The Royal Decree 861/2010, 2 July, which amends the Royal Decree 1393/2007, 29 October that establishes the regulation of official university teachings determines that only can participate in the verification processes ANECA and the assessment bodies that the Law of the autonomous communities decides it and those that meet the requirements and quality standards established by the European Commission by passing an eternal assessment, which allow them to be full members of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and to be registered in the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR).
In order to achieve the greatest possible consensus, the assessment protocol for verification has been made within the Spanish Network of University Quality Agencies (REACU). Each agency implements this protocol when assessing the undergraduate degree and Master’s degree proposals on which it has to issue a statutory report previous to the verification by the Universities Council.
Standards and guidelines
The degree must guarantee the respect and promotion of fundamental human rights and equality, as well as to promote democratic values and a culture of peace.
Standard 1-Description of the Degree
The Degree should include an appropriate and coherent description with its level or academic purposes, in order not to create confusion about its content, scope, and if appropriate, professional effects.
Standard 2- Degree Justification
The Degree must be relevant, adapted to educational and research experiences, coherent with the academic environment to which refers and/or in accordance with similar studies.
Standard 3-Competencies
The competencies that students should acquire have to be assessable and must be consistent with enforceable laws for granting the degree and with the qualifications established by the EHEA.
Standard 4- Entry and students’ admission
The Degree must have admissible systems that regulate and inform clearly to students about the different ways of access, admission and orientation at the beginning of their studies.
Standard 5- Teaching planning
The curriculum must be a coherent and coordinated educational proposal, which takes into consideration the students’ dedication in a given period.
Standard 6-Human Resources
The teaching staff and the human resources of the degree must be appropriate for ensuring the acquisition of the competencies planned in the curriculum.
Standard 7- Material Resources and Services
The material resources and services needed for the development of the planned activities of the curriculum have to be appropriate for guaranteeing the acquisition of competencies.
Standard 8- Expected results
The Degree has to include a forecast of the expected results and a general procedure for the assessment of students’ learning outcomes.
Standard 9- Quality Assurance System (SGC)
The Degree has to include a Quality Assurance System that guarantees the monitoring, review and improvement of the same.
Quality Assurance System of the Universitat de València
Standard 10- Implementation schedule
The implementation process of the Degree should be planned in time and take into account a mechanism for adapting, if necessary, the students from existing curriculums.
For more information about the VERIFICA programme, see the website of the curriculum office of the UV .
VERIFICA - Internal Quality Assurance System
One of the objectives of the European Higher Education Area is to guarantee the quality in higher education teaching with comparable criteria and methodologies.
The main purpose of the European dimension in quality assurance is to promote mutual trust and transparency, respecting the diversity of national contexts. Both the principles of diversity and university autonomy and the right of free movement of professionals within the European Union are making increasingly necessary the use of assessment and certification mechanisms that ensure the quality of the different European university teachings.
It is important to highlight, the document of Quality Assurance Criteria and Directives within the European Higher Education Area developed by the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education.
As exposed in the Royal Decree 1393/2007, “the quality assurance systems are part of the new curriculums, and are also the basis for the official operation of the new organisation of teachings and for creating the confidence upon which the degrees certification process rests. The autonomy in the design of degrees is combined with an appropriate assessment and certification system that allows supervising the effective implementation of teachings and informing the society about the quality of these. The specification of the verification and certification system allows the balance”
As we have mentioned above, one of the criteria that has to be included in the verification record of the curriculums is the assurance quality system, for this reason the Universitat de València and particularly the Quality Unit have developed a framework document in which are included the information and presentation of the Quality Assurance System of the University.
