In fulfilment of Royal Decree 1393/2007, dated 29 October, modified by Royal Decree 861/2010, dated 2 July, which establishes the organisation of official university teaching, the University of Seville, approved by Agreement 5.3/CG 30-09-2008, a Quality Assurance System common to all degree and Master’s qualifications, the documentary support of which has been reviewed and adapted, allowing the systematic monitoring of the results of all the qualifications with the object of guaranteeing the necessary accreditation within the foreseen periods.
With the coming into force of Royal Decree 99/2011, dated 28 January, which regulates official Doctorate teaching, once the Doctorate Programmes are verified according to the provisions of Royal Decree 1393/2007, dated 29 October, which establishes the organisation of official university teaching modified by Royal Decree 861/2010, dated 2 July, it is necessary for them to be accredited every six years. Thus, section 10.3 of the afore-mentioned regulation establishes that “the Doctorate Programmes must be subjected to an evaluation procedure every six years with the object of the renovation of the accreditation referred to in Article 24 of Royal Decree 1393/2007, dated 29 October.
In this regard, the Quality Technical Unit, which reports to the Vice-Rectorate for Academic Planning, has designed the Doctorate Programmes Quality Assurance System (SGCPD), as a subsystem of the present Degree Quality Assurance System (SGCT) at the University of Seville, adapted to the particular characteristics of the Doctorate studies. These take into account the regulations applicable to the Doctorate Programmes and the reference documentation provided by the evaluation agencies. The SGCPD was approved by the Governing Council of the University of Seville on 20 December 2012.
For the application of this system in the Doctorate Programmes (SGCPD), the responsible entities in the University of Seville are the following:
- Academic Committe: The Academic Committee of each programme is responsible for the accomplishment of the annual activities for the monitoring of the programme, corresponding with the Degrees Quality Assurance Committee of the SGCT. As covered in the Agreement 7.2 /CG 17-6-11, which approves the Doctoral Studies Regulations (Articles 7.3 and 7.4.), each Doctorate Programme has an Academic Committee that is responsible for its design, organisation and coordination. This Committee is composed of Doctors, and is designated by the Rector, with favourable report from the Doctorate Committee of the University of Seville. In those interuniversity programmes, or those which have the participation of other external organisations, the composition of the Academic Committee will be regulated by means of the corresponding agreement.
- Coordinator of the Doctorate Programme.
- Steering Committee of the International Doctoral School at the University of Seville (EIDUS): Responsible for the definition and development of the improvement plans that arise from the analysis of the development of the Doctorate Programme for the purposes of this SGCPD.
- Tutor and/or thesis supervisor.
- Doctorate Committee: After the annual report has been made by each Academic Committee of the Doctorate Programme, the Doctorate Committee will be able to issue a report that must be considered for the production of the programme improvement plan. Until the operational start of the EIDUS, the Doctorate Committee will assume the powers granted to it (Art. 8.7., Agreement 7.2/CG 17-6-11 which approved the Doctoral Studies Regulations).
- Degree Quality Assurance Committee of the University of Seville (CGCT-USE): Tasked with assuring that the SGC is developed according to the applicable regulations, as well as to the strategy of the University of Seville to ensure that the improvement plans adapt to the budgetary requirements, and the lines of action of the University itself, proposing general actions for all the Doctorate Programmes of the University of Seville.
For those joint programmes with other universities in which the University of Seville acts as coordinator of the programme, the SGCPD of the University of Seville will be applied. For this, the members of the participant universities in the Doctorate Programme that are integrated in the bodies responsible for the Doctorate Programme, and in its Academic Committee in particular, will be detailed. With respect to the improvement plan for each Doctorate Programme, participant universities must know and report it positively, prior to its approval.
For those joint programmes with other universities in which the University of Seville does not act as coordinator of the programme, that which is established in the corresponding agreement in relation to the quality assurance system will be applicable.
The documents established for SGCPD monitoring are described next:
- Annual report: This reflects the work undertaken by the Academic Committee of the Doctorate Programme. It contains the composition of the Academic Committee, an analysis of the results of the improvement plan of the previous course, an analysis of the work plan, an assessment of improvement recommendations from the competent agencies, a qualitative analysis of each of the procedures, inclusion of mentions and seals of the programme, and the analysis of the variations in research infrastructure and teams.
- Improvement Plan: This plan will state the proposed improvement objectives, the specific actions to be undertaken, their costs and those responsible for the same, as well as the indicators necessary to control the good development of the improvement plan.
- Annual statement: This is formed by the annual report and the improvement plan.
For the development of all this documentation, the SGCPD has the following tools:
- Procedures and indicators that comprise each of the 10 procedures.
- Material resources (survey sheets).
The detailed information of the SGCPD is available at the following Website: https://www.doctorado.us.es/sistema-de-garantia-de-calidad?highlight=YToxOntpOjA7czo5OiJnYXJhbnTDrWEiO30=