Who is responsible for accrediting the quality of bachelor's and master's degrees?
In Catalonia, all official bachelor's and master's degrees undergo a rigorous evaluation system to ensure their quality. This is overseen by the Agency for the Quality of the Catalan University System, the public agency that validates and accredits university degrees.
A blue logo with the acronym AQU and two words: "Favorable Accreditation." This is the seal that people interested in studying for an official bachelor's or master's degree in Catalonia often see when looking up information. But few know exactly what it means. It's the seal of the Agency for the Quality of the Catalan University System (AQU Catalunya), the body responsible for evaluating, verifying, and accrediting higher education. Its objective is clear: to ensure that the country's university offerings meet European standards and respond to social and employment needs.
"The AQU conducts an external, independent, and technical evaluation of the studies, based on European quality standards," explains Esther Huertas, the agency's Head of Quality. This process is activated when a university wishes to create a new official degree, be it a bachelor's, master's, or doctorate. The university designs the proposal, validates it internally, and submits it to the Directorate General for Universities. Once it has been approved at the regional level and registered with the Ministry of Universities, the AQU comes into play.
A complex, but rigorous process
When AQU receives a proposal for a new official degree, it begins the verification process. A committee of independent experts—made up of teachers, professionals, students, and, in some cases, institutional representatives—analyzes the program's academic report and issues a report. This report examines issues such as the coherence of the curriculum, the suitability of the faculty, the evaluation systems, the organization of internships, the expected job placement, and the sustainability of the program.
"The entire process is designed to ensure the decision is made before the Education Fair, a key date for both students and universities," explains Huertas. This means working two years in advance of the scheduled start date of the new degree or master's degree. This way, they try to ensure that interested parties receive information in a timely and reliable manner.
Once verified and approved, the degree can be officially offered. But the system doesn't stop there: each program enters a cycle of monitoring and continuous improvement. Every six years, degrees undergo a new accreditation process, which can be individual (for specific degrees) or collective (if the university center has been institutionally accredited). In the latter case, a comprehensive audit of the center is conducted, and all its official degrees are jointly evaluated.
In any case, final accreditation involves an external visit to the center and a new qualitative assessment. "It's an intensive system, but it guarantees that quality is updated and not frozen at the time the degree was created," notes Huertas. If the result is positive, the degree will remain accredited. If not, a process of improvement and review is initiated, or it may even lose its official status.
A pioneering agency in Spain
AQU Catalunya was founded in 1996 as the first public university assessment agency in Spain. Its creation was part of a European context of higher education modernization, marked by the beginnings of the Bologna Process. Since its inception, AQU's goal has been to ensure that university degrees offered in Catalonia meet quality standards comparable to those of the most advanced countries. Over the years, the agency has taken on more responsibilities, from assessing the teaching quality of its faculty to publishing job placement indicators and graduate satisfaction surveys. Today, it is a full member of European networks of quality assurance agencies and is recognized as a cornerstone of the Catalan university system.
"We are an external agent, but with a very clear commitment to improving the university system," emphasizes Esther Huertas. In her view, the AQU's role is not only to evaluate or verify, but to support universities in the process of ensuring and improving the quality of their teaching. "We want citizens to have confidence in the degrees offered in our university system," she adds. This approach—technical, rigorous, and collaborative at the same time—is what has consolidated the AQU as a European benchmark in university quality, with more than 25 years of experience and a clear vocation: to put knowledge at the service of society.