Last updated 5/12/24
The Balearic Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (AQUIB) is the official agency responsible for evaluating higher education in the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands. Its main goal is to assess, accredit, and certify the quality of the university system in the Balearic Islands in accordance with European and international academic and social quality standards.
AQUIB was established as a consortium through an Agreement of the Board of Directors, on December 13, 2002, complying with the legislative requirements of Law 2/2003, of March 20, 2003, establishing the Institutional Organization of the University System in the Balearic Islands.
The Agency's activities are based on the principles of transparency, autonomy, independence, and impartiality in procedures, evaluation criteria, and, notably, in decisions that impact evaluation processes. These decisions are made by a committee of experts external to the Balearic Islands' university system.
The Agency's services are governed by quality management, with a focus on the UNE ISO 9001:2015 standard. In this regard, the Agency successfully passed the certification audit of its system in early 2007 and has continued to pass subsequent follow-up and recertification audits. In February 2022, AQUIB successfully completed the latest external audit conducted by the Spanish Association for Standardization and Certification (AENOR).
AQUIB takes a proactive role in enhancing the quality of the Higher Education and Research Environment in the Balearic Islands. This is achieved through the Agency's evaluation, certification, and accreditation processes in the areas of teaching, research, management, and knowledge transfer. Our commitment is to align these processes with rigorous international quality standards, ensuring that our region's educational and research endeavours meet and exceed global benchmarks for excellence.
AQUIB's vision is to become a leading referent in quality assurance for Higher Education and Research, contributing to the ongoing enhancement of society. Our path to realising this vision includes obtaining full membership in the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and registration in the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR) to foster collaborations with national and international institutions. To achieve our vision, we are guided by the following core values, which are intrinsic to the actions of all those associated with the Agency:
Currently, the Agency is structured into governing, advisory, and technical bodies. While the governing bodies include the president, the Board of Directors, and the director; the advisory body comprehends the Advisory Commission. In the technical field, the Technical Directorate, the Guarantees Commission, the Criteria Commission, and various Evaluation bodies are included.
The highest governing body of the Agency is the Board of Directors, with equal representation from the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB), the Social Council of the UIB, and the Department responsible for university affairs of the Government of the Balearic Islands, known as the Ministry of European Funds, University, and Culture. The composition of the Board of Directors includes representatives from these key institutions:
President PhD Sebastià Massanet Massanet
Members appointed by the University of the Balearic Islands
PhD Maurici Mus Amézquita
Members appointed by the Social Council of the UIB
Members appointed by the Government of the Balearic Islands, Ministry of Education and University
PhD Sebastià Massanet Massanet
Secretariat Ms. Paula Ramis de Ayreflor García-Gutiérrez
Article 23 of Law 2/2003, of March 20, on institutional organization of the university system in the Balearic Islands, stipulates the creation of a technical commission tasked with advising and overseeing university quality. The commission, officially formed on December 19, 2022 (s. Commission's establishment), was formally constituted on March 6, 2023. Additional information on its functioning can be found in the Internal Operating Rules of the Advisory Commission and in its agreements.
Members
PhD Martí Casadesús Fa, Prof. of Business Organization (U. of Girona). President
PhD Antoni Buades Capó, Prof. of Applied Mathematics (U. of the Balearic Islands)
PhD Marta Fonolleda Riberaygua, director of the Quality Assurance Agency for HE of Andorra
Mrs. Mª Elena Montero Domínguez, student in Education (Complutense U. of Madrid)
Mrs. Vanessa Prados Carrión, external quality management professional
PhD Nestor Torres Darias, Prof. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (U. of La Laguna)
PhD Enrique Barón González, quality technician of AQUIB's Internationalization Area. Secretary
Agreements of the Advisory Commission
The Board of Directors of the Balearic Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, on May 26, 2023, creates the Agency’s Guarantee Commission. The Director, once the Advisory Committee has been heard, appoints the members of the Guarantee Commission (s. Guarantees Commission appointment). This Commission was formally constituted on October 4, 2023. More details about its functioning can be found in the Internal Operating Rules of the Guarantees Commission.
Patricia Valcárcel Fernández. Professor of Administrative Law (U. of Vigo). President.
María Luisa Blanco Sánchez. PhD student in Legal and Political Sciences (U. Pablo de Olavide)
Sergio Oreni Gordillo. Company Counsel en Elsevier Ltd. (Oxford, UK)
Concepción Serrano Alcaide. Head of Verification and Modification of Official Studies (Fundación para el Conocimiento madri+d)
Enrique Barón González, quality technician of AQUIB. Secretary
Agreements of the Guarantees Commission and Procedure for processing appeals.
On May 26, 2023, the Board of Directors of AQUIB established the Agency's Criteria Commission. Its primary function is to review and approve both the evaluation criteria and assessment guidelines for the various programs managed by the Agency. The members of the Commission were appointed by the technical director, following consultation with the Advisory Commission, on June 30, 2023. Further details about its operation can be found in the provisions outlined in the Internal Operating Rules of the Criteria Commission.
PhD Jordi Suriñach Caralt, professor of Applied Economics (U. of Barcelona). President
PhD Barbara Scandroglio, senior lecturer of Social Psychology (Autonomous U. of Madrid)
Mrs. Clara Isabel Urbán Martín, Bachelor's student in Sociology (UNED) and Primary Education (UCJC)
PhD Eva Fernández de Labastida Amurrio, responsible of internationalisation (UNIBASQ)
PhD Ester Alba Pagán, senior lecturer of Arte History (U. de València)
PhD Laureano González Vega, professor of Mathematics (U. of Cantabria)
PhD Rosa María Martínez Espinosa, professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (U. de Alicante)
Mrs. Lara García Gimeno, quality technician (AQUIB). Secretary
Agreements of the Criteria Commission
Appointments of members of the Criteria Commission
AQUIB has the following evaluation commissions:
Commission of Study Programmes Evaluation (CET)
Teaching Staff Evaluation Commission (CEP)
Complementary Payments Evaluation Commission (CECRA)
Note that this documentation is only available in Spanish and Catalan.
