ShareAQU Catalunya's programme catalogue
The Programme catalogue is a system for the hierarchical classification of discipline-related degree programmes and other graduate qualifications at bachelor, master's and doctorate level, as well as higher studies and awards in the Arts.
The catalogue enables indicators to be obtained on defined levels of aggregation, which provides for multi-level analyses that serve as a basis for the design of quality enhancement policies and actions.
The catalogue was formally approved by AQU's Institutional and Programme Review Committee (CAIP) in 2016. The first update was made in 2020, and the second update, in 2022.
What is the catalogue for?
The programme catalogue has numerous functions:
- It facilitates traceability by providing back data on learning outcomes at both programme and discipline level. A change in the name of a degree (and official code number) does not imply a change in the catalogue code number. For example, a post-Bologna degree in Law has the same catalogue code number as a pre-Bologna degree in Law.
- It groups similar degree programmes, enabling the indicators of a programme to be easily compared with those of similar programmes (benchmarks).
- It provides results synthesised according to different levels (subfield, expanded subfield, etc.).
- It provides for multilevel analysis (at bachelor, master's and doctorate level) according to subject area and subject. For example, in the case of Economics, according to the different educational levels (bachelor, master's and doctorate).
Structure
The catalogue is grouped according to four levels, from broad to narrow scope: field, expanded subfield, detailed subfield and discipline. This classification provides a system that fulfils the needs and requirements of the various different stakeholder groups, including students, prospective students, academic managers and study programme coordinators, university officials, researchers, government authorities and quality assurance reviewers.
Catalogue update
The catalogue is the interface that enables information from various sources and on different levels of aggregation (review procedures, academic indicators from UNEIX and survey results and findings) to be combined. This means that revision of the catalogue is a delicate operation due to its impact on the dissemination (output) of review procedures and survey findings (output).
The updates are in response to requests for improvement made by higher education institutions and several of the Agency's external review panels. They also meet the requirement for comparison with other forms of programme classification at European level.