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The government decree that established the Agency for Quality Assurance in the Galician University System (ACSUG) was published on 12 March 2001, thereby creating Spain’s second university quality assurance agency. In 2009, the ACSUG was recognised as a member of the ENQA, which was an essential condition that allowed it to perform verification and accreditation for university degree programmes.

The restrictions caused by COVID-19 prevented celebration of the agency’s 20th anniversary last year. However, postponing that event allowed it to be combined this year with another milestone: inauguration of the ACSUG’s new headquarters at the City of Culture in Santiago de Compostela.

The ACSUG’s hard work and efforts during all those years have not been in vain, because Galicia’s universities and regional government have developed full confidence in the agency. The evaluation authorisations and requests received by the ACSUG now cover not only the ones required by law, but many other types as well, such as those related to R&D and innovation, predoctoral and postdoctoral grants and fellowships, and many others. These requests are being received not just from Galicia’s Ministry of Education, but also from its Ministry of the Economy through the Galician Agency for Innovation, and from its Ministry of the Presidency.

On the day of the event commemorating those 21 years of existence, which was held at the agency’s new headquarters in the Fontán Building, all of us working at the ACSUG were able to feel great satisfaction from the attendance of so many representatives of the local communities, political institutions, and universities. Clearly the agency’s efforts and commitment to the Galician university system have been worthwhile, as we now look forward to another 20 years of continual improvement.

We would like to thank everyone for their show of support on this very memorable occasion.  

On 22 June 2022, a Resolution issued by the President of the ACSUG on 9 June 2022is being published in the Official Journal of Galicia, approving the ordinary call for applications to obtain pre-hiring evaluations of teaching staff for universities from the Galician University System. This will initiate the time period for submission of the corresponding applications.

Access to the online system used to fill in the application..

Payment of administrative fees for submitting the application..

FAQs.

Deadline: 21 July 2022

On 22 March 2022, the Resolution of 11 March 2022is being published in the Official Journal of Galicia, approving the ordinary call for applications for pre-assignment evaluations for salary bonuses recognising curricular excellence. This will initiate the time period for submission of applications corresponding to the 2021 call for applications (administrative procedure code ED701A).

Guide for Applicants

The time period for submitting applications will run from 23 March through 21 April (included).

The online system used to fill in the application and annexes will be AVAILABLE beginning on 23 March.

IMPORTANT!

In accordance with the contents of the call for applications, the application (annex III) must be filled in electronically, using the form available through the ACSUG’s online system. In conformity with section 14.2 of Spanish Law 39/2015 of 1 October, on Common Administrative Procedures for the Public Sector, the applications (using a pdf file that has first been generated using the ACSUG’s online system) can only be submitted through the Galician government’s online portal: https://sede.xunta.gal/portada.

PROCEDURE CODE: ED701A

If during the process for obtaining the forms at the online portal you have any questions or technical difficulties, or need any further information, you can call the information telephone number (012) or send an email to 012@xunta.gal.

On 20 December, a workshop was held at the ACSUG with participation by the four universities belonging to the Galician University System (UDC, USC, UVIGO, and UIE). Representatives from their quality assurance areas were in attendance, along with vice-rectors with quality management authorities for their departments and degree programmes. The purpose of the workshop was to present the planning and scheduling for evaluations of degree programmes and departments during the 2021-2022 academic year. The event was also an opportunity to discuss the publication of Spanish Royal Decree 822/2021 in September 2021, which establishes the organisation for university teaching and quality assurance procedures. Other topics of interest that had arisen during the 2020-2021 academic year were also discussed at the meeting, including those related to the processes for verification and accreditation of degree programmes.

In March 2021, the ACSUG signed a partnership agreement to collaborate on the project entitled Evaluation of teaching staff training in Latin America and the Caribbean: Quality assurance for degrees in education (ECALFOR). This project is part of the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme, and it features participation by an international consortium of 19 institutions from 9 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe. Its coordinator is Dr Oswaldo Lorenzo Quiles, and it is led by a group of professors from the Department of Educational and Sports Sciences at the Melilla campus of the University of Granada. This project, which will be completed in 2024, is also benefitting from active participation by three experts from the ACSUG, as well as by that agency’s director, J. Eduardo López Pereira..

During the project’s first phase between February and July 2021, the ACSUG’s collaboration was focused on two tasks:

• Comparative evaluation of quality assurance systems at Latin American and Caribbean institutions
• Comparative evaluation of qualifications for teaching staff in Latin American and Europe

The project’s second phase began in September 2021, with implementation of Work Package 2. In this phase, the ACSUG is participating in the following tasks:

• Adaptation of protocols for creating and implementing quality assurance units
• Creation of massive open online courses (MOOCs) for training: publication of video tutorials for educating the participants about how to develop and implement quality assurance units

More information about the ECALFOR project can be found at this link: https://ecalfor.eu

On 4 February 2022, the ACSUG participated in the Seminar entitled: “Approaches and experiences for design and evaluation of learning results for university degree programmes”, as part of the FLOASS Project.

The Seminar was structured as three roundtable discussions. This allowed the main results to be presented regarding the perceptions and experiences of teaching staff and students from the participating universities, in relation to evaluation of learning results.

This Seminar was also an opportunity to discuss the relationships among competencies, learning results, and means of evaluation when designing and monitoring master’s degree programmes.

Hoy 9 de febrero de 2022, se publica en el DOG la Resolución de 26 de enero de 2022 por la que se aprueba la convocatoria ordinaria para la evaluación previa a la asignación de las retribuciones adicionales relativas al complemento de reconocimiento a la labor docente, y al complemento de reconocimiento a la labor investigadora y se abre el plazo para la presentación de solicitudes correspondiente a la convocatoria del 2021 (Código de procedimiento administrativo ED701B).

El plazo de presentación de solicitudes será desde el día 10 de febrero hasta el día 9 de marzo incluídos.

La aplicación para cumplimentar la solicitud y anexos estará ABIERTA desde el 10 de Febrero

ATENCIÓN!

De acuerdo con lo establecido en la convocatoria, se deberá cubrir telemáticamente la solicitud (anexo I ) y las memorias de autoevaluación (anexos II.A y II.B ) en los modelos disponibles a través de la aplicación informática de la ACSUG. Conforme a lo dispuesto en el artículo 14.2 de la Ley 39/2015, de 1 de Octubre, del Procedimiento Administrativo Común de las Administraciones Públicas, la presentación de solicitudes (PDF generado previamente en la aplicación de la ACSUG) deberá realizarse obligatoriamente a través de la sede electrónica de la Xunta: https://sede.xunta.gal/portada.

CODIGO DO PROCEDEMENTO: ED701B

En caso de duda, dificultades técnicas o necesidad de más información durante el proceso de obtención de los formularios en la sede electrónica, se podrán dirigir al teléfono de información 012 o al correo electrónico 012@xunta.gal

The Spanish Network of University Quality Assurance Agencies (REACU) is publishing the general quality assurance protocols (basic standards and general guidelines) for verification and modification of the curricula for official degree programmes. This is being done in response to new regulations that came into force in 2021: Spanish Royal Decree 822/2021 of 28 September, which establishes the organisation of university teaching and quality assurance procedures, and Spanish Royal Decree 640/2021 of 27 July, on creation, recognition, and authorisation of universities and their departments, and institutional accreditation for university departments.

Based on those published protocols, and in conformity with them, the ACSUG will be developing its own evaluation guidelines.

REACU has also published an informational bulletin, which presents the catalogue of protocols already produced and those with their production pending:

• REACU informational bulletin
• Evaluation protocol for VERIFICATION
• Evaluation protocol for MODIFICATION