Quality Observatory of the Spanish University System

The aim of this Observatory is to provide keys to the quality of the Spanish university system that can contribute to the reflection of various stakeholders in order to improve its quality.

Given the importance of reliable information on different aspects concerning the quality of the Spanish university system being available to students, the university community and society as a whole, since its inception ANECA has devoted efforts to provide important key information on this issue that can contribute to the reflection of various stakeholders and, beyond that, to the improvement of the quality of the university system.

The Statute of the Agency, set out in Royal Decree 1112/2015, mentions that, within its scope of competences, the Agency's functions include, among others, carrying out, publishing and disseminating studies and foresight in terms of guidance, evaluation, certification and accreditation of Spanish universities, acting as a quality observatory for the Spanish university system.

Lines of action of the Observatory

Thus, the work of ANECA's Observatory for the Quality of the Spanish University System is guided precisely by the above and, without detriment to other actions framed within this, has been developed in two main activities:

At an initial stage, this Observatory focuses its activity on the Report on the state of external quality assessment in Spanish universities. Through this annual report ANECA, in collaboration with all the evaluation agencies of the Autonomous Communities, offers, on the one hand, a general overview of the state of the situation of the evaluation of teaching, institutions and teaching and research staff in the Spanish university system; and, on the other hand, a series of analyses on issues of relevance for the improvement of this university system.

In order to make the Observatory's activity more useful in improving the university system, it is evolving towards the preparation of thematic reports on the improvement of the quality of the actions of the institutions at the service of the objectives of university education. These reports, through in-depth analysis and proposals for improvement, focus particularly on progress in the central aims of higher education, such as those explicitly highlighted in the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) as indicated by the Council of Europe, as well as those derived from the Roadmap for Higher Education proposed by UNESCO and the Principles and Guidelines for Enhancing the Social Dimension of Higher Education in the European Higher Education Area. 

In general terms, the reports under this initiative are intended as a navigational chart to provide universities with a clear orientation as to where they could be heading in order to better achieve, through their actions, these fundamental objectives of higher education.