Circumstances and Conditions in the Accreditation Process of University Degrees at the Albacete School of Industrial Engineering (Spain)

Mul idisciplina y Jou nal o Educa ion, h p://dx.doi.o g/10.4995/muse.2016.4547 Social and Technological Sciences EISSN: 2341-2593 Miguel-Eguía e al. (2016) h p://polipape s.up .es/index.php/MUSE/ Mul . J. Edu. Soc & Tec. Sci. Vol. 3 Nº 2 (2016): 49-64 | 49 Ci cums ances and Condi ions in he Acc edi a ion P ocess o Uni e si y Deg ees a he Albace e School o Indus ial Enginee ing (Spain) V. Miguel-Eguía, M. Ga cía-Te uel, J. A. Ma ínez-Ma ínez, F. Ga cía-Se illa Escuela de Ingenie os Indus iales. Uni e sidad de Cas illa-La Mancha, A enida de España s/n, Campus Uni e si a io, 02006 Albace e, Spain * Co esponding au ho : Email: ale[email p o ec ed]s; Phone: + 34 967599200 Recei ed: 2016-05-12; Accep ed: 2016-08-11 Abs ac This wo k conside s some o he main aspec s in ol ed du ing he pe iod ha elapsed be ween he alida ion o ou deg ees o he p esen ime, which he School o Indus ial Enginee s o Albace e a e cu en ly unde -going. One o he mos dis u bing ac o s has been eaching s a , who ha e been subjec ed o Spain’s economic ci cums ances. O he conside a ions, ela ed o some di icul ies o he e-acc edi a ion p ocess, ha e also been aken in o accoun . Finally, we poin ou ha al hough new lea ning me hodologies we e expec ed, he scope and he way Quali y sys ems ope a e ha e a i ed somewha la e. Keywo ds Acc edi a ion, Quali y Gua an ee, Quali y Sys ems Mul idisciplina y Jou nal o Educa ion, h p://dx.doi.o g/10.4995/muse.2016.4547 Social and Technological Sciences EISSN: 2341-2593 Miguel-Eguía e al. (2016) h p://polipape s.up .es/index.php/MUSE/ Mul . J. Edu. Soc & Tec. Sci. Vol. 3 Nº 2 (2016): 49-64 | 50 1. In oduc ion As we all know, he c ea ion o he Eu opean Highe Educa ion A ea (EHEA) has mean a comple e ans o ma ion in Eu opean con e gence in his a ea, and has led o ecen di- e se bibliog aphy ha has analysed hese aspec s, basically in ela ion o he ole o Eu opean in e ac ion in he con e gence p ocess o de e mine he impo ance o mobili y p og ammes and he ole o esea ch in he Eu opean con e gence p ocess (Teichle , 2006). Ano he ou s anding aspec abou which mo e o ums and bibliog aphy ha e been gene a ed in ecen yea s has been he ole o new eaching me hodologies in he p ocess. Fo ins ance, he e e ence wo k (Beni o & C uz, 2006) can be consul ed in many ci a ions on Schola Google. The e alua ion sys em, which has been con empla ed in pa icula , has also gi en way o a la ge body o li e a u e on con inuous e alua ion p ocesses and e alua ion by compe ences. These las wo ci cums ances e en call in o ques ion he concep o eleasing P o esso ship, which has been o e es ima ed in he pas (Vidal, 2012). A e ha ing necessa ily e e ed o he indica ed aspec s, de e mining he impo ance o a sys em which gua an ees deg ees is essen ial, his being he backbone o Eu opean con e gence ha o ms pa o mu ually ecognising he compe ences ha s uden s acqui e, as se ou by he p ess elease made by Eu opean Minis e s abou he ag eemen s eached du ing he Be gen Con e ence held in May 2005 (Be gen, 2005). The ex below s ands ou : “We adop s anda ds and guidelines o ensu e a quali y EHEA, as p oposed by ENQA. We a e commi ed o in oduce he p oposed pee s e alua ion model o na ional quali y agencies by espec ing commonly accep ed c i e ia and pa e ns. We ake he p inciple o a Eu opean quali y agencies egis e based on na ional e iews. We eques i s p ac ical applica ion o be unde aken by ENQA in coope a ion wi h EUA, EURASHE and ESIB, which will send a epo h ough he ollow-up G oup. We emphasise he impo ance o coope a ion among na ionally ecognised agencies in o de o enhance mu ual ecogni ion om decisions made abou quali y acc edi a ion o gua an ee.” Mul idisciplina y Jou nal o Educa ion, h p://dx.doi.o g/10.4995/muse.2016.4547 Social and Technological Sciences EISSN: 2341-2593 Miguel-Eguía e al. (2016) h p://polipape s.up .es/index.php/MUSE/ Mul . J. Edu. Soc & Tec. Sci. Vol. 3 Nº 2 (2016): 49-64 | 51 The abo e pa ag aph indica es no only he exis ence o a p ocess o se up na ional and sup ana ional quali y gua an ee agencies, bu also he need o coo dina ing sha ed c i e ia and o a Eu opean quali y agencies egis e . The impo ance o coope a ion be ween na ionally ecognised agencies complemen s his egis e , and is a main objec i e in Eu ope, and also in Spain be ween ANECA ( he Spanish Quali y and Acc edi a ion E alua ion Agency) and Spanish au onomous agencies. To u he complemen his egis e , coope a ion among na ionally ecognised agencies is ele an o enhance mu ual ecogni ion om decisions made abou quali y acc edi a ion and gua an ee. These na ional agencies no only e alua e by examining he peculia i ies o each sys em, bu also wo k as a ne wo k and es ablish mu ual ecogni ion p ocesses. This objec i e has been se in Eu ope, and also in Spain be ween ANECA and he Spanish au onomous agencies (Ma cellán, 2005). An in e es ing desc ip ion o he Eu opean acc edi a ion sys em be o e he 2005 Be gen Con e ence is ound in he wo k by Micha ila and Zamo ano (Micha ila & Zamo ano, 2007). Ce ainly du ing he e i ying p ocess o bachelo memo ies impa ed in he Indus ial Enginee s School o Albace e, we all conside ed he impo ance o he e-acc edi a ion o deg ees a e he 4-yea pe iod, al hough o he ac o s also came in o play, which p obably did no allow us o pay all ou a en ion o his p ocess; among hem, we lis he ole o he new e alua ion me hodologies and sys ems. Ha ing e i ied hese speci ica ions, he cen e’s in e nal quali y sys em was g adually shaped by naming cou se and deg ee coo dina o s, and by se ing up an In e nal Quali y Gua an ee Commi ee, which is beginning o ope a e wi h he p epa a ion o he i s deg ees ollow-up epo . Some au ho s s ess he ac ha his aspec has been inco po a ed la e in Spain han in o he Eu opean coun ies (Galán-Paloma es, 2008). Royal Dec ee 1393/2007, o 29 Oc obe , se s ou he legal amewo k o o ganise o icial uni e si y eaching by de ining he p ocess o ollow up deg ees and by alloca ing ANECA and he Spanish au onomous e alua ion agencies hei espec i e compe ences (RD 1393/2007). To comply wi h his Royal Dec ee, in 2009 (ANECA, 2010) ANECA de ined he e e ence amewo k o ollow up he Mul idisciplina y Jou nal o Educa ion, h p://dx.doi.o g/10.4995/muse.2016.4547 Social and Technological Sciences EISSN: 2341-2593 Miguel-Eguía e al. (2016) h p://polipape s.up .es/index.php/MUSE/ Mul . J. Edu. Soc & Tec. Sci. Vol. 3 Nº 2 (2016): 49-64 | 52 bachelo and mas e deg ees included in he Regis e o Uni e si ies, Cen es and Deg ees (RUCT). This i did by collabo a ing wi h he agencies ha o m pa o he Spanish Uni e si y Quali y Agencies Ne wo k (REACU), and i did so by aking he basic c i e ia as a basis o ollow up he o icial deg ees de ined by hese e alua ion agencies. In 2010, ANECA (ANECA, 2011) o e ed he possibili y o pa icipa ing in a pilo scheme o ollow up he unde g adua e and mas e deg ees al eady implemen ed in he Spanish Au onomous Communi ies ha did no ha e an e alua ion agency (As u ias, Can ab ia, Cas illa-La Mancha, Ex emadu a, La Rioja, Na a e and Mu cia), and o uni e si ies ha answe ed o he Spanish Minis y o Educa ion and conco da uni e si ies. This p ocess con inued un il he so-called MONITOR p og amme came in o being in 2011, in which ANECA an he a o emen ioned pilo scheme by aking 59 bachelo and 34 mas e deg ees as a e e ence, o which espec i ely 7 and 6 co esponded o he a ea o Enginee ing and A chi ec u e (ANECA, 2012). I can hus be concluded ha lea ning me hodologies and e alua ion by compe ences we e deal wi h by pilo schemes well be o e pos -Bologne plans we e implemen ed in o he School o Indus ial Enginee s o Albace e, while awa eness and he de ini ion o quali y sys ems came la e . In he School o Indus ial Enginee s o Albace e, e i ica ion epo s we e p epa ed and p esen ed o ANECA be o e a MONITOR p og amme ou line was clea ly de ined by he agency. Ve y li le was known abou he dimensions and he way o p epa e he e-acc edi a ion sel - epo s we we e ecen ly in ol ed in, no abou he p ocess which we shall ha e o unde ake in he nea u u e. While he w i en epo s we e being p epa ed, nobody was able o o esee he as e ec ha he economic c isis we a e s ill going h ough would ha e, which has g ea ly condi ioned he de elopmen expec ed o ake place in he yea s ollowing he deg ees e i ica ion p ocess. Mul idisciplina y Jou nal o Educa ion, h p://dx.doi.o g/10.4995/muse.2016.4547 Social and Technological Sciences EISSN: 2341-2593 Miguel-Eguía e al. (2016) h p://polipape s.up .es/index.php/MUSE/ Mul . J. Edu. Soc & Tec. Sci. Vol. 3 Nº 2 (2016): 49-64 | 53 This wo k p esen s wha he eache s belonging o he School o Indus ial Enginee s o Albace e ha e p og essed, as a as academic aspec s a e conce ned, he way he economy has e ol ed, indica o s, and aspec s ela ed o he di icul y o managing he e- acc edi a ion p ocess owing o some changes in c i e ia made by ANECA du ing he pe iod in ol ed. 2. Socio-economic ac o s o conside a he School o Indus ial Enginee s o Albace e When he e i ica ion epo s we e being p epa ed, he socio-economic si ua ion o Spain, and o he Spanish Au onomous Communi y o Cas illa-La Mancha, allowed some mo e o less op imis ic ex apola ions o be made in no only s a ma e s, bu also in ela ion o gene al labo a o y and eaching means. As we all know, his si ua ion was comp omised e y sho ly a e wa ds by he se e e economic c isis o Spain, which is s ill ongoing. The impossible si ua ion o o ganising pe manen job pos s and he applica ion o a 10% e- placemen a e ha e gene ally b ough he de elopmen o Spanish uni e si ies o a s and- s ill, which is pa icula ly ma ked in ou uni e si y, he UCLM. The Law passed in 2011 on implemen ing a eplacemen a e below 10% has been he s ic es o Spain’s ecen his o y (see Table 1) (Mon esinos e al., 2014). O he ac o s ha ha e a ec ed ou School o Indus ial Enginee ing a e conside ed and lis ed below. - Al hough Technical Indus ial Enginee ing s udies ha e been augh since 1978 a wha was hen he Poly echnic Uni e si y School o Albace e, in Ap il 2008 he School o Indus ial Enginee s was c ea ed o accommoda e s udies ela ed o he indus ial ield. A ha ime, such s udies, plus compu e enginee ing s udies, we e augh in he same cen e. This had i s peculia i y because i a ec ed he way he pe sonnel o each cen e we e assigned. Basically a di ision ook place by implemen ing an in e nal eaching load o ganisa ion plan o bo h ypes o school, which conside ed he eali y o ha ime. The change o syllabi in he al eady exis ing Highe School o Compu e S udies and he School Mul idisciplina y Jou nal o Educa ion, h p://dx.doi.o g/10.4995/muse.2016.4547 Social and Technological Sciences EISSN: 2341-2593 Miguel-Eguía e al. (2016) h p://polipape s.up .es/index.php/MUSE/ Mul . J. Edu. Soc & Tec. Sci. Vol. 3 Nº 2 (2016): 49-64 | 54 o Indus ial Enginee ing e ol ed di e en ly compa ed o hei ini ial s a ing poin s. This led o ce ain asymme ies in he pe sonnel o each school. Du ing he pe iod when pos - Bologne deg ees we e augh , some membe s o s a we e e-assigned. Howe e , he au ho s belie e ha his si ua ion was s ongly condi ioned by he di ision in o ce ain subjec s ha ook place. Table 1. Main measu es ha ha e a ec ed jobs in Public Adminis a ions (PA) since 1993 (Mon esinos e al. 2014) Yea Sou ce Desc ip ion No. o new pos s in Public Adminis a ion 1993-1994 GPE (Gene al Plan o Employmen ) Exclusi ely limi ed o hose conside ed essencial 1995-1996 GPE Below he s a membe s eplacemen a e 1997 GPE Below he 25% s a membe s eplacemen a e 1998-1999 GPE 2000-2001 GPE 2002 GPE 2003 GPE Below he s a membe s eplacemen a e 2004 GPE 2005-2006 GPE 2007 GPE 2008 GPE 2009 GPE Below he 30% s a membe s eplacemen a e 2010 GPE Below he 15% s a membe s eplacemen a e 2011 GPE Below he 10% s a membe s eplacemen a e 2012 “Real Dec e o Ley” 20/2011 and GPE No new s a membe s a e admi ed 2013 GPE 2014 GPE New pa - ime s a membe s and in e im ci il se an job pos s 1998-2002 GPE No pa - ime pe sonnel can be con ac ed, no can in e im ci il se an s be assigned, sa e in excep ional, u gen and necessa y cases 2003 GPE 2004 GPE 2005-2011 GPE 2012-2014 GPE Mul idisciplina y Jou nal o Educa ion, h p://dx.doi.o g/10.4995/muse.2016.4547 Social and Technological Sciences EISSN: 2341-2593 Miguel-Eguía e al. (2016) h p://polipape s.up .es/index.php/MUSE/ Mul . J. Edu. Soc & Tec. Sci. Vol. 3 Nº 2 (2016): 49-64 | 55 - In ou School, h ee p e-Bologne echnical indus ial enginee ing bachelo deg ees o h ee yea -du a ion we e augh , which we e ans o med in o hei espec i e pos -Bologne ou yea -deg ees. A e wa ds, he Mas e Deg ee o Uni e si y Indus ial Enginee ing came in o being. Bo h si ua ions implied g ow h, which was ini ially compensa ed o he bachelo deg ees, and also by e-adap ing eache s o co e he Mas e Deg ee. - Wi h his new s uc u e, and a e c ea ing oday’s Cen e, s udies conside ably inc eased as he numbe o s uden s wen om 680 o 1,050, mainly because he bache lo deg ees las ed longe . - The eache p o iles o ou School du ing he p e-Bologne p ocess esul ed om he de elopmen o bo h hese s udies and he Cen es whe e hey we e augh . The mos impo an miles ones we e no only he way he syllabi e ol ed, bu also he inco po a ion- elimina ion o new s udies om his b anch, o o he s, in he Cen e. The mos ou s anding consequence was ha ce ain knowledge a eas we e lacking: Manu ac u ing P ocesses Enginee ing, Fluids Mechanics and P ojec s Enginee ing. The usual eaching o hese a eas was augh om o he a eas. Some knowledge a eas we e poo ly jus i ied, such as Signal Theo y, and we e ma ginalised as a as numbe o s a membe s we e conce ned, o which he e was only one o he abo e a ea. Ano he poin we s ess was he inco po a ion o he Chemical Enginee ing a ea, which did no appea wi hin he p e-Bologne amewo k. Finally du ing he indica ed pe iod, nine ull- ime eache s e i ed. 3. P og ess o he eache s who augh deg ees o e he 4-yea pe iod co e ing 2010/2011-2013/2014 Table 2 p o ides he igu es which indica e he p og ess made by he eache s o each bachelo deg ee du ing he pe iod hese deg ees we e acc edi ed. As we can see, he numbe o eache s was cu by abou 12%. The g ea es loss a ec ed pa - ime lec u e s, which he UCLM igh ened by means o budge a y cu s due o he economic c isis. This loss has been pa ly compensa ed by eo ganising membe s o s a and by inc easing he eaching Mul idisciplina y Jou nal o Educa ion, h p://dx.doi.o g/10.4995/muse.2016.4547 Social and Technological Sciences EISSN: 2341-2593 Miguel-Eguía e al. (2016) h p://polipape s.up .es/index.php/MUSE/ Mul . J. Edu. Soc & Tec. Sci. Vol. 3 Nº 2 (2016): 49-64 | 56 wo kload o some pa - ime lec u e s who cu en ly emain. E en hough he analysis has been done by aking he academic yea when he w i en epo s we e o wa ded o ANECA and academic yea 2013/14 as e e ences, i we bea in mind he o ecas s made o academic yea 2015/16, he si ua ion will imp o e compa ed o ha indica ed. As we can see in Table 2, pe manen s a membe s exceed 80%, which is an adequa e pe cen age acco ding o an objec i e c i e ion, especially when we conside he numbe o e i emen s ha ha e aken du ing he s udy pe iod and he di icul y in eplacing hem. Table 2. P og ess made by he Cen e’s eache s pe ca ego y and deg ee Mechanical Enginee . Bachelo Elec ic Enginee ing. Bachelo Elec onic & Au oma . Enginee ing Bachelo Ca ego y Academ yea 2010/11 Academ. yea 2013/14 Academ. yea 2010/11 Academ . yea 2013/14 Academ. yea 2010/11 Academ. yea 2013/14 Full P o esso 1 5 1 4 2 5 Uni e si y Lec u e 13 15 12 13 11 13 Bachelo Lec u e 25 18 30 18 27 20 Con ac ed PhD Lec u e 4 4 3 4 4 5 Assis an PhD Lec u e 2 2 1 3 4 2 Assis an Lec u e 0 0 1 0 0 0 Pa ial- ime lec u e 17 11 15 14 15 9 To al 62 55 63 56 63 54 3.1 Teache s a us Du ing he yea s ha he e-acc edi a ion pe iod co e ed, he numbe o 6-yea pe iods inc eased conside ably in he Cen e compa ed wi h he numbe du ing he p e-Bologne pe iod; an inc ease o mo e han 10% has been eco ded. Ano he aspec ela ed wi h enu ed lec u e s is ha qui e a high pe cen age o eache s a e acc edi ed as Assis an PhD Lec u e s and Con ac ed PhD Lec u e s, which implies he Mul idisciplina y Jou nal o Educa ion, h p://dx.doi.o g/10.4995/muse.2016.4547 Social and Technological Sciences EISSN: 2341-2593 Miguel-Eguía e al. (2016) h p://polipape s.up .es/index.php/MUSE/ Mul . J. Edu. Soc & Tec. Sci. Vol. 3 Nº 2 (2016): 49-64 | 57 possibili y o eplacing pe manen s a membe s in he nea u u e, especially when he Spanish Minis y o Educa ion, Cul u e and Spo s has announced an inc ease o 50% in he eplacemen a e. 4. Economic igu es ela ed o managing eaching means The budge ha he a ious UCLM cen es (a ound 40 in all) ecei e come mainly om he wo di e en UCLM unds: - Funds ha co espond o he Cen e’s usual ope a ing cos s (Gene al Budge –GB–). These unds a e es ima ed basically acco ding o numbe o s uden s and o he ma k ela ed o he s udies expe imen alism. I is wo h indica ing ha o all he Cen es ha comp ise he UCLM, ou School al e na es be ween being in i s and second place as a as he amoun ecei ed is conce ned (i compe es wi h he F amewo k Cen e o he School o Law and Social Sciences in he ci y o Ciudad Real, wi h o e 2,000 s uden s). E iden ly we a e i s on he lis o Technical/Scien i ic Cen es. - Va iable unds, depending on he objec i es me , which o m pa o a P og amme Con- ac (PC) ag eed on wi h he Regional Go e nmen o Cas illa-La Mancha. In his case, he pa ame e s used o decide on hese unds ollow coe icien s, which a e conside ably mo e he e ogeneous, and e en he quan i ies alloca ed o each Cen e depend on o he quali a i e conside a ions (no quan i a i e ones as in he case o gene al unds). In any case, ou Cen e occupies he i s i e o eigh posi ions o he o al numbe . Since academic yea 2010-2011, in which pos -Bologne bachelo deg ees began ( his was done h ough imme sion in ou Cen e; ha is, all yea s a he same ime), he changes made o he unds ecei ed by he Indus ial Enginee s School o Albace e (EIIAB) a e illus a ed in Figu e 1 (quan i ies a e p o ided in calenda yea s, and no in academic yea s). Mul idisciplina y Jou nal o Educa ion, h p://dx.doi.o g/10.4995/muse.2016.4547 Social and Technological Sciences EISSN: 2341-2593 Miguel-Eguía e al. (2016) h p://polipape s.up .es/index.php/MUSE/ Mul . J. Edu. Soc & Tec. Sci. Vol. 3 Nº 2 (2016): 49-64 | 64 Ma cellán, F. C i e ios de ga an ía de calidad en educación supe io : p axis eu opea. Educa ió (2005) 23 pp. 15-32. Micha ila, F., Zamo ano, S. (2007). La ac edi ación en el Espacio Eu opeo de Educación Supe io . h ps://upcommons.upc.edu/ e is es/bi s eam/2099/7526/1/16_246-259.pd Mon esinos, A. Pé ez, J.J., Ramos, R. (2014). El empleo de las adminis aciones públicas en españa: ca ac e ización y e olución du an e la c isis, Documen os Ocasionales nº 1402, Mad id, Banco de España. Real Dec e o 1393/2007 de 29 de oc ub e. h p://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2007/10/30/pd s/A44037-44048.pd Teichle , U. El Espacio Eu opeo de Educación Supe io . Visiones y ealidades de un p oceso deseable de con e gencia. Re is a Española de Educación Compa ada, 12 (2006), pp. 37-79. Vidal, C. El espacio eu opeo de educación supe io y su implan ación en las uni e sidades españolas. Re is a ca alana de d e públic, núm. 44, 2012, p. 253-283.