To make this goal a reality it was also necessary that this harmonisation be accompanied by an improvement in the quality of teaching at this level. Some of the EU countries embarked on experimental schemes to gain experience in assessing the quality of their respective university systems. In the case of Spain, this journey began in 1992 with the Council of Universities' approval of the Experimental Programme for University System Quality Assessment and, subsequently, with the National Plan for University Quality Assessment. Later, in 1994, the EU initiated the European Pilot Project for Evaluating Quality in Higher Education. All indications at the time were that political authorities would soon take significant steps to reshape their university systems.
In Catalonia, the Catalan Government was aware of this process and the threat it posed, both to the competences recently transferred to it by the State and to the proper management and make-up of the Catalan university system. President Pujol, under the advisement of two high-ranking officials, Professors Albaigés and Grifoll, was able to anticipate the events to come, and in 1996 promulgated a decree that created a legally constituted consortium, the Agència per la Qualitat del Sistema Universitari de Catalunya (Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency, AQU Catalunya). Convincing some of the Catalan public universities, reluctant to relinquish their autonomy, to join proved difficult, but in the end they all came around. President Pujol entrusted me to preside over this new entity and its governing bodies were set up. So it is today that I am the chronicler of a shared journey that departed from a political decision but without a clear definition of the path to follow.
AQU Catalunya was an innovation on the European scene. There were no precedents for collaboration between universities and external supervisory bodies. Fortunately, three people were there to play an essential role in defining and executing the new organisation's functions. Although David Serrat was the first person to occupy the post of director, he was soon called to new assignments, and Professor Gemma Rauret, who on previous occasions had expressed her interest in assessing the quality of university activities and had participated in numerous European projects, took over the directorship. Lending her his support was Professor Sebastián Rodríguez, one of the few recognised experts in the field, and Juan Bravo, who had experience in processing statistical data and a knack for maintaining internal and external harmony.
Not long after, in view of AQU Catalunya's success, other initiatives arose at the national level. In 2001, the new Law on universities commissioned the creation of a foundation, the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA), which would come to pass a year later. Meanwhile, some of the other autonomous communities (Andalusia, Galicia, Castile and León and the Balearic Islands) began to follow the Catalan model. From time to time, and as was to be expected, discussions arose about the distribution of competences between the autonomous communities' assessment bodies and ANECA, especially when ANECA was headed by people with strong ideological leanings. However, despite the obstacles, there are two instances that show that the Catalan agency effectively fulfilled its mission and was a pioneer in Spain. In 2008, ENQA (European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education), after an intense international evaluation process, admitted ANECA and AQU Catalunya as full members, with them both being entered in the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR). This was quite an accomplishment, as only on rare occasions has ENQA admitted a non-state agency. The second milestone came in 2006, when ANECA asked Professor Rauret, still at AQU Catalunya, to take over its directorship. After weighing the pros and cons, she accepted the offer in the hope that it would open up fruitful relations between the two entities.
It was a stroke of good fortune to have as her successor Javier Bará, a professor at the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) who had already demonstrated his ability to innovate in the pedagogical field in new centres in El Baix Llobregat, with considerable success. It was an exemplary transition, and the new director continued to have the invaluable collaboration of the two pillars that were Sebastián Rodríguez and Juan Bravo. This was despite the fact that the panorama had been darkened by the entry into force in 2007 of the LOMLOU (the Law amending the Law on universities) and the subsequent Royal Decree (RD) 1393, which gave ANECA the exclusive right to carry out initial "ex ante" accreditation of a teaching programme.
he tensions that these regulations generated by marginalising non-state agencies were softened thanks to a 2010 amendment to RD 1393. It opened the door to regional governments by allowing them to assign an assessment body of their choice, in most cases their agencies, to work jointly with ANECA to draw up the assessment protocols necessary for validation and accreditation in accordance with international standards. However, the stipulation was made that only entities that met two conditions could participate in this joint action: they had to have been accepted by ENQA as members and be registered in the EQAR, conditions that AQU Catalunya met.
What exactly are the reasons for this positive progression of a pioneering venture on the Spanish scene, despite it not always having the wind at its back? There are three fundamental factors, although they are not the only ones. The first is having always maintained close collaboration with the universities through joint commissions, for the assessment of both studies and teaching staff, in which consensus has always being sought before undertaking any initiative and being faithful to the principle "before applying, reach a consensus and train". To make this possible, not only were university rectors and presidents on the executive board involved, but vice-rector's offices and technical units dedicated to assessment for the improvement of quality were also created.
The second factor is that close contacts have always been maintained with entities in foreign countries who were also interested in improving the quality of their respective university systems, in order to learn from their experiences, and in return, in all modesty, to have them learn from ours. On many occasions, one or more foreign specialists sat in on the meetings of the different commissions set up within AQU Catalunya. And, in turn, our technicians moved around frequently, sometimes even engaging in long stays in equivalent bodies located outside our borders to perfect their training. This undoubtedly contributed to the high technical level of the Agency's staff. The third factor was the deployment of a pioneering internal quality assessment system that also forced the Agency to continuously improve its activity and accountability.
Thanks to Juan Bravo's tenacity, we have a tool that has played and continues to play a very positive role in this permanent race for quality: UNEIX. Today it is a very reliable database with comparable results on the performance of the Catalan university system. This homogenisation and refining of databases, which was not possible in the past given that each university took care of its own independently, now allows us to carry out accurate diagnostics and to take appropriate action on the problems detected. This transparency, a condition required of any public body, is now praised for its beneficial effects on decision-making by the university authorities. It is also valued for its usefulness in carrying out benchmarking operations with the administration that distributes resources among the different universities and in keeping students and the general public informed.
Put in perspective, one can say that the Catalan political authorities' decision to anticipate the shift taking place in both European and Spanish universities by creating a unique instrument for improving its university system was a wise one. Despite the occasional mistake, the outcome of its work is clearly positive. Those of us who, from one position or another, have helped get the entity off the ground feel reasonably satisfied. We see that those who have succeeded us have taken things in a positive direction, despite the difficulties posed by the financial crisis and then the pandemic. And we hope, whole-heartedly, that those who hold the reins in the future are also met with success. Today, more than ever, Catalonia needs an efficient university system of the highest quality. AQU Catalunya can play a decisive role in achieving this goal.