The Internal Quality Assurance System (IQAS)

Important notice

To contact the Office of Teaching Quality, use the following specific addresses:

Contact addresses
Subject	E-mail address
Verificació/modificació de titulacions	oqd.verifica@uab.cat
Acreditació de titulacions/SGIQ	oqd.acreditacio@uab.cat
Avaluació docent del professorat	oqd.avaluacio@uab.cat
Doctorat	oqd.doctorat@uab.cat
Enquestes	enquestes.oqd@uab.cat
Guies docents	oqd.guies.docents@uab.cat
Informatització de titulacions	oqd.informatitzacio.estudis@uab.cat
I per la resta de qüestions generals	oqd@uab.cat

The UAB takes the premise that quality is not a concept that can be isolated, but an attitude and a way of making things that impregnates every single activity of an organisation. Therefore, we cannot strictly talk about the “targets of UAB quality policy”, but about how quality is present in the global policy of the Governing team and how this is incorporated in the Directive Plan of the University.

The strategic Plan reflects the quality engagement of the University to define it as a “Catalan public university, with international vocation, that, by means of a quality teaching very tied to research activities and to knowledge transfer and taking advantage of the potentiality of its human capital, acts from its campuses as an economic and social development engine of its environment, according to its values”.

The integration to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) allows to have available a comparable university system and to guarantee the mutual trust among countries and universities in the training programmes that they offer.

This integration, a part from the adoption of the ECTS as a common measure for accounting, a three cycle higher education structure (bachelor, master and PhD) and the issue of the European Supplement Diploma, involves as well the adoption of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG):

To establish a common framework for the training and teaching quality assurance systems at institutional, national and European levels.
To allow the assurance and the enhancement of the quality in higher education in the EHEA.
To promote the mutual trust, enabling the recognition and the mobility in and out the national borders.
To provide information on quality assurance in the EHEA.

The UAB IQAS framework Based on the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG), the Royal Decree 1393/2007, of academic management of the recognised university degrees establishes the necessity of an Internal Quality Assurance System (IQAS), formally established and with public access, structured in processes that regulate all the aspects of the teaching practice: from the creation of new degrees and its monitoring and accreditation, human and material resources necessary to the correct development of the teaching task, evaluation and lifelong learning of teaching and administrative staff, till complaint management, stakeholders satisfaction and accountability to society.

The Internal Quality Assurance System (IQAS framework) of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona reflects the firm commitment of the university to offer quality training programmes that include measures to assess their continuous evaluation and improvement. The IQAS framework includes all the responsabilities and tasks performed at the centralized level to serve each center and degrees of UAB.

The IQAS-framework of the UAB has been evaluated by AQU Catalunya:

The design of the management system was evaluated, within the framework of the AUDIT programme and it was very positively assessed in November 2010.

The implementation of the system was evaluated, with the Guide for the certification of the implementation of AQU's IQAS and positively assessed in December 2019 (detail of the assessment by dimensions and evaluation standars).

Processos del SGIQ marc de la UAB:

Processos estratègics:
PE01 Definició de la política i objectius de qualitat
PE02 Definició, desplegament i seguiment del SGIQ
PE03 Creació i disseny de noves titulacions. Mapa de titulacions
PE04 Definició de la política del PDI
PE05 Definició de la política del PAS

Processos clau:
PC01 Definició de perfils d'ingrés, graduació i accés als estudis
PC02 Programació docent de les assignatures. Guies docents
PC03 Gestió de les pràctiques externes i els TFE
PC04 Orientació a l'estudiant
PC05 Avaluació de l'estudiant
PC06 Gestió de la mobilitat de l'alumnat, PAS i PDI
PC07 Seguiment, avaluació i millora de les titulacions
PC08 Modificació i extinció de titulacions
PC09 Gestió documental
PC10 Acreditació de titulacions

Processos de suport:
PS01 Formació del PDI
PS02 Formació del PAS
PS03 Gestió de recursos materials i serveis
PS04 Organització acadèmica
PS05 Gestió de queixes i suggeriments
PS06 Satisfacció dels grups d'interès
PS07 Inserció laboral dels titulats
PS08 Informació pública i rendició de comptes
PS09 Avaluació del PDI
PS10 Avaluació del PAS

Manual del Sistema de Garantia Interna de Qualitat de la UAB
Mapa de processos del Sistema de Garantia Interna de la UAB

The teaching centres IQAS Below you can find the links to the IQAS of the different faculties and schools that compose the UAB
Faculty of Biosciences
Faculty of Sciences
Faculty of Communication Sciences
Faculty of Education Sciences
Faculty of Political Sciences and Sociology
Faculty of Law
Faculty of Economics and Business
School of Engineering
Faculty of Arts
Faculty of Medicine
Faculty of Psychology
Faculty of Translation and Interpreting
Faculty of Veterinary
Escola de Doctorat

Below you can find the links to the IQAS of the affiliated schools of the UAB:

EINA. University School of Design and Art
School of Prevention and Integral Safety and Security
Doctor Robert School
Escola Massana, Municipal Art and Design
Centre Graduate School of Archival and Records Management
Sant Pau School of Nursing
Terrassa University School of Nursing and Occupational Therapy
"Tomàs Cerdà" School of Computer Science
"Escola Universitària Salesiana de Sarrià"
University School School of Tourism and Hotel Management
Gimbernat School of Nursing and Physiotherapy
Guttmann Institute
Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR)

After the implantation of framework IQAS of the UAB and the IQAS of the centres, the certification has as objectives:

to check that the system is implemented and develop in the centre
to check that the system is suitable for quality assurance
to promote the quality culture in the framework of quality assurance
to ensure the quality of training programs

Following the line stablished in the accreditation process, university centres become the organizational benchmark of the IQAS certification process. They are structured around a set of bachelor's degrees that share similar disciplines fields, material and human resources and services. In addition, they also share the academic responsible that lead the implantation and IQAS working. Consequently, the certification of the IQAS it is also proposed at the centre level and not specifically at the level of the degrees taught in a centre.
The certificate will be valid for five years, extendable for identical periods after overcoming a new external evaluation process.
Prerequisites for obtaining the certification of the implementation of the IQAS:
To get the certification of the implementation of the IQAS, the centres must to ensure some previously requirements to ensure the viability of the external evaluation:

The centre has bachelor's degrees in the reach of IQAS of graduated people
The IQAS design has received a positive report within the AUDIT program or it has been evaluated positively by the technical quality unit (UTD)
The centre IQAS is a stable system, with all the processes implanted
The centre has checked the IQAS at least once. An improvement plan has been launched as a result of this review

Dimensions for the certification of implementation of the IQAS:

Review and improvement of the IQAS: The centre has an IQAS with these processes implanted, which includes processes for its revision and continuous improvement.
Design, review and improvement of training programs: The centre has implemented processes for the design, review and improvement of training programs and the extinction of these, as well as for all the actions of evaluation carried out in the VSMA framework.
Learning support and student orientation systems: The centre has implemented processes that favour student learning.
Academic staff: The centre has implemented processes that ensure the competence and qualification of academic staff.
Material resources and services: The centre has implemented processes for the material resources and services management related to training programs.
Public information: The centre has implemented processes that guarantee the publication of complete and updated information about training programs.

The rating scale dimensions is as follows:

Advanced implementation. Dimension processes have been implemented in the centre. They are complete and efficient and there are examples of good practices. All its standards have been valued satisfactorily and/or sufficient.
Enough implementation: Dimension processes have been implemented in an adequate manner and, generally, they are complete and efficient. All or the most standards have been valued satisfactorily and/or sufficient.
Partial implementation. Dimension processes have been implemented in an inadequate manner. There are aspects to improve necessarily. A relevant number of standards have been valued insufficient.

Regarding the implementation of IQAS framework of UAB it was evaluated by AQU Catalunya with the Guide for the certification of the implementation of AQU IQAS and positively evaluated in December 2019 (detail of the dimension assessment and evaluation standards).

Centers with the implementation of its SGIQ certified by AQU:

Faculty of Biosciences
Faculty of Political Science and Sociology
Faculty of Psychology

Additional documentation:
Presentation post-accreditation scenario and IQAS certification (April 2016)
Guide and regulation certification IQAS implementation (AQU)

RD 420/2015 of creation, recognition, authorization and accreditation of universities and university centres, establishes the requirements and effects of the institutional accreditation of university centres.

The institutional accreditation of university centres will be valid for five years, extendable for identical periods after overcoming a new accreditation renewal process.

Prerequisites for obtaining institutional accreditation of university centres:

To get the institutional accreditation, university centres must meet the following requirements:

• to have renewed the initial accreditation of at least half of the official bachelor's and master's degree taught in accordance with the general procedure provided for in article 27 bis of Royal Decree 1393/2007, of October 29, which establishes the ordination of official university education.
• to have the certification of the implementation of its internal quality assurance system, aimed at the continuous improvement of the training offered to students, in accordance with the provisions of section 9 of Annex I of Royal Decree 1393/2007, of October 29, and in accordance with the criteria and guidelines for quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG).

Effects of institutional accreditation of university centres:

In case that the resolution of institutional accreditation is favourable, all official bachelor's degrees of university of the centre will incorporate as renewal date of accreditation in the RUCT, the same date of institutional accreditation:

• Synchronization of the accreditation calendar of the bachelor's degrees and the institutional accreditation calendar of the centre

• The institutional accreditation of the centre will entail the automatic accreditation of the centres bachelor's degrees

In case that the resolution of institutional accreditation is dismissed, it will be necessary to request the renewal of the accreditation to all official bachelor's and master's degrees of university in accordance with article 27 bis of Royal Decree 1393/2007, of October 29, in a term not exceeding one year from the date of the resolution.