DOCENTIA: Support program for the evaluation of the quality of teaching activity of university professors

The DOCENTIA Programme consists of a set of guidelines and orientations for the development, by universities (and its certification by ANECA and the regional agencies), of a model for the evaluation of the quality of teaching, aimed at guaranteeing the training and competence of university professors, through an evaluation of their teaching activity, in order to promote their recognition and improvement. ANECA certifies these models through the DOCENTIA programme.

In the current order of the Spanish university system, the guarantee of the training and competence of professors rests with the universities and, consequently, they must develop procedures for the evaluation of their performance, as well as for their training and stimulation, guaranteeing their qualification and teaching competence. To promote this evaluation of teaching, ANECA launched in 2007, in close coordination with the regional evaluation agencies, the Support Programme for the Evaluation of the Teaching Activity of University Professors (DOCENTIA).

Docentia Docentia

To support universities in designing their own mechanisms to manage the quality of teaching staff’s teaching activity and encourage their development and recognition, the DOCENTIA procedure refers to the recommendations for ensuring quality at higher education institutions, collected in the document Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (2015) which was approved by the Conference of Ministers signatories of the Bologna Declaration in May 2015. The procedure design has also taken into account the standards set by internationally recognised organisations in the field of personnel evaluation, such as The Personnel Evaluation Standards, developed by The Joint Committee of Standards for Educational Evaluation.

Currently, more than 90% of universities participate in this procedure, throughout its different phases.

Supporting documents and tools

For the evaluation of designs, monitoring of implementation and certification of evaluation procedures, the agencies participating in the DOCENTIA programme have developed the following documentation and tools based on the integration and updating of the previous programme documentation.

Evaluation reports

You can access the results of the DOCENTIA programme for all universities and also the evaluation reports for universities in the ANECA environment at the link below.

Evaluation results and reports

Registration of certified entities in the program

The table shows the record of entities that have obtained a certificate for the implementation of their teaching activity assessment model in accordance with the DOCENTIA programme. The certificate has a validity period of six renewable years. Even so, during the period of validity, the planned annual monitoring activities must be passed.

RUCT Code Nº UCR Date of grant Date of last renewal Expiration date Name of the University Certification Agency
23  DOC13UAM/03 31/12/2013 08/02/2021  08/02/2027 Universidad Autónoma de Madrid  Fundación Madrid+d y ANECA 
56 DOC13URJC/04 31/12/2013  31/12/2020  31/12/2026  Universidad Rey Juan Carlos  Fundación Madrid+d y ANECA 
68  DOC13UFV/05  31/12/2013  31/12/2013  31/12/2025  Universidad Francisco de Vitoria  Fundación Madrid+d y ANECA
DOC14UB/06  15/10/2009/14  01/01/2022  01/01/2028 Universitat de Barcelona  AQU Catalunya y ANECA 
22  DOC14UAB/07 15/10/2009/14 01/01/2022  01/01/2028  Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona  AQU Catalunya y ANECA 
43  DOC14UDG/08 15/10/2009/14 01/01/2022 01/01/2028  Universitat de Girona AQU Catalunya y ANECA 
44  DOC14UDL/09 15/10/2009/14  01/01/2022 01/01/2028 Universitat de Lleida  AQU Catalunya y ANECA 
24  DOC14UPC/10 15/10/2009/14  01/01/2022 01/01/2028  Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya  AQU Catalunya y ANECA
39  DOC14UPF/11  15/10/2009/14 01/01/2022 01/01/2028  Universitat Pompeu Fabra  AQU Catalunya y ANECA 
42  DOC14URV/12  15/10/2009/14  01/01/2022 01/01/2028  Universitat Rovira i Virgili  AQU Catalunya y ANECA
43  DOC15UJI/13 2/10/2015 22/06/2021  22/06/2027  Universitat Jaume I  AVAP y ANECA
52  DOC16UAN/15  26/07/2016  07/02/2023 07/02/2029  Universidad Antonio de Nebrija  Fundación Madrid+d y ANECA 
62  DOC16UIC/16  22/09/2016  12/07/2023  12/07/2029 Universitat Internacional de Catalunya AQU Catalunya y ANECA 
41  DOC16URLL/17  22/09/2016  12/07/2023 12/07/2029  Universitat Ramon Llull  AQU Catalunya y ANECA 
DOC18UEX/18  17/07/2018   17/07/2024 Universidad de Extremadura ANECA 
20  DOC19UPV-EHU/19  18/01/2019  24/02/2025  24/02/2031  Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea  UNIBASQ y ANECA 
29  DOC19UAH/19 13/11/2019    13/11/2025 Universidad de Alcalá  Fundación Madrid+d y ANECA
26  DOC22ULPGC/22 22/02/2022  22/02/2024  22/02/2028  Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria ACCUEE y ANECA 
010  DOC23UCM/23  07/02/2023   07/02/2029  Universidad Complutense de Madrid  Fundación Madrid+d y ANECA 

Process general guidelines

Interested universities must complete the application for participation in the teaching evaluation support programme (DOCENTIA) and send it to ANECA.

The phases that the development of the DOCENTIA Programme includes are the following:

  • Phase I: DESIGN. The university designs the teaching activity evaluation manual according to the DOCENTIA model and sends it to the corresponding Agency for evaluation.
  • Phase II: EXTERNAL EVALUATION OF THE DESIGNS. Its purpose is to recognise compliance with the specifications and criteria of the DOCENTIA model.
  • Phase III: MONITORING OF THE IMPLEMENTATION. Universities whose designs have been positively evaluated begin the implementation and send an annual report to the Agency.
  • Phase IV: CERTIFICATION AND MONITORING OF THE CERTIFICATION. Once the design has been fully implemented and the monitoring phase has been successfully completed, universities may opt for certification of their evaluation procedures. Once the implementation has been certified, the university must send an annual certification monitoring report.
  • Phase V: CERTIFICATION RENEWAL. Once the certification validity period has been reached, if the last monitoring report is favourable.

The certification of a model under the DOCENTIA programme is valid for 6 years. During the first five years, the university will send annual certification monitoring reports and, in the sixth year, it will send a certification renewal report (see appendix A.VI). Application for participation in DOCENTIA.

Implications for other programmes

The certification of the implementation of the teaching activity evaluation design (DOCENTIA) will have consequences for the application of other evaluation programmes.

  • In the renewal of degree accreditation. During the DOCENTIA certification process, we reflect on the evaluation of the different aspects of the Teaching Quality Assessment System implemented in the centre. This assessment is reflected in the evaluation report and its content will be taken into account in the process for the renewal of the accreditation of the institution's degrees (ACREDITA ). Specifically, this can be read in the Framework Document: Evaluation for the renewal of accreditation for official University bachelor's and master's degrees (pp.51 -53). In this way, the guidelines of the ACREDITA programme that appear in ANNEX 3 of the framework document of the aforementioned programme will not be subject to evaluation by the commissions during the visit undertaken for the accreditation renewal of the centre's degrees.
  • In the Academia programme. As indicated in the evaluation criteria, applicants must have positive evaluations of teaching activity accredited by quality programmes such as DOCENTIA.
  • In the AUDIT programme. The certification of the DOCENTIA programme will exempt the institution from the evaluation of criterion 4 related to academic staff, in the certification of the implementation of the AUDIT programme.

Program Commissions

The DOCENTIA Program has several committees responsible for various aspects of its operation.

Programme Monitoring Committee

This commission is responsible for overseeing the Programme and its functions include periodically reviewing the model and the established procedure to apply the necessary improvements resulting from the implementation of the model, as well as responding to the demands of the agents involved. It is made up of a presidency and a secretariat proposed by ANECA and a representation of each of the autonomous agencies involved in the DOCENTIA Programme.

Commission for the evaluation of the Design, Monitoring and Certification of the DOCENTIA Programme models

The mission of this panel is to evaluate the documentation that universities prepare to meet the needs of each phase of the Program. In the case of the evaluation of certification and certification renewal, they will also carry out on-site visits to certify the correct implementation of the model proposed by the university.

Name

Profile
Ana Isabel Fernández Sainz (U. del País Vasco/EHU) Chairperson
Miguel Santamaría Lancho (U. Nacional de Educación a Distancia) Academic member
Javier Paricio Royo (U. de Zaragoza) Academic member
Paula Carolina Lozano Duarte (U. Pública de Navarra) Student member
Elvira Juárez Casalengua (ANECA) Secretary

Committee for the evaluation of the AUDIT and DOCENTIA programmes

The Commission for the evaluation of the AUDIT and DOCENTIA programmes is responsible for the evaluation functions of the AUDIT and DOCENTIA programmes of ANECA.

Name Profile
José Luis Aznarte Mellado (ANECA) Chair
Javier Bará Temes (U. Politécnica de Cataluña) Academic member
Cristina Guilarte Martín-Calero (U. de Valladolid) Academic member
Elvira Juárez Casalengua/José Antonio Pérez de la Calle (ANECA) Secretary
ANECA has established a procedure for queries by email: docentia@aneca.es