Organic Law 2/2023, of 22 March, governing the higher education system sets out that “Promoting and ensuring said quality is the joint responsibility of universities, quality assurance agencies, and public authorities” (art. 5), following on from what had already been defined under Organic Law 6/2001, of 21 December, governing universities.
In accordance with this power, the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA) –in conjunction with regional quality assurance agencies for higher education such as ACSUCYL –have developed the Docentia programme in order to help and support the performance of teaching staff in higher education, with the aim of aiding the enhancement of teaching so as to then also help boost students’ learning outcomes.
Marco de referencia del Programa DOCENTIA, enfoque y objetivos (1.667 kbytes)
The DOCENTIA programme envisages the following stages in the participation of those universities who choose to conduct this assessment of their teaching staff’s performance within the framework of this programme:
Formalising participation in the programme.
Designing the teaching activity assessment model by the university.
Agency verification of the design of the model.
Implementation of the model by the university and follow-up by the agencies.
Certification and follow-up of the assessment model by the agencies.
Renewal of certification.
Universities in Castilla y León may participate voluntarily in this programme. In order to do so, they should submit to ACSUCYL the corresponding solicitud de participación (15 kbytes) , ubsequent to which a convenio de participación (51 kbytes) . will be established. Once the implementation stage has been successfully completed –subsequent to a report issued to said effect– the university may submit to ACSUCYL the corresponding solicitud de certificación (15 kbytes) , after which a contrato para la certificación (51 kbytes) . will be drawn up. The DOCENTIA programme certificate is initially valid for five years, after which the university may seek its renewal by undergoing a new certification procedure.
ACSUCYL also offers an Program of external evaluation of the teaching activity of the teaching staff for teaching staff, within the framework of the DOCENTIA model. Teaching staff may solicitar la prestación (22 kbytes) to be included by interested universities as a source of information in their assessment model, in accordance with each institution’s strategy and policy for fostering quality in teaching.
The following document explains the framework for assessing teaching performance as well as the various stages involved in the DOCENTIA programme, together with the criteria and standards used to evaluate the teaching performance assessment models designed and implemented by universities:
The additional external assessment programme for teaching performance offered by ACSUCYL to universities –and which they may include as a source of information in their assessment models– is set out in the following document, together with the characteristics thereof, the method, and the assessment criteria applied:
The Docentia programme is coordinated by ANECA and involves a Programme Follow-up Committee (DOCENTIA Committee) in which ACSUCYL takes part, together with the other agencies who participate in the programme. The committee’s functions include:
Planning and coordinating the assessment processes.
Designing, approving, and publishing the assessment criteria and methods.
ACSUCYL is responsible for the verification, follow-up, and certification of the teaching performance assessment models designed by the universities in Castilla y León. To this end, ACSUCYL –together with ANECA– appoints a Comisión de Evaluación del Programa Docentia (111 kbytes) who jointly draw up and issue the technical assessment reports corresponding to the various stages of the programme. The structure, functioning, profile, functions, and so on of this committee are contained in the:
The actions of the members of this committee are subject to the Código Ético (556 kbytes)
Eight universities in Castilla y Leon are currently taking part in the DOCENTIA programme. Two of them have received certification of their model for the assessment of teaching staff performance; the Miguel de Cervantes European University, and the University of Burgos.
The Catholic University of Ávila, the Pontifical University of Salamanca, and the University of Salamanca have a teaching performance assessment model that has been sufficiently tested and developed, and are in a position to have their models officially certified once they have made the necessary improvements highlighted by the Programme Assessment Committee.
The University of León, and the Isabel I University have requested verification of their teaching staff performance assessment model, and the final assessment thereof is currently pending. Should this verification prove to be favourable, they will need to implement their model on an experimental basis for at least two academic years.
Although the University of Valladolid joined the programme when it first started, it has not implemented its teaching staff performance assessment model within the framework of the DOCENTIA programme for several years.
After having taken part in this programme for several years, the IE University decided to conduct assessment of its teaching staff’s performance outside the programme.
The following provides a list of the documents and reports that may be consulted relating to each university’s participation in the DOCENTIA programme: