Docentia

The objectives of programme are:

• Promote improvements in the quality of higher education

• To encourage pedagogical reflection among teachers in order to improve their teaching practices, using methodological innovation and research as guiding principles.

• Implement professional development and training programs that are tailored to the actual needs of faculty members.

• Encourage improvements in teaching by recognizing the quality of the work performed.

• Complete the Internal Quality Assurance System (SGIC) with regard to the quality of teaching, taking a comprehensive view of the professor’s work.

• Reaffirm UFV’s commitment to the development, implementation, and ongoing maintenance of a faculty evaluation system accredited by ANECA and the Madri+d Foundation, which guarantees to the public the quality of the degree programs offered.

• To build a university initiative focused on quality, excellence, and social responsibility.

The programme is not a test that teachers take on a regular basis, nor is it a competition, nor is it a tool designed to monitor teaching performance. It is an opportunity offered to teachers to reflect on their performance.

Faculty evaluation provides essential information for various university processes:

• Selection and promotion of faculty members. A favorable evaluation in the programme is considered an additional merit to be taken into account for the purposes of internal promotion to the ranks of Associate Professor and Full Professor.

• Recognition of teaching excellence: The evaluation process proposed by the programme serves to certify the teaching performance of UFV faculty members in accordance with national and international standards, thereby providing faculty with a certified system that allows them to demonstrate the quality of their teaching to the relevant agencies and institutions, such as ANECA and Madri+d.

• Promoting innovation in teaching. Public recognition of best practices in teaching innovation implemented by faculty members who have introduced new strategies in their courses and/or in their interactions with students.

• programme certification for guideline 3.2 of the degree program reaccreditation process (SGIC).

• Financial incentive: Employees who receive a rating of "VERY GOOD" or "EXCELLENT" will be eligible for an annual bonus.

The requirements for applying to programme are:

• Be a tenured faculty member with at least three years of teaching experience at UFV during the academic years covered by the current evaluation cycle.

• Have taught a course load equivalent to at least 6 ECTS credits in each of the courses evaluated.

• Not currently holding a valid programme certificate.

• Have teacher evaluations available for the three academic years to be evaluated.

The programme considers four core dimensions for evaluating teaching performance. The four core dimensions are:

Instructional Planning - Plan Instructional Development - Implement Instructional Outcomes - Evaluate Improvement and Innovation - Implement

The programme at Francisco de Vitoria University also includes a cross-cutting dimension, or “0.” The purpose of this dimension is to reflect that, if a professor fails to meet minimum requirements for their duties (de asistencia a clase, recuperación de clases, cumplimiento de tutorías asignadas, entrega de actas en tiempo y forma, puntualidad, etc.), it would not be appropriate to assess the quality of their teaching; therefore, they are assigned an unfavorable rating.

The dimensions and their corresponding subdimensions are listed below:

1. Cross-cutting Dimension

• Fulfillment of teaching obligations: punctuality, class attendance, signing attendance sheets…

1. Lesson planning:

• Programming

• Coordination

• Teaching assignment

1. Professional development for faculty:

• Organization of instruction

• Mastery of the subject matter. Clear presentation

• Motivation to learn

• Interaction with the class

• Individual attention for each student

• Evaluation

• Educational impact

The sources of information used are:

• Student satisfaction with teaching

• Teacher self-reflection

• Signature of the program director

• Academic information provided by the Office of the Vice President for Faculty and Academic Affairs.

• Peer reviewers.

Peer reviewers

These are faculty members who review the information provided by the instructor in the various sub-dimensions. They verify the merits cited by the instructor and cross-check them against the evidence (aula virtual de la asignatura fundamentalmente).

They accept or reject the instructor's explanations, suggesting, where appropriate, a change in the scores for the assessed sub-dimensions.

Subcommittees for the Evaluation of Teaching Performance:

There is a subcommittee for each college or school. Its functions are:

• They verify the final evaluation of the merits.

• They propose to the Evaluation Committee, where appropriate, any adjustments to the scores resulting from the above tasks.

• They make suggestions for improving the programme.

Teaching Evaluation Committee

Its functions are:

• Approves the final merit assessment proposed by the evaluation subcommittees.

• Receives and reviews proposals for score adjustments submitted by the evaluation subcommittees.

• Proceed with the final evaluation of the teacher's performance

• It provides the necessary information so that the schools or program administrators can propose the necessary strategies for the continuous improvement of the faculty.

If you have been selected for the Docentia program this year, you will receive an email from the Office of the Vice Rector for Faculty and Educational Programs containing a link to an online form. This form serves as a guide to help you reflect on and self-assess your teaching performance over the past three years.

You can also access the form through the Docentia virtual classroom.

By submitting this form, the professor formally requests an evaluation and confirms the accuracy of the information provided, accepting any liability that may arise should this information prove to be false.

The University must adhere to the principle of academic excellence; to this end, it has established a procedure that provides a comprehensive understanding of the impact of its activities. This evaluation process provides information on the relationship between the resources used and the results obtained, and serves as the basis for decisions aimed at improving identified critical areas while strengthening those that have received positive evaluations. The influence of this evaluation process is decisive and undoubtedly impacts both the expected and perceived quality of education.

The National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA) has designed the programme Support the Evaluation of Teaching Performance (Docentia) with the aim of meeting the needs of universities and the education system’s requirement for a model and procedures to ensure the quality of university faculty and promote their professional development and recognition.

The programme at Francisco de Vitoria University (UFV) follows the design recommended by ANECA and received a positive certification in 2013, having been validated by the evaluation agencies ANECA and ACAP (ahora Fundación para el Conocimiento MADRI+D). It renewed its model certification in 2018 (código DOC13UFV/05), which is valid for five years.

The certification process for the model, which began in 2007, culminated in its successful certification on December 2, 2013, following validation by the evaluation agencies ANECA and ACAP (ahora Fundación para el Conocimiento MADRI+D). The certification obtained from programme was renewed in January 2019 by the Madri+d Knowledge Foundation (código DOC13UFV/05) and is valid for 5 years.

See also the programme (ANECA).

• Final Certification Report 1

• Final Certification Report 2