Teaching quality

The student opinion survey questionnaire (OPIS) is a tool designed to detect student opinion with a view to improving teaching, quality and the organisation of degree courses and is an integral part of the evaluation system. For students, it is an important opportunity to make their voice heard and actively participate in the life of their degree course, as a guarantee of better Quality Assurance: this is why the University recommends that it be filled in punctually and accurately.
More information on the OPIS questionnaires can be found on the following page: https://www.unipr.it/didattica/i-corsi-di-studio/compilazione-del-quest…

Quality Assurance of degree courses is a constituent element of the management, monitoring and measurement of the dynamics governing teaching, knowledge and know-how.

Degree courses, in particular, are at the heart of the educational mission of higher education institutions. They are planned through the design of one or more output figures, defined through the identification of their scientific, cultural and/or professional characteristics and, consistently, of the training paths leading to the acquisition of the specific knowledge and skills associated with the output profiles.

Course design must involve the students and external stakeholders most appropriate to the character and objectives of the course. The external stakeholders of the degree course include all actors and organisations and institutions potentially interested in the cultural and professional profile of the graduates designed by the degree course (organisations representing the production of goods and services, the professions and/or - if considered relevant to the project - scientific societies, research centres, academic and cultural institutions of national or international relevance, etc.). Where functional to the proposed project, stakeholders may be represented by a Steering Committee, composed of a representation of the Department's professors/instructors and representatives from the world of work, culture and research representing the stakeholders of one or more degree courses.

Degree courses must be constantly updated, reflecting the most advanced knowledge in the disciplines, also with a view to the continuation of studies in subsequent cycles, ensuring interchange with the world of research and the world of work.

Degree course - Review Group - Quality Assurance Manager For the purposes of Quality Assurance, each Degree Course is required to

- apply, as far as it is competent, the policies and general guidelines for Quality established by the Governing Bodies; - carry out self-assessment and review activities of its own training pathway and of the management of the degree course on the basis of the analyses reported in the annual report of the Joint Teacher-Student Committee and of the data provided by ANVUR, the Evaluation Committee and the Organisational Unit Management Control, also comparing itself with similar Boards with a view to benchmarking; - promoting continuous improvement and evaluating its effectiveness; - implementing the evaluation of teaching according to what has been set up at the University level.

The Board of Administration, through its President, is also responsible for the information reported in the ANVUR documents (SUA-CdS, Annual Monitoring Form, Cyclical Review Report).

Each degree course establishes a Review Group (RG) composed of figures from within the degree course itself, able to contribute to the evaluation of the course from different points of view (professors/instructors, technical-administrative staff, students). The Review Group is made up of the President of the Degree Course, Prof. Marcello Giuseppe Maggio, the Quality Assurance Manager, Prof. Paolo Del Rio, at least one student representative and the Quality Assurance Managers, Ms Giovanna Caselli. The Review Group has the task of guiding the degree course towards the goal of continuous improvement of its results. It manages the process of self-evaluation, i.e. the process by which the BoD monitors its own performance and assesses its own results, also in accordance with the guidelines established by ANVUR:
 

• Prof. Marcello Giuseppe Maggio (Course President)
• Prof. [Paolo Del Rio] (Quality Assurance Manager)
• Dott.ssa Giovanna Caselli (Education Manage)
• Sig.na Ana Bertorelli Botnari (Student representative)
• Sig. Jamil Kobty (Student representative)
• Sig.na Gaia Maccagni (Student representative)
• Sig. Riccardo Mazzoli (Student representative)
• Sig. Andrea Pisciali (Student representative)

During the self-assessment process, the Review Group examines everything that may contribute to the analysis of the results of the school, and in particular

- the annual report provided by the Joint Teachers-Students Committee of reference; - the report of the Evaluation Committee; - the progress of students' careers; - the availability of context services (tutoring, internationalisation, advising/guidance, internships, etc.); - consultation with the socio-economic system of reference (including the Steering Committee, sector studies, specific meetings with social partners, etc.); - the availability of resources (human and infrastructural); - the opinion of students on teaching, course organisation and training; - consultation with the socio-economic reference system (including the Steering Committee, sector studies, specific meetings with the social partners); - any other information provided by the Quality Assurance Manager, the Education Manager and the Coordinator/Responsible for the teaching quality service.

The work of the Quality Assurance Office takes the form of the compilation of an Annual Monitoring Form and the drafting of the Cyclical Review Report, which is discussed within the Council of the relevant Degree Course and forwarded to the Quality Assurance Manager and the University Evaluation Committee.
 

In this context, the role of the Departments, which are key organisational structures for carrying out scientific research, teaching and training activities, as well as for the transfer of knowledge and innovation and for related or ancillary external activities, is of primary importance. The Director and the Department Council are the Departmental Governing Bodies responsible for defining the Quality Assurance Policies for Department Research and Teaching.
A Department Quality Assurance Committee is set up within each department as an operational and liaison body between the department and the University Quality Assurance Committee.

The Quality Assurance Committee:
- spreads the culture of Quality; - applies, as far as it is concerned, the policies and general guidelines for Quality established by the Governing Bodies of the University; - assists the Chairpersons of the Degree Course in the drafting of documents for the Quality Assurance of the Degree Course (SUA-CdS, Cyclical Review Report, Annual Monitoring Form); - assists the Director in the drafting of research Quality Assurance documents (SUA-RD, any Department programme documents); - supports the Director and the Department Council in the definition of policies and objectives for Quality Assurance of research and of the third mission; - promotes continuous improvement in Research and Teaching through self-evaluation activities and evaluates the effectiveness of the actions undertaken.

In addition, the Quality Assurance Committee, through the Department Delegate for Teaching (as provided for in the "Framework Regulation for the Functioning of Departments"), liaises with the Departmental Teaching Commission, a commission with the function of supporting the Director in carrying out his responsibilities in teaching matters (as provided for in the "Framework Regulation for the Functioning of Departments"), while, through the Departmental Delegate for Research Quality and Third Mission, it verifies the regular performance of the procedures for the drafting of the SUA-RD.
 

According to the Articles of Association, the Director has the function of promoting, guiding and coordinating scientific activities. It supervises research and third mission activities and oversees their evaluation.

The Director is assisted by the Departmental Research Quality and Third Mission Delegate who is entrusted with the following tasks:

- support in the definition of the Department's research quality and third mission policies with the identification of indicators that take into account not only teaching commitment but also the quality of research and technology transfer activities; - definition of the Department's research quality and third mission assurance procedures; - annual monitoring of research products (as defined by ANVUR in the VQR call and in the SUA-RD), both in quantitative and qualitative terms; - structured management of the Department's public engagement activities.

The Director is responsible for the information reported in the Quality Assurance documents (SUA-RD and any other policy documents of the Department).
 

Pursuant to the Articles of Association and the University's Teaching Regulations and the General Regulations for the functioning of the Departments, the Joint Teachers' and Students' Committees of the Departments are established, composed of an equal number of teachers and students. The Joint Teacher-Student Committee, if deemed necessary, may be subdivided into subcommittees. And chaired by one of the tenured teachers.

The Joint Committee of Teachers and Students is a permanent observatory on teaching activities.

The Joint Committee of Teachers and Students:

- monitors the range of courses on offer and the quality of teaching, as well as the service activities provided to students by professors and researchers within the Department; - expresses an opinion on the consistency between the ECTS credits allocated to educational activities and the specific educational objectives set; - It identifies and monitors indicators for the evaluation of results; - formulates opinions on the activation and suppression of degree programmes; - analyses data and information on the range of courses on offer and on the quality of teaching; - submits proposals to the Evaluation Board for improving the quality and effectiveness of teaching structures; - monitors the indicators that measure the degree of achievement of teaching objectives at the level of individual structures.

By 31 December of each year, the Joint Committee of Teachers and Students draws up a report in accordance with the quality assurance regulations and forwards it to the Course Presidents pertaining to the Department, to the Department Director, to the Coordinator of the University Quality Assurance Committee and to the Coordinator of the University Evaluation Committee.

At the level of the department structure, coordination in all typical department administrative and management activities is carried out by the Administrative Manager. Among other functions, the Administrative Manager oversees and coordinates:

- activities concerning the administrative support to the institutional activities of teaching, including front-office work with students as far as it is concerned, in relation to the department's courses, the course catalogue, the evaluation and self-evaluation of courses, overseeing the processes inherent to the accreditation and quality of degree courses the activities concerning administrative support to institutional research and third mission activities, including technology transfer, research grants, research scholarships, overseeing the processes inherent to the quality of departmental research and third mission.

In the area of Teaching, according to the University's functional chart, the Administrative Manager can call upon the services of a Quality Assurance Manager (cat. EP), who coordinates, in common with the Administrative Manager, the typical activities supporting didactics, the educational offer, the front office with students as far as it is concerned, and the quality of courses, including PhDs. He/she coordinates the department's teaching contacts; he/she coordinates inbound and outbound advising/guidance initiatives; ihe/she coordinates the admission processes to degree courses and the management of activities related to tutoring and graduating students; it supports the Course Presidents, the Joint Teachers-Students Committee and the Review Groups of the degree courses incardinated in the Department. He/she coordinates activities related to internships, internships and international mobility. He/she performs functional staff coordination. He/She operates in functional connection with the teaching area.

Alternatively, the Administrative Manager may employ Quality Assurance Manager  (cat. D), who ensures, under the coordination of the Administrative Manager, the supervision of the typical teaching support activities as outlined above.

In addition, an Education Manager (Cat. D, C, B) that ensures the organisation and functionality of the didactics of the degree course. It provides, in functional coordination with the head of the Quality Assurance Office, administrative support for everything concerning the organisation and operation of degree courses. He/she manages and updates the content of the degree course website in cooperation with the relevant structures. He/she operates in functional connection with the teaching area.

As a member of the Review Group, he/she  plays an essential reference role for the teaching organisation and is a professional figure of particular value for the Quality Assurance of Degree Courses.

In the area of Research and Third Mission, according to the University's function chart, the Administrative Manager can call upon the services of a Research and Third Mission Service Coordinator (cat. EP) who coordinates, in conjunction with the Administrative Manager, the typical activities supporting research (national and international), the third mission, research quality, and the valorisation of departmental know-how, also acting as an interface and liaison with the department's technical staff. He/she coordinates and oversees the support processes related to the proper execution of the department's research-related activities, from participation in calls for tenders, to the management of research projects (including contract research), to support in the preparation of research contracts, to the reporting of all national and international projects and contracts. He/she supports the drafting of the SUA-RD. He/she performs functional coordination of personnel. He/she operates in functional connection with the Research Area. Alternatively, the Administrative Manager may employ a Service Manager for Research and Third Mission (Cat. D) which ensures, under the coordination of the Administrative, the supervision of the typical activities in support of research and the third mission as reported above

The quality assurance of the degree course consists in the implementation of the Quality Assurance Model proposed and coordinated by the Quality Assurance Office and in the planning and implementation of corrective actions, the effectiveness of which is assessed annually through the analysis of indicator trends in the Annual Monitoring Form and, in depth, periodically in the Cyclical Review Report.

Corrective actions under the control of the Department and/or the Degree Course are planned according to the organisational and management arrangements of the Department and/or the Degree Course and are coordinated and monitored by the Quality Assurance Manager.

The Degree Course appoints an internal Review Group (RG) whose activities are as follows:

- annually drafts the SUA-CdS for the following academic year;  - periodically verifies the status of implementation of the improvement measures proposed in the Cyclical Review Report and assesses the overall progress of students' careers, based on the data provided by ANVUR.

The general planning of Quality Assurance activities leads to daily contact activities with student representatives, tutors, professors/instructors and staff from the Academic Office and the University's central offices. In correspondence with deadlines for documents or fulfilments (Review Report, SUA-CdS, beginning and end of semesters, examination and degree sessions), activities intensify and take the form of drafting texts or collecting information.

With regard to the objectives proposed in the review and planning, the actions to be taken, the deadlines and verification methods, reference is made to the last Cyclical Review Report.