UNITA Quality Assurance

Task number	3
Name	UNITA Quality Assurance
Strategic Axes	Governance, Quality, Impact and Sustainability
Workpackage	Governance, management and quality

Objectives

Continuous increase of quality through the internal and external independent assessment of all Task activities, and at building the UNITA quality assurance strategy matching with the ambition of developing a model of European University.

• Introduce the new partners to the achievements and lessons learned from phase one and to Quality Assurance practices 
• Update the general synoptic assessment of partner Quality Assurance systems
• Implement and test the evaluation of progress, processes, cost-efficiency, and deliverables of the first year
• Co-develop together with TT1.1 and disseminate the UNITA Quality Assurance strategy

Inputs & Resources

Source documentation:

• UNITA Tasks_Team_List_20231120
• UNITA Budget documents

Resources

• Human Resources: List of staff on the task, roles and position: Co-leaders Cinzia Bertea UNITO e Vlad Chereches UVT + 24 TT members (Profiles: often from QA offices or QA teams/VR).
• Financial: Budget allocated to the task: 560.460€+260.000€ for “other costs” of the WP1 as a whole, but no specific distribution per task.
• Materials: Type of materials required (computers, software, scientific tools,…): Datacloud, Big Blue Button.
• Intangible: Type of intangible materials (communication tools, data bases,…): Datacloud applications; Quality Review Checklists.

Activities & Sub-Tasks

Source documentation: In each WP folder, document entitled “WPx_full_description)

• Task Description – T1.3 description
• GANTT – WP1 GANTT

Activities/Sub-Tasks

List of activities	Actions to implement	Deadline
A1.3.1 Introduce the new partners to the achievements and lessons learned from phase one and to Quality Assurance practices	The new partners have been associated with the projects activities since June 2021, resulting in an easier and shorter acquaintance process.	Dec 2023
A1.3.2 Update the general synoptic assessment of partner Quality Assurance systems	Building on phase one benchmarking by the QEB, by including the new partners’ QA systems frameworks. Update and adopt the UNITA QA policy to be implemented at partner and alliance level, with quantitative and qualitative indicators fitting the new WP and Tasks structure. Define opportunities of partner Quality Assurance synergies, further developing the common Quality Assurance policy respecting different institutional/ regional/national contexts. Together with TTs 1.2 and 5.4, agree on the methodology for the evaluation of progress, processes, cost-efficiency, and deliverables, including systematic feedback from students, staff and stakeholders. Update the Quality Assurance plan by drawing a map through a logical table relating Tasks and indicators, defining all the processes to reach the objectives, and building a management quality system with procedure and codification for each process or activity. Train all the Task teams to the quality assurance policy and plan.	Oct 2024
A1.3.3 Implement and test the evaluation of progress, processes, cost-efficiency, and deliverables of the first year	Producing a report for the QEB. Support the QEB in the production of the annual report with recommendations for the Governance Board (GB). Monitor the implementation of the corrective actions decided by the GB and evolve the quality assurance requirements and plan accordingly. Repeat evaluations emphasising identified areas of improvement. Evaluate and realize the independent assessment given by an external European Evaluation Agency, accommodating modifications in the interest of improvement. Draw lessons from the implementation of the quality assurance plan integrating best practices based on an inventory, mapping of the main QA processes on teaching, research, and public engagement.	Oct 2027
A1.3.4 Co-develop together with TT1.1 and disseminate the UNITA Quality Assurance strategy	Matching with the ambition of developing a model of European University. Internally disseminate the strategy to all actors and in particular to the Quality Assurance Boards of the partners. Benchmark Quality Assurance strategy and practices with other European Universities by organizing and participating to mutual learning workshops.	Oct 2027

Indicators

These indicators have been gathered from the different source (list below) and have been gathered from interviews driven by Task 5.4 UNITA impact observatory.

Outputs

Source documentation: In each WP folder, document entitled “WPx_full_description)

• Task Description – T1.3 description
• GANTT – WP1 GANTT
• List of Indicators – UNITA indicators

Primary indicators

Indicators gathered from the proposal

• IND 1.3.a – Percentage of quality assessed UNITA constellation projects.
  Target 100%
  
• IND 1.3.b – Overall assessment score of the Quality Review Checklist for UNITA
  Target 85%
  

Secondary indicators

To be defined by T5.4 members previously to interviews and to be proposed to task co leader

• See task outcomes.

Subtask Outputs

Sub Task Outputs Indicate concerned sub task	Outputs indicator Expected results at the sub-task level / To be verified in interview with task co-leaders	Source of data To be verified in interview with task co-leaders
Implementation of UNITA Quality Assurance Plan	D1.3 - UNITA Quality Assurance plan implemented	Milestone document MS14 - First annual monitoring of the QA Plan implementation
Update of the QA policy for UNITA	Updated QA policy document for UNITA	UNITA QA policy document + annual reports of QA Plan implementation
Quality assessment of UNITA constellation projects	IND 1.3.a Percentage of quality assessed UNITA Constellation projects (Level: Alliance) Baseline 2022: 40% (UNITA, Re-UNITA) Monitoring 2023: 100% (U, ReU, Connect, InnoU) Monitoring 5/2024: 100% (U2, ReU2, EGAI) Target 2027: 100% N.B: tricky to define the denominator
Score of the Quality Review Checklist for UNITA	IND 1.3.b Overall assessment score of the Quality Review Checklist for UNITA in the following domains: Scope, Schedule, Cost, Quality, Risk, Issues & Decisions, Communication, Project Organization, Beneficiary satisfaction (Level: Alliance) Baseline 2022: 79% (1st assessment) Monitoring 2023: 76% (2nd assess.) Target 2027: 85%

Outcomes

Source documentation:

• Task Description – T1.3 description
• GANTT – WP1 GANTT

Task Outcomes

Task Outcomes Identify the outcomes	Outcomes indicator Expected results at the task level / To be verified in interview with task co-leaders	Source of data To be verified in interview with task co-leaders
% of quality assessed UNITA constellation projects	Proposal: Evaluating and brief description on the percentage of quality assessed UNITA Constellation projects and the frequency of the Quality reviews	QR Reports approved by the QEB
Overall assessment score of the Quality Review Checklist for UNITA	Proposal: Brief presentation on the overall assessment score of the Quality Review Checklist for UNITA in each domain and followup improvements actions	Last UNITA QR Report approved by the QEB
MS14 - First annual monitoring of the QA Plan implementation	Proposal: Brief presentation of the QA Plan implementation Monitoring’s results	First annual monitoring document

Impacts

Source documentation:

• Task and WP long-term objectives Task Description - T1.3 description - WP1 Objectives
• UNITA Mission Statement (from Grant Agreement)

	Users / Beneficiaries Intern to UNITA	End-Users / Beneficiaries extern to UNITA
1) Who are the stakeholders benefiting of the task’s actions?	Partners of UNITA	- Other universities the UNITA partners collaborate with (exchange students; visiting professors) - National accreditation agencies - European Commission - Other EU alliances - Enterprises (participating to events and conferences)
2) To what extent has the local/international society changed as a result of outcomes compared to before UNITA? What are the long term results for them?	To be defined in interview	Possible impact measures: - Conference proceedings - Research outputs - Consultancy for external entities (C/terzi) on QA

Indicators' data sheet

Description	Unit of measurement	Source of data	Frequency	Baseline (2022)	Target 2027	Possible sub indicators
IND 1.3.a Percentage of quality assessed UNITA Constellation projects	% (list of projects reviewed / total of Constellation projects active at least 6 months)	QEB Office: Quality Review Reports approved by the QEB (manual collection; reports available on the Datacloud)	Semestral or annual	40% (UNITA, Re-UNITA)	100%	Monitoring 2023: 100% (U, ReU, Connect, InnoU) Monitoring 5/2024: (U2, ReU2, EGAI)
IND 1.3.b Overall assessment score of the Quality Review Checklist for UNITA	%	QEB Office: UNITA Quality Review Report last approved by the QEB (manual collection; reports available on the Datacloud)	Annual	79% (1st assessment)	85%	Monitoring 2023: 76% (2nd assessment)

Data collection

• Manual collection: -
• Automatic collection: -