditation of University Degrees (VSMA Framework), which was updated and approved in 2016 (although the first version dates back to 2010).
In developing the QUALINS framework, AQU Catalunya considered the current regulatory framework, the opinions of universities and the prevailing international trends in this field, which underscore the momentum behind building a solid foundation of internal quality assurance as a basis for external quality assurance at the institutional level. One of the key elements of the new framework is the promotion of external quality assurance processes at the institutional level. It therefore seeks to simplify these processes for universities while also making them more transparent for society.
The QUALINS Framework, which will be rolled out gradually between 2025 and 2030, has three principal defining features. Firstly, it establishes cycles for institutional accreditation. Secondly, it aligns the external quality assurance processes for educational programmes with the cycles for institutional accreditation; and, lastly, it introduces the concept of self-accredited centres for those that have renewed their institutional accreditation.
In addition, the framework includes other elements to be implemented, such as the rollout of the European Approach to quality assurance for joint international degrees and the recognition of international assessments carried out by other agencies included in the European EQAR register. Overall, the newly formulated framework aims to enhance the accuracy, flexibility, and efficiency of the resources allocated to quality assurance while also making the assessment processes more relevant and reducing the associated workload. You can find out more about the QUALINS Framework in the next AQU Catalunya newsletter, which will be published at the end of this week.
