The current Royal Decree, 640/2021, of 27 July, on the creation, recognition and authorisation of universities and university centres, and institutional accreditation of university centres, includes and extends the provisions of Royal Decree 420/2015, and introduces the possibility of institutionally accrediting doctoral schools (or centres offering these programmes). The requirements for university centres, including doctoral schools (or centres offering doctoral programmes), are to have renewed the initial accreditation of at least half of their degrees and to have certification of the implementation of the internal quality assurance system (IQAS).
Taking into account that the Catalan university system has renewed the accreditation of 95% of its doctoral programmes, it is an opportunity of the utmost interest to move towards institutional accreditation of the centres responsible for their delivery. Having institutional accreditation, in addition to recognising the maturity of the management and quality assurance model of the centres, allows for the automatic accreditation of the degrees offered and reinforces university autonomy.
The Guide to internal quality assurance systems (IQAS) certification in higher education institutions
The new version of the Guide (approved by the Institutional and Programme Assessment Commission on 12 July 2023) incorporates the reflections and lessons learned since 2015, the year in which AQU Catalunya rolled out the certification programme for the implementation of IQAS. The number of higher education institutions in the Catalan university system with IQAS certification is around 25%, while nine of the twelve public and private universities have passed the assessment of the cross-cutting elements.
The experience accumulated in the use of the methodology over the last seven years has been the driving force behind the reflection of the working group appointed by AQU Catalunya to tackle this new challenge. It has also contributed to improving the definition of the dimensions, standards and criteria that make it possible to determine whether the management system of a higher education institution is effectively implemented, is being developed appropriately and, in short, makes it possible to guarantee the quality and continuous improvement of the training programmes offered.
Any higher education training programme must be under the control of a management system which, considering its specificities, is composed of the same elements to guarantee its quality
For example, dimension 1 (Quality policy and effectiveness of the IQAS) has been revised in order to reinforce the importance of all key aspects that should permeate the IQAS across the board, such as the definition of the quality assurance policy and its deployment in a strategic, master or similar plan, the chain of responsibility, the document management system, the information management system and the review and continuous improvement processes. In short, a structure that allows and guarantees the efficient management of all the processes that make up the IQAS. Another novelty is the explicit consideration in dimension 5 (Learning resources and services) of the importance of processes and procedures for the management and professional development of staff under support services. Finally, the assessment rubrics for each dimension have been revised and standardised, apart from the introductory aspects, objectives, preconditions and the regulatory framework.
The new version of the Guide responds to current regulations, which extend the scope of certification to institutions offering doctoral programmes, by incorporating dimension 7 (RDI and knowledge transfer), applicable exclusively to institutions offering doctoral programmes. The Guide also includes within its scope higher education institutions offering lifelong learning master’s degree courses. In addition, institutions may decide to include in the scope of their management system other training programmes such as specialisation diploma, expert diploma, micro-credentials, etc. In short, any higher education training programme must be under the control of a management system which, considering its specificities, is composed of the same elements to guarantee its quality.
The Guide also refers to institutions offering higher arts education, although the current legislation does not make it compulsory to certify the implementation of their IQAS. In such cases, certification shall be voluntary.
As is customary in methodological review and updating processes, prior to its approval by the Institutional and Programme Assessment Commission, the proposed guide underwent a consultation process aimed at the main stakeholders (vice-chancellors’ offices responsible for quality assurance and technical units of the public and private universities in the Catalan university system).