Improvement in Teaching Standards

One of the most salient strategies in the improvement of teaching standards is attracting the most outstanding students, making Campus Carlos III a center of reference for both undergraduate and postgraduate studies. To measure the result of this strategy, it is necessary to examine the evaluation of the general admission indicators over the last five years:

As can be seen in this table, first option demand has remained very high during this period and, furthermore, the attractiveness of UCM3 to potential students is clearly demonstrated by the number of applications for undergraduate places from outside the Madrid region: 33.1% of the total in 2014, having reached a high point of 34.2% in 2013. This represents an increase of 18% since 2010. However, perhaps the most significant data is the University’s continued success in attracting outstanding students, demonstrated by the average admission grade over the last five years. In the current academic year, 2014/15, the admission grade has shown an increase in 64% for the degree programs offered.

With regard to the position of UC3M in relation to other public universities in the Autonomous Region of Madrid, the evolution of first option demand can be seen in the graph below:

First Option Demand at State Universities in The Autonomous Region of Madrid, 2004-2013.

Analysis of the distribution of admission grades for the academic year 2014/2015 shows 67% of students’ grades between 8.6 and 12.199 and more than 17% above 12.2.

The new degree curriculums introduced in the 2010/11 academic year continue to be sound indicators:

• Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering: In the 2011/12 academic year, the number of places offered was increased to 60 and then to 70 in the 2012/13 academic year. In 2014/2015, there was a 202.9% increase in the number of first option applications. However, even more significant is the increase in the average admission grade which rose to 12.031 in the first year and then to 12.646 in 2014, becoming the second highest grade for all the Universities degree programs.
• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering: In the 2012/2013 academic year, the number of places offered was increased to 70 and then to 80 in the 2013/14 academic year. In 2014/2015, there was a 217.5% increase in the number of first option applications. The average admission grade increased to 11.874 in the first year and then to 12.585 in 2014, the third highest grade, just behind Biomedical Engineering.

In addition, in the 2011/12 academic year, a new Bachelor's degree in Safety Engineering was introduced at the University and in the 2013/14 academic year, a Bachelor's degree in Energy Engineering and a Double degree in Journalism and Humanities were both introduced. Furthermore, the first year of a new degree program in Philosophy, Politics and Economics was inaugurated as part of the 4U Alliance. This degree program has been well received by the students and in the 2014/15 the second academic year will be offered in other Madrid universities. In the first 2013/14 academic year, UC3M offered ten places for which first option demand reached 370.0 % and 50% of those admitted were from outside the Autonomous Region of Madrid; the cut-off grade was 12.018 and the average admission grade was 12.738 . In the 2014/15 academic year, according to the admission statistics from June 2014, again, ten places were offered; first option demand rose to 390.0 %, and 30.8 % of those admitted were from outside the Autonomous Region of Madrid; the cut-off grade was 12.300 and the average admission grade went up to 12.980. One of the strategic objectives forming part of the process of improving the quality of teaching has been to aim for an annual increase in the level of satisfaction of undergraduate students in teaching surveys. An overall grade of 3.73 was achieved in 2011/12, up from 3.70 in 2009. For the academic year 2012/13 the level of satisfaction reached 3.74 and for the 2013/14, 3.75. In order to reinforce this objective, evaluations will be carried out across the different degree programs.

With reference to the action taken in order to improve teaching standards on the UC3M undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs, and as a result of the SGIC (Internal Quality Guarantee System), UC3M annually presents the improvements which have come about. The processes of teaching quality of programs on the SGIC-UC3M Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs, certified by the ANECA AUDIT program, have already been introduced. The DOCENTIA-UC3M program is in its third year of monitoring by ANECA. During 2013, a pilot version of DOCENTIA-UC3M was developed with the objective of recognizing the requirements indicated by ANECA.

With regard to the joint study programs with other prestigious universities, the School of Law and Social Science has introduced a double degree program, Spanish-French Law, with University Paris Nanterre in France; there were two joint courses in the 2011/12 and 2012/13 academic years. In addition, Business Administration, with the European Business School (EBS) in Wiesbaden, Germany was introduced in the academic year 2012/13. Double programs are offered by Escuela Politécnica in conjunction with Telecom Bretagne in France for degrees in Telecommunication Engineering. Arts et Métiers in France offers Engineering degrees; SUPMECA in France also offers joint degrees in Engineering and Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland, has a joint degree program in Computer Engineering.

In addition, during the academic year 2011/12 negotiations to increase mobility in Master’s Programs was initiated, culminating in the signing of four agreements with the following universities: Tilburg and Maastricht in the Netherlands, Audiance Nantes in France, Copenhagen Business School in Denmark, Humboldt in Germany and Porto in Portugal. This agreement is scheduled to begin in the current academic year, 2014/15.

In order to meet the criteria of the ABET accreditation agency, since 2013, the EPS has carried out the necessary quality control procedures necessary for accreditation by this agency. In addition, five EPS Engineering degrees achieved the EUR-ACE® seal in July 2014. This is an international accreditation granted by the European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education (ENAEE), the main European agency of engineering quality which is involved in the ANECA CREDITED PLUS program. The degree programs which have achieved this accreditation are: Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electronic Engineering and Industrial Control, Systems Engineering and Telematics Engineering Communication. Accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has been proposed for degrees in the following table:

The necessary steps to achieve this objective are being followed. In September, 2013 the University obtained a positive report from the Standard Alignment Plan (SAP), which has allowed progression to the next stage of the accreditation process.

The number of postgraduate students , those with accredited Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and doctorates increased by 60 % between the 2009/10 and the 2013/14 academic years. By type of course, the number of University Master’s students grew by 79% and the number of university accredited students rose by 9%. In the 2013/14 academic year, of 3,718 postgraduate students, 1,401 were from other countries, representing 38% of the total. On University Master’s programs the number of ECTS courses taught in English rose from 19% in the 2010/11 academic year to 30% in the 2013/14 academic year, an increase of more than 50%

With respect to Doctorate programs, 61%, that is, eleven out of eighteen of the programs have received an award of excellence, formerly known as an award of quality; UC3M being the university in the Autonomous Region of Madrid with the highest percentage of its programs receiving this distinction. The Doctorate School was established in 2013.

Three inter-university doctoral programs have been set up, one of which is an international program that has received the Erasmus Mundus seal of approval.

In the period from 2006-2009, 80 theses were read each year with the average number of these read per year rising to an average 111 during the period 2010-2013, an average increase of 39%. Of the 107 theses read in 2013, 49, that is, 45% received the “International Distinction”.

The XVIII Estudio de Inserción Profesional de los Titulados de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, (XVII Study of Job Placement of UC3M Graduates) in 2011carried out by the University Foundation, in collaboration with Accenture, indicated that despite the economic crisis and the rise in youth unemployment, 84% of the 2012 graduating class found work in the year following their graduation. The results XVIII EIP can be found.