Quality in management
In the area of management and services, the URV is committed to establishing quality assurance mechanisms that can be applied to the different services and administrative units, thus ensuring the desired quality standards. The approach to quality management is based on introducing a culture of quality to as many structures as possible with the aim of creating an effective and efficient organisation that is based on the common criteria and values that we want to have as a university.
Among the different mechanisms established in order to ensure quality, the URV is working on process documentation, the creation of Service Charters and the implementation of several quality management systems.
- Quality assessment
- Service Charters
- Process management
Process management is a methodology focused on improving and optimising an organisation's processes. It is a methodology used to align organisation processes with its strategic goals.
As stated in its Quality Policy, the Universitat Rovira i Virgili has a strong commitment to quality and continuous improvement. By using this methodology, in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the organisation, the URV promotes:
- comprehensive knowledge within the institution
- focus on different interest groups
- transparency
- lempathy within the institution itself
- working for a common benefit
The process maps of the faculties and the different units and services of the URV make it possible to visualise the processes and their relationships. Three types of processes can be distinguished:
- Strategic processes. These analyse the needs and conditions of all interest groups. They establish policies, norms, and guidelines for the functioning of the other processes.
- Key or fundamental processes. Operational processes that have a direct impact on the client. They are the key teaching processes and are linked to the flow of services and information.
- Support processes. They provide the organisation of all the material resources and/or materials needed to generate added value for clients.
Besides this classic classification of processes, the Internal Quality Assurance System of the URV is made up of a set of transversal processes, which have a global scope for the entire university. The faculties are users of these processes, and the owner is another service or administrative unit that is in charge of defining, reviewing, improving, and making them available to the faculties and other users.
The URV Quality Management System based on the Process management pursues the Deming Cycle, a logical sequence of four repetitive steps for continuous improvement and learning, PDCA: Plan, Do, Check, Act.
As a public university, it is our commitment to have a mechanism of accountability to the university community, which is why the URV incorporates Accountability as the fifth element in this cycle.
