Institutional Internal Quality Assurance Systems

Internal Quality Assurance System (SAIC) that coordinates quality assurance for the institution or its centers across the areas of teaching, research, technology transfer, and community engagement. The certificate of implementation of the SIGC is a requirement for the institutional accreditation of universities. ANECA certifies SIGCs through the AUDIT program, which is valid for the institutional accreditation of Spanish universities in any Autonomous Community.

The EHEA and the relevant Spanish regulations establish that universities are required to have implemented Internal Quality Assurance Systems (IQASs) and policies, which must be formally established and publicly available. Therefore, in 2007, ANECA developed the AUDIT procedure in order to foster and promote the development and implementation of internal quality assurance systems in Spanish universities and to offer a procedure that leads to the recognition and certification of such systems.

Subsequently, the AUDIT International procedure  was extended in response to the demand from various international organisations to have the quality assurance systems of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in third-party countries and/or regions certified as well, as this certification has been proven useful to improve the quality of degrees and, therefore, to ensure that the stakeholders of such HEIs are satisfied.

ANECA has established that the procedure to submit requests is to send an e-mail to the following e-mail address:  audit@aneca.es ​​​​​​

Documentos de apoyo y herramientas

  • Esta guía ofrece una síntesis de las características fundamentales del programa AUDIT Internacional, el conjunto de requisitos del modelo, así como diversas indicaciones para facilitar su comprensión a las Instituciones de Educación Superior.

    VER GUÍA

  • Las Instituciones de Educación Superior interesadas en participar en el Programa, deberán cumplimentar el formulario mostrado y remitirlo a la dirección de correo audit@aneca.es

    VER FORMULARIO

  • Todas aquellas instituciones de Educación Superior interesadas en certificar la implantación de un SAIC basado en el Modelo AUDIT en cualquiera de sus centros, deberá utilizar uno de los dos cauces establecidos, de acuerdo a su diferente propósito:

    • Si el objetivo es conseguir por primera vez, o renovar la certificación del SAIC (en su fase de diseño o implantación), de manera independiente a un proceso de renovación de la Acreditación Institucional, deberán cumplimentar y remitir el formulario al que se accede mediante el enlace adjunto:

    DESCARGAR SOLICITUD DE AUDITORÍA DE CERTIFICACIÓN DE CENTROS

    • Si el objetivo es renovar la certificación del SAIC dentro del marco de un proceso acoplado de renovación de la Acreditación Institucional (SAIC + Títulos oficiales), deberán cumplimentar y remitir el formulario al que se accede mediante el enlace adjunto:

    DESCARGAR PLANTILLA PARA LA PRESENTACIÓN DEL INFORME DE AUTOEVALUACIÓN PARA LA RENOVACIÓN DE LA ACREDITACIÓN INSTITUCIONAL

Supporting documents and tools

  • AUDIT Guide supporting procedure. These guidelines summarizes the main characteristics of the AUDIT International Programme, the full set of requirements of this model, as well as several instructions to make the system better understandable for Higher Education Institutions
  • Adherence request to the AUDIT procedure.  Higher Education Institutions interested in joining the Programme must complete the attached model and send it to the following e-mail address: audit@aneca.es.

Application for certification audits of Higher Education centres. All Higher Education institutions interested in certifying the implementation of an IQAS based on the AUDIT Model in any of their centres must use one of the two established channels, according to their different purposes:

  • If the objective is to obtain for the first time, or renew the certification of the SAIC (in its design or implementation phase), independently from a process of renewal of the Institutional Accreditation, they must complete and submit the form that can be accessed via the attached link:

 

Download Documento Application for centre certification audit
  • If the objective is to renew the SAIC certification within the framework of a coupled process of renewal of Institutional Accreditation (SAIC + Official Degrees), they must complete and submit the form which can be accessed via the attached link:

Download Documento Template for the presentation of the Self-evaluation Report for the Renewal of Institutional Accreditation

Regulations governing the AUDIT Procedure

  • Royal Decree 640/2021, of 27 July, on the creation, recognition and authorisation of universities and university centres, and institutional accreditation of university centres.
  • Resolution of 3 March 2022, on the General Secretariat of Universities, which establishes the guidelines for an institutional accreditation procedure for centres in public and private educational institutions, as well as the Protocol for the certification of internal quality assurance systems, and the Protocol for the assessment procedure for the accreditation renewal of university centres, as approved by the General Conference for University Policies. 
  • Agreement of the Spanish Network of University Quality Agencies (REACU) on the procedure for assessing those degrees taught across several centres within the framework of the institutional accreditation protocols of university centres.

Normativa Programa AUDIT

  • Real Decreto 640/2021, de 27 de julio , de creación, reconocimiento y autorización de universidades y centros universitarios, y acreditación institucional de centros universitarios.

    VER REAL DECRETO

  • Resolución de 3 de marzo de 2022, de la Secretaría General de Universidades, por la que se dictan instrucciones sobre el procedimiento para la acreditación institucional de centros de universidades públicas y privadas, y se publica el Protocolo para la certificación de sistemas internos de garantía de calidad de los centros universitarios y el Protocolo para el procedimiento de evaluación de la renovación de la acreditación institucional de centros universitarios, aprobados por la Conferencia General de Política Universitaria.

    VER RESOLUCIÓN

  • Acuerdo de la Red Española de Agencias de Calidad Universitaria (REACU) sobre el Procedimiento para la evaluación de los casos de títulos impartidos en varios centros en el marco de los protocolos de acreditación institucional de centros universitarios.

    VER ACUERDO

Evaluation reports

Tables show the list of universities or centres that have obtained a certificate on the design and implantation of its Internal Quality Assurance System (IQAS) pursuant to the AUDIT procedure model and the reports drawn up by ANECA, after completing the corresponding assessment and/or audit proceedings and having proven that they comply adequately with the quality criteria and guidelines established in this model. 

Reports from National  Universities: 

Reports from International Universities:

Pautas generales de los procesos

El modelo de evaluación de AUDIT está alineado con los  Criterios y directrices para el aseguramiento de la calidad en el Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior (ESG), proporcionando a las universidades un apoyo para intentar cumplir las recomendaciones para el aseguramiento interno de la calidad.

Se desarrolla en 3 etapas claramente definidas:

  • 1. Orientación del diseño de los SAIC

    1. Orientación del diseño de los SAIC

    La agencia facilita a los Centros orientaciones para el diseño de Sistemas de Aseguramiento Interno de Calidad de las enseñanzas que imparten.

  • 2. Certificación del diseño de los SAIC

    2. Certificación del diseño de los SAIC

    En esta etapa se pone en práctica un procedimiento para el reconocimiento y certificación del diseño de dichos sistemas, por parte de las agencias de garantía externa de la calidad.

  • 3. Certificación de los SAIC implantados:

    3. Certificación de los SAIC implantados:

    Tras la certificación del diseño de los SAIC, el centro comienza la implantación, y posteriormente, la agencia certifica el SAIC implantado en el centro.

Adicionalmente, es muy recomendable que la IES interesada aporte un dossier breve (inferior a diez páginas) con información específica, relativa a su grado de avance en la consecución de acreditaciones nacionales o internacionales, de carreras, maestrías y/o institucionales, de los que pueda disponer en ese momento, así como detalle de la organización de su estructura de calidad, y los objetivos que espera alcanzar con este proyecto. El propósito no es otro más que ANECA pueda conocer el grado de compromiso institucional y la posición de partida de la IES interesada, a fin de sopesar si su perfil resulta adecuado para participar con éxito en este programa.

En caso afirmativo, ANECA remitirá a la IES un modelo de convenio de colaboración, donde queda definido el modo de participación y los fines de cada una de las etapas a desarrollar.

Una vez exista un convenio firmado, se invita a las IES a comenzar con el diseño y certificación de su Sistema de Aseguramiento Interno de Calidad (SAIC), así como su posterior implantación y certificación, en cada una de sus facultades o escuelas universitarias.

Process general guidelines

The AUDIT assessment model is aligned with the criteria and guidelines for quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), and is intended to support for those universities that aim to comply with the recommendations for internal quality assurance.

This model encompasses three clearly defined phases:

  1. Guidelines for IQAS design: the agency provides Centres with guidelines to design Internal Quality Assurance Systems for the programmes taught in such centres.
  2. IQAS design certification: in this stage, a procedure for the recognition and certification of said systems by external quality assurance agencies is deployed.
  3. Certification of implemented IQAS: after the IQAS design has been certified, the centre starts to implement this system and, subsequently, the agency certifies the IQAS that is to be implemented in this centre.

Additionally, it is highly recommended that the involved Higher Education Institutions submit a summarized report (of under 10 pages) including specific information regarding the degree of development of the procedure for obtaining accreditations, either national or international, for university degrees or masters’ degrees, or institutional accreditations, that they may teach at this time, as well as a detailed description of its quality structure, and the goals that they intend to achieve with this project. The sole purpose of this is to enable ANECA to assess the degree of institutional commitment and the starting position of the Higher Education Institution involved, for the purposes of assessing whether its profile is appropriate to successfully take part in this procedure.

When this is the case, ANECA will send to IES a model of the collaboration agreement in which the participation methods and the purposes of each phase must be clearly defined.

Once that there is a signed agreement, the Higher Education Institution is invited to start designing and obtaining certification for its Internal Quality Assurance System (IQAS), as well as working on its future implementation and certification in each of the university’s centres.

Public fees  

The AUDIT procedure applies the following official fees that have been approved by the Spanish Treasury and must be complied with:  AUDIT procedure fees. 

Commission evaluators

For the evaluation of Internal Quality Assurance System (IQAS) designs in accordance with the AUDIT model, ANECA has a panel of experts, consisting of a chair, a secretary, and up to three members.

In the case of evaluating the implementation of SAICs in any of the centers presented by the applicant university, the evaluation committee will be made up of a team of auditors who are experts in SAICs, and in particular in the AUDIT model. As a general rule, an audit team may be composed of a chief auditor, an auditor, an auditor in training, and/or a student, chosen from among those approved by ANECA to perform this task.

All persons who evaluate or audit undergo a training process prior to their participation in the program.

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