The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in Andorra (AQUA) commemorated the World Access to Higher Education Day with two main activities: an institutional conference and several metaevaluation sessions aimed at reflecting on quality, participation, and continuous improvement within the Agency’s processes.
Conference on quality in digital access to university
On Wednesday, 26 November, in the atrium of the Consell General, the conference “Ensuring quality in digital access to university: European guidelines and good practices” was delivered by Professor Josep M. Duart, Full Professor of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC).
In his lecture, Professor Duart explored the challenges and opportunities that digitalisation presents for higher education, and how it can contribute to democratising access to knowledge while maintaining excellence and the credibility of academic programmes. He also emphasised the need to adapt quality assurance systems to online and hybrid learning modalities, in alignment with the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ESG) and other orientations promoted by the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and European quality agencies.
Metaevaluation sessions with stakeholders
Taking advantage of this occasion, AQUA organised, during the same week, four metaevaluation sessions with the main stakeholders of higher education in Andorra. These sessions provided a space for dialogue and participation aimed at analysing the Agency’s processes and identifying potential actions and areas for improvement. The meetings included the participation of:
- student representatives from higher education institutions
- external experts involved in evaluation panels
- quality managers from higher education institutions
- members of AQUA’s Evaluation Committee and Appeals Committee
The discussions focused on the functioning, transparency, reliability and effectiveness of the Agency’s processes, providing concrete proposals to strengthen quality, participation and institutional trust. These sessions strengthen AQUA’s commitment to continuous improvement, based on the active participation of all stakeholders within the higher education system.
Crèdits: Sergi Pérez | Consell General