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 designed 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 students and external stakeholders most appropriate to the character and objectives of the course.
The external stakeholders of the study course include all the actors and organisations and institutions potentially interested in the cultural and professional profile of the graduates designed by the study 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 for the proposed project, stakeholders may be represented by a Steering Committee, consisting of a representation of the Department's instructors and representatives from the world of work, culture and research representing the stakeholders of one or more degree courses.
The degree courses should 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:
Course Council (CC) - Steering Committee (SC) - Review Group (RG) - Quality Assurance Manager (QAM).
For the composition of the QA bodies of the degree course, please refer to the dedicated web page on the degree course portal (see link below).
For the purposes of Quality Assurance, the degree course is required to:
- apply, as far as it is concerned, the policies and general guidelines for quality established by the governing bodies;
- carry out self-assessment and review of its training and the management of the degree course on the basis of the analyses reported in the annual report of the CPDS and the data provided by ANVUR, the Evaluation Board and the Organisational Unit (O.U.) Management Control, also comparing itself with similar degree course with a view to benchmarking;
- promote continuous improvement and assess its effectiveness;
- implement the evaluation of teaching in accordance with the University's arrangements.
The Course Council, through its President, is also responsible for the information reported in the ANVUR documents (SAS-degree course, Annual Monitoring Form, Cyclic Review Report).
To this end, the degree course has set up a Review Group (RG),which
- is composed of figures within the degree course itself, able to contribute to the evaluation of the course from different points of view (instructors, technical-administrative staff, students);
- consists of the president of the degree course, the Quality Assurance Manager of the degree course (QAM), a student representative, a Manager for the Quality of Education of the Department of the degree course, at least 2 instructors, each representing a class (LM14, LM15);
- has the task of guiding the student body towards the objective of continuous improvement of its results;
- manages the self-evaluation process, 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 Steering Committee, which is composed of the PCdS and representatives from the world of work, ensures constant liaison with the world of business and the world of work, in order to assess the progress of the degree course, to draw up proposals for the definition and design of the course catalogue and the learning objectives, and to promote contacts for possible student internships in companies and institutions.
During the self-assessment, the RG examines everything that may contribute to the degree course result analysis, and in particular:
- the annual report provided by the reference Intructors-Students Joint Committee;
- the report from Evaluation Committee;
- the progress ot the student careers;
- the availability of the context services (tutoring, internationalisation, guidance, internships etc.);
- the consultation with the socio-economic system of reference (including the Steering Committee, sector studies, specific meetings with the social partners);
- the availability of resources (human and infrastructural);
- student opinion on teaching, the organisation of the degree course and the training pathway;
- any other information provided by the QAM, the Education Manager and the Coordinator/Manager for the Quality Assurance Office.
The work of the RG 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 PQA and the University Evaluation Committee.
Finally, the Quality Assurance Manager (QAM) has the function of monitoring and verifying the correct implementation of the improvement actions approved by the Course Councile. The QAM is identified from among the Instructors of the Degree course.
For the purposes of didactic organisation and QA, the QA structures of the degree course liaise with the QA bodies of the Department (see https://dusic.unipr.it/it/dipartimento/qualita-di-dipartimento)
