Organisation and responsibility for Course QA
The main actors and bodies involved in the QA of the degree course are: the Course President, the Deputy Course President, the Quality Assurance Manager (RAQ), the Review Group, the Course Council and the Joint Committee of Teachers and Students, as shown on the dedicated page of the degree course, whose tasks are detailed in the PDF file attached to this section.
For the purposes of quality assurance, the degree course is required to:
- apply, within its own remit, the policies and general guidelines for Quality established by the governing bodies; carry out self-assessment and reviews of its curriculum and management based on the analyses reported in the annual report of the Joint Committee of Teachers and Students (CPDS) and the data provided by ANVUR, the Evaluation Committee and the Management Control division, also comparing itself with similar degree courses with a view to benchmarking; promote continuous improvement and assess its effectiveness; implement the evaluation of teaching in accordance with the provisions of the University.
The degree course is also responsible for analysing and discussing the Annual Monitoring Form, checking the contents of the SUA-CdS (Single Annual Degree Course Report), and periodically drafting the Cyclic Review Report.
The Course Council and the President, according to specific deadlines dictated by the University or other external parties, must, among other duties:
- identify or update the members of the Steering Committee, who are representatives of the world of industry, services and professions, indicating the objective criteria used to identify the Interested Parties;
- organise the consultation activities of the Interested Parties and discuss the results of the consultations;
- define, verify and, if necessary, update the Learning objectives and Learning Outcomes, consistent with the demand for training (functions and skills), and the training process;
- collectively define the course catalogue, planned and delivered, (in particular, the training pathway and assessment methods, degree course calendar, the timetable of the final examination sessions, the teaching staff, etc).
In addition, the Course President:
- periodically verifies the coherence between the learning outcomes expressed in the learning areas of the SUA-CdS and the contents of the individual course units, and the teaching methods, tools and materials described in the individual course units;
- formally invites all professors/instructors to update and complete the syllabi;
- defines the draft timetable of the training activities.
The degree course has set up a Review Group (GdR) composed of figures from within the degree course itself, capable of contributing to the evaluation of the course from various points of view (professors/instructors, technical-administrative staff, students) and with the task of guiding the degree course towards the goal of continuous improvement of its results. The GdR manages the process of self-evaluation, i.e. the process by which the degree course monitors its own performance and assesses its own results, also in accordance with the guidelines established by ANVUR. The GdR consists of:
- Course President,
- Deputy Course President
- Quality Assurance Manager (RAQ)
- Student Representative
- Education Manager
In the course of the self-assessment process, the GdR examines everything that can contribute to the analysis of the results of the degree course and, in particular:
- the annual report provided by the relevant Joint Committee of Teachers and Students;
- the report of the Evaluation Committee;
- the progress of students' careers;
- the availability of contextual services (tutoring, internationalisation, guidance, internships, etc.);
- consultation with the socio-economic system of reference (including the Steering Committee, sector studies, specific meetings with social partners);
- availability of resources (human and infrastructural);
- students' opinions on teaching, on the organisation of the course and on the curriculum;
- any other information provided by the RAQ, the Education Manager and the Quality Assurance Office Coordinator/Manager
The work of the Review Group takes the form of the compilation of an Annual Monitoring Form and the drafting of the Cyclical Review Report, which is discussed within the relevant Course Council and forwarded to the University Quality Assurance Committee (PQA) and the University Evaluation Committee. The Review Group normally meets at the end of each Course Council meeting, and more frequently around the deadlines set for the compilation of the aforementioned documents.
The figure of the Deputy Course President was introduced by the University Statute in force as of 1 January 2020 (issued by RD no. 1506 of 26 June 2019 and published in the Official Gazette no. 169 of 20 July 2019). The Deputy Course President is designated by the Course President and appointed by decree of the Rector.
The Quality Assurance Manager (RAQ) of the degree course, identified from among the course professors, has the function of monitoring and verifying the correct implementation of the improvement actions approved by the Course Council and is responsible for
- promoting, guiding, monitoring and verifying the effectiveness of the QA activities within the degree course;
- collaborating in the compilation of the SUA-CdS form;
- drafting, in collaboration with the Degree Course Manager, the Annual Report and the Cyclic Review Report;
- planning and implementing, together with the Course President and other actors involved from time to time, the corrective actions identified in the Annual and Cyclic Review Reports, using the tools provided by the SGQ.
In addition, the RAQ:
- collects reports from students, either in person or using the form available at https://dia.unipr.it/node/100068 related to the degree course;
- verifies (by July and January of each year) the completeness of the information relating to the course units available on the university portals and updates the Course President on any incompleteness;
- organises, together with the Course President, short seminars held during school hours on activities that are common to all students on the degree course (e.g. Lesson Zero, compilation of the programme of study, illustration of the curricula and elective course units, procedures for activating work experience and internships, importance with regard to filling in the course evaluation questionnaires, etc.);
- verifies (during the delivery of classes and at least once per semester) the regular undertaking of teaching activities and collects any reports of discrepancies from the students directly and/or through their representatives, communicating any criticisms to the Course President;
- together with the Course President, he/she analyses the results of the students' evaluation of the educational quality, which are presented and discussed collectively with the professors/instructors on the Course Council;
Finally, the Education Manager, working closely with the Didactic Area:
- ensures the organisation and operation of the degree course teaching activities;
- ensures, in coordination with the head of the quality assurance office manager administrative support for everything concerning the organisation and operation of the degree courses;
- manages and updates the contents of the degree course website in cooperation with the relevant structures.
Lastly, in accordance with the Statute and the University Regulations and the Framework Regulations for the functioning of the Departments, the Joint Committee of Teachers and Students (CPDS) of the Departments have been set up, made up of one professor/instructor and one student for each degree course pertaining to the Department. The CPDS, if deemed necessary, may be subdivided into subcommittees. It is chaired by one of the tenured professors. The CPDS is a permanent body that monitors teaching activities.
The CPDS:
- monitors the course catalogue and the educational quality, as well as the service provided to students by professors and researchers within the Department;
- it expresses an opinion on the consistency between the credits assigned to educational activities and the specific educational objectives set;
- it identifies and monitors indicators for the evaluation of results;
- it formulates opinions on the activation and suppression of degree programmes;
- it analyses data and information relating to the course catalogue and educational quality;
- it submits proposals to the Evaluation Committee for the improvement of the quality and effectiveness of teaching structures;
- it monitors the indicators that measure the degree of achievement of learning objectives at the level of individual structures.
By 31 December of each year, the CPDS draws up a report in accordance with the quality assurance regulations and forwards it to the Course Presidents attached to the Department, to the Director of the Department, to the Coordinator of the University Quality Assurance Body and to the Coordinator of the University Evaluation Committee.
