«Accreditation helps debunk myths about this type of teaching»

UNIR has become the first online university that has institutional accreditation from the Council of Universities for all its faculties. It has achieved this after the Social Sciences and Humanities received a favorable resolution from the Council of Universities in May, in recognition of the excellence of its educational offer. «The work has been enormous; It is a success not only for the quality department, but for all departments », he says.

– What does this recognition mean for UNIR?

– It is the culmination of an entire process that we have been trying since the birth of UNIR. We have partnered from the beginning with the quality certificates made available by the National Accreditation Agency in Spain (Aneca) and we are one of the few universities that believed from the beginning that it was something very positive for the training we provided.

– How was the process?

– We certified the design of the quality assurance system in 2016 and, from there, we began the certification of the implementation of these quality assurance systems in each of the centers. We started in 2019 with the first faculty and ended in 2021 with the certification of the quality assurance system in the Social Sciences and Humanities, which is precisely the last to achieve institutional accreditation, which is the maximum confidence that the system can provide you. academic.

– What is needed to achieve this accreditation?

– Certification of the quality assurance system and a minimum percentage of 50% must be achieved in the renewal of the accreditation of each of the titles held by that center – achieved in May 2024. The truth is that it has been a tremendous achievement.

– In what sense?

– It gives us a certain prestige and places us at the forefront. In addition to UNIR, only five of the 92 Spanish universities that appear in the RUCT (Registry of Universities, Centers and Degrees) have this institutional accreditation in all their centers. It gives us external recognition, which makes it easier for us to establish agreements and collaborations with the most prestigious universities; We go with the guarantee of quality ahead, being that we are a young and ‘online’ university. This accreditation guarantees that all our training programs comply with the requirements established, for example, by the European guidelines. In Latin America we are a reference and they see us as a lighthouse to project themselves into.

– How many people make up the UNIR quality department?

– We started three or four and now there are more than 50. We are the largest quality department that exists in Spain. In fact, we have a Master’s Degree in Quality Assessment and Certification Processes in Higher Education, where we teach how we do things. It has become a reference, where more than 1,000 people have passed through.

– What other recognitions does UNIR have?

– We are well placed in certain international rankings. Among others, we are the first Spanish university less than 15 years old in the Times Higher Education; also the first in line in this ranking in the international factor and we are within the Shanghai Ranking of Universities with the Faculty of Education.

– Why is quality so important for UNIR?

– It helps us break down those barriers or stereotypes that exist about online teaching. She is a great unknown. Traditionally in Spain there is UNED, which does commendable work. Nobody doubts its quality as a public university with long experience. However, we new online universities see that there is some misgiving about the quality of our teaching. These certifications ensure that we do what we do well and that we comply with those guidelines and standards set by Europe.