1. Certification / accreditation decisions
a) The following certification / accreditation decisions are possible:
• A – fully satisfactory certification / accreditation;
• B – certification / accreditation more than satisfactory;
• C – satisfactory certification / accreditation;
• D – partially satisfactory certification / accreditation;
• E – certification / accreditation not granted.
b) Certification / accreditation decisions are taken consistently with the following criteria:
• the fully satisfactory certification / accreditation decision is taken if at least one Standard has been assigned a 4-fully satisfied rating and all the others have been given a 3-satisfied rating.
• The more than satisfactory certification / accreditation decision is made if all standards have been given a 3-satisfied rating.
• The satisfactory certification / accreditation decision is taken if no more than one Standard has been assigned a 2-partially satisfied rating and all the others have been given a 3-satisfied or 4-fully satisfied rating.
• The partially satisfactory certification / accreditation decision is taken if no more than two Standards have been awarded a 2-partially satisfied rating and all the others have been given a 3-satisfied or 4-fully satisfied rating.
• The certification / accreditation decision not granted / or is taken in all other cases.
2. Decision on certification / accreditation
The certification / accreditation decisions are the responsibility of the Board of Directors, which ratifies the proposals of the Steering Committee, and are normally taken within twelve weeks of the formulation of the relative proposals by the Steering Committee.
If the Board of Directors identifies elements that may lead to evaluations other than those of the Steering Committee, it can request a review of the proposals for certification / accreditation decisions.
The Steering Committee, within thirty days of the request for revision, formulates a definitive proposal, with specific reference to the elements highlighted in the request for revision.
These decisions of the Steering Committee are unquestionable.
3. Information and Appeals
a) The certification / accreditation decision is communicated by the Technical Secretariat to the applicant University within two weeks of its acceptance by the Board of Directors. At the same time, the Technical Secretariat also transmits the VR approved by theSteering Committee to the requesting University.
In the case of certification / accreditation that is more than satisfactory, satisfactory, partially satisfactory or not granted, the University to which the Degree Program belongs can appeal against the decision of the Board of Directors within two weeks of receiving the communication, justifying the appeal and providing adequate information about the complaints made.
b) In the event of an appeal by the University to which the CdS belongs against the certification / accreditation decision, the Technical Secretariat sends it to the Appeals Commission, which, having examined the reasons for the same, having consulted the Steering Committee and having carried out any in-depth analysis deemed necessary, he can propose confirmation of the certification / accreditation decision or a different decision among those envisaged, usually within six weeks of receipt of the appeal by the Technical Secretariat.
The Board of Directors ratifies what is proposed by the Commission for appeals normally within twelve weeks of formulating the proposal. These decisions of the Board of Directors are unquestionable.
4. Certificate of certification / accreditation and Publication of the certification / accreditation decision
After the deadline for the submission of any appeal by the University concerned, the Technical Secretariat issues the Certificate / Accreditation Certificate, signed by the President of the Agency and the Director, and publishes the certification / accreditation decision. , indicating the duration of the validity of the certification / accreditation (see IV.6.5), on the Agency’s website. In the case of accreditation, the relevant decision is also published on the ENAEE database, indicating the duration of the validity of the accreditation.
The validity of the certification / accreditation certificates is subject to the presence of the CdS in the list of certified / accredited CdS on the Agency website and, in case of accreditation, the presence of the CdS in the list of EUR-ACE accredited CdS on the database ENAEE.
5. Validity of the certification / accreditation and surveillance visit
a) Fully satisfactory, more than satisfactory, certifications / accreditations e satisfactory are issued for six years from the date of the on-site visit, but subject to verification, through a surveillance visit. Partially satisfactory certifications / accreditations are issued for three years from the date of the site visit.
b) The CdS to which certification / accreditation has been granted fully satisfactory or more than satisfactory or satisfactory are subjected to a surveillance visit after three years (as a rule, not earlier than 30 months and not after 40 months from the effective date of the certification / accreditation). The surveillance visit has the purpose of verifying the satisfaction by the assessed CdS of the quality requirements defined in the LG QUACING / EUR-ACE document, with particular attention to the resolution of the reports and, above all, the recommendations formulated following the visit of evaluation, as well as to promote the improvement of the quality of the CdS. As regards the documentation that the CdS must present for the purpose of the surveillance visit, what is stated in § IV.3 applies. For the external evaluation as part of the surveillance visit, what is stated in § IV.4 applies, with the following exceptions:
• the external evaluation as part of the surveillance visit of the certified / accredited degree programs who had already issued qualifications for at least one year at the time of the evaluation visit is carried out by only one evaluator – a university professor inserted in the Register of evaluators of the Agency -, normally lasts only one day and must be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the LG QUACING / ValEstVisSorv.
• The external evaluation as part of the surveillance visit of the certified degree programs who, at the time of the evaluation visit, had completed the first year of the course (the third year of course for CLM_CU) for at least one year but not yet completed the first cycle for at least one year it has been carried out by an Evaluation Group composed of two evaluators – a university professor and an expert from the world outside the University, included in the Register of Evaluators of the Agency -, usually lasts only one day and must be conducted in compliance with what is reported in the LG QUACING / ValEst. As regards the approval of the assessment report of the surveillance visits and the formulation of the proposal for a certification / accreditation decision, what is stated in § IV.5 applies. Based on the outcome of the surveillance visit, the Steering Committee can propose confirmation of the certification / accreditation decision taken following the assessment visit or propose a different certification / accreditation decision among those provided for in these Regulations, including that of certification / accreditation not granted or revoked. In particular, in case of persistence of any recommendations formulated following the evaluation visit, the certification / accreditation proposals may, as a rule, be only those of partially satisfactory certification / accreditation, regardless of the criteria for taking the certification decision. / accreditation referred to in § IV.6.1, or certification / accreditation not granted / or, consistently with the criteria for taking the certification / accreditation decision referred to in § IV.6.1. The Steering Committee can also propose the accreditation of certified but not accredited Degrees following the assessment visit, if the surveillance visit verifies the correspondence of the learning outcomes of the Course with those for EUR-ACE accreditation. Regarding Making Certification / Accreditation Decisions and Information e Appeals following the surveillance visit, what is stated in § IV.6.2 and IV.6.3 applies. c) The certified / accredited CdS must promptly notify the Technical Secretariat of any significant changes in the management system or in the outcomes of the processes that may affect the satisfaction of the Quality Requirements. In the face of this communication, or in any case in the event that the Technical Secretariat becomes aware of serious deficiencies in one or more of the Sections of the evaluation which occurred after the certification / accreditation decision, the Steering Committee can arrange for a visit to be carried out. surveillance before the expiry of the validity period of the certification / accreditation. This surveillance visit is conducted by a single assessor and usually lasts only one day.
6. Use of the EUR-ACE label
The EUR-ACE label and the words ‘EUR-ACE accredited study program’ or equivalent can only be used by the CdS or in association with the accredited CdS with valid accreditation, present in the list of accredited courses on the Agency website. and in the ENAEE database.
7. Renewals
a) The Technical Secretariat informs the CdS of the approaching deadline for the validity of the certification / accreditation at least nine months before the deadline.
b) Certified / accredited CdS who, in view of the expiry of the validity terms of the certification / accreditation, intend to request its renewal, must submit a request to this effect to the Technical Secretariat at least six months before the expiry date, with the same methods indicated in § IV.2. Upon receipt of the request, the Technical Secretariat starts the procedure for renewal of the certification / accreditation, which follows the same rules provided for the first certification / accreditation.
c) For the CdS that had received a ‘partially satisfactory’ evaluation downstream of the previous visit, the certification / accreditation decisions that can be taken are only those of certification / accreditation can only be those of fully satisfactory certification / accreditation, more than satisfactory, satisfactory or not granted. The partially satisfactory certification / accreditation decision cannot be renewed.
d) The CdS to which / or certification / accreditation has not been granted following the assessment visit and the CdS to which certification / accreditation has been revoked following the surveillance visit can submit a new application for certification / accreditation not earlier than one year from the date of taking the certification / accreditation decision not granted / or or revoked / or by the Board of Directors.