Are graduates well-equipped for the labour market?

Trabajo presentado a las XXIII Jornadas de la Asociación de Economía de la Educación (AEDE) que se celebraron en la sede de INGENIO (CSIC-UPV) en Valencia del 2 al 4 de julio del 2014.-- Área 4: Educación y mercado de trabajo. Track 4: Education and labour market.This paper attempts to develop insights into comparative evaluations of quality determinants for education services provided by higher education (HE) institutions as they are perceived by their graduates in some European countries. Quality in HE, as well as defining a way to measure it, is not a simple issue and there is no commonly accepted definition. Therefore, we based on student's opinions of their academic courses. Customer satisfaction generally is a function of the consumer's satisfaction with the different components comprising the service being provided. Understanding the complexity of the learning experience requires more than knowing the level of satisfaction of the students; it also demands an appreciation of the factors that contribute to student satisfaction. Measuring student satisfaction would help HE institutions to identify both their strengths and the areas that require improvement. For that purpose, we use the REFLEX (Flexible Professional in the Knowledge Society) data set, which allow the comparison among 14 European countries. We start with a brief description of some key characteristics of their study programme, modes of teaching and learning and the study behaviour and motivations reported by graduates. Our preliminary results suggest that demonstrating a relation between programme characteristics and modes of teaching on the one hand, and the level of competencies on the other hand does not necessarily mean that HE provides a sufficient basis to enter the labour market, nor does it necessarily indicate a sufficient basis for the later career.The research for this paper was conducted as part of the project EDU-2013-45177-R funded by the National R&D Program of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.Peer Reviewe

What is it that differentiates the universities in Spain? A quality perspective

Higher Education Institutions are undergoing important changes involving the development of new roles and missions, which is having implications for their structure and administration. These institutions have responded differently based on their particular regulations and social circumstances. However, this diversity is proving problematic for the use of strategic planning tools to systematize and organize the required tasks aimed at a 'desirable' university model and more homogeneous university performance evaluations, especially to determine funding levels. This paper investigates the use of strategic plans as a tool to promote high quality performance.Peer Reviewe

Are graduates well-equipped for the labour market?

Trabajo presentado al XXIII Meeting of the Economics of Education Association (AEDE) celebrado en Valencia (España) del 2 al 4 de julio de 2014.This paper attempts to develop insights into comparative evaluations of quality determinants for education services provided by higher education (HE) institutions as they are perceived by their graduates in some European countries. Quality in HE, as well as defining a way to measure it, is not a simple issue and there is no commonly accepted definition. Therefore, we based on student's opinions of their academic courses. Customer satisfaction generally is a function of the consumer's satisfaction with the different components comprising the service being provided. Understanding the complexity of the learning experience requires more than knowing the level of satisfaction of the students; it also demands an appreciation of the factors that contribute to student satisfaction. Measuring student satisfaction would help HE institutions to identify both their strengths and the areas that require improvement. For that purpose, we use the REFLEX (Flexible Professional in the Knowledge Society) data set, which allow the comparison among 14 European countries. We start with a brief description of some key characteristics of their study programme, modes of teaching and learning and the study behaviour and motivations reported by graduates. Our preliminary results suggest that demonstrating a relation between programme characteristics and modes of teaching on the one hand, and the level of competencies on the other hand does not necessarily mean that HE provides a sufficient basis to enter the labour market, nor does it necessarily indicate a sufficient basis for the later career.The author of this report wish to acknowledge the many contributions of the larger REFLEX project team for the access of data. The larger study was entitled the ‘Flexible Professional in the Knowledge Society’ (REFLEX) and co-ordinated by the Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA) at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands.Peer Reviewe

Satisfacción de los estudiantes con la Educación Superior

Trabajo presentado al IV Congreso Internacional de Dociencia Universitaria (CINDU) celebrado en Vigo (España) del 25 al 27 de junio de 2015.Peer Reviewe

Are graduates well-equipped for the labour market?

Trabajo presentado a las XXIII Jornadas de la Asociación de Economía de la Educación (AEDE) que se celebraron en la sede de INGENIO (CSIC-UPV) en Valencia del 2 al 4 de julio del 2014.-- Área 4: Educación y mercado de trabajo. Track 4: Education and labour market.This paper attempts to develop insights into comparative evaluations of quality determinants for education services provided by higher education (HE) institutions as they are perceived by their graduates in some European countries. Quality in HE, as well as defining a way to measure it, is not a simple issue and there is no commonly accepted definition. Therefore, we based on student's opinions of their academic courses. Customer satisfaction generally is a function of the consumer's satisfaction with the different components comprising the service being provided. Understanding the complexity of the learning experience requires more than knowing the level of satisfaction of the students; it also demands an appreciation of the factors that contribute to student satisfaction. Measuring student satisfaction would help HE institutions to identify both their strengths and the areas that require improvement. For that purpose, we use the REFLEX (Flexible Professional in the Knowledge Society) data set, which allow the comparison among 14 European countries. We start with a brief description of some key characteristics of their study programme, modes of teaching and learning and the study behaviour and motivations reported by graduates. Our preliminary results suggest that demonstrating a relation between programme characteristics and modes of teaching on the one hand, and the level of competencies on the other hand does not necessarily mean that HE provides a sufficient basis to enter the labour market, nor does it necessarily indicate a sufficient basis for the later career.The research for this paper was conducted as part of the project EDU-2013-45177-R funded by the National R&D Program of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.Peer Reviewe

La relación entre cultura e innovación: tres ámbitos de análisis

Este libro recoge muchas de las contribuciones que se presentaron el Seminario Internacional Culturas Científicas e innovadoras. Progreso social, organizado por la Fundación Ramón Areces y celebrado en Madrid (España), el 28 de octubre de 2013.La importancia de los procesos de innovación como fuente de crecimiento económico y de progreso social ha despertado el interés de los gobiernos y organizaciones internacionales, y también de los investigadores, sobre estos procesos y sobre las condiciones que los favorecen y dificultan en contextos sociales diversos. Entre los factores que pueden influir sobre la mayor o menor predisposición a innovar se encuentra la cultura de las personas involucradas en estos procesos, personas que pueden pertenecer simultáneamente a diversos grupos sociales. En este capítulo se revisa el estado actual de los estudios sobre la relación entre cultura e innovación, focalizando la atención en los tres ámbitos de influencia más directa: el nacional, el organizativo y el personal y se apuntan posibles oportunidades para conocer mejor la relación entre innovación y cultura.Peer Reviewe

Agrupación alternativa para la evaluación de las universidades públicas españolas

Las universidades están cambiando sus estrategias en función del cumplimiento de sus tres principales misiones: docencia, investigación y transferencia de conocimiento. Esta diferenciación ha propiciado un aumento de la heterogeneidad del sistema universitario español. Sin embargo, a pesar de dicha diferenciación, se continúa evaluando a las universidades en función de su posición jerárquica acorde a rankings definidos, usualmente, con indicadores simples, no respondiendo a la visión multidimensional que caracteriza a la universidad de hoy en día. En este contexto, resulta necesario indagar acerca de una agrupación alternativa para las universidades que responda a la diversidad del sistema. En este trabajo, aplicamos el análisis multidimensional fuzzy cluster para representar de forma más flexible la realidad compleja que caracteriza al sector universitario. El trabajo ha permitido identificar tres grupos de universidades dependiendo del grado de desarrollo de sus tres principales misiones, si bien se observa que algunas universidades están incluidas en dos grupos diferentes al mismo tiempo

Strategic Planning in Spanish public universities: an analysis of their objetives

Higher Education Institutions are undergoing important changes involving the development of new roles and missions, which is having implications for their structure and administration. These institutions have responded differently based on their particular regulations and social circumstances. The goal of the paper is to explore how Spanish public universities define their objectives and strategies to adapt or to respond to the changing demands of society adopting a similar («desirable») university model or differentiating themselves. The analysis of the universities strategic plans show that the diversity of Spanish public universities is proving problematic for the use of international rankings and more homogeneous university performance evaluations, especially to determine funding levels.Las instituciones de educación superior (IES) están tratando de responder a los nuevos retos que la sociedad y el contexto internacional les demandan asumiendo nuevos roles y misiones. Estos cambios repercuten en los sistemas de gobierno y planificación, de tal forma que se permite que las IES utilicen su autonomía para adaptarse y dar respuesta a dichos cambios y diferenciarse del resto. El objetivo de este estudio es explorar si las universidades públicas españolas definen sus objetivos y estrategias para adaptarse o dar respuesta a las demandas cambiantes de la sociedad adoptando un patrón de comportamiento homogéneo («deseable») o si lo hacen de forma diferenciada. Para ello se han analizado los planes estratégicos de las universidades públicas españolas. Los resultados muestran que los criterios de evaluación establecidos por los gobiernos para financiar a las universidades o el protagonismo mediático adquirido por los rankings universitarios internacionales favorecen la progresiva homogenización de objetivos y estrategias en detrimento de la diferenciación

Examining Benchmark Indicator Systems for the Evaluation of Higher Education Institutions

Higher Education Institutions are undergoing important changes involving the development of new roles and missions, with implications for their structure. Governments and institutions are implementing strategies to ensure the proper performance of universities and several studies have investigated evaluation of universities through the development and use of indicator systems. In this paper, we review some of the systems applied to the OECD countries, with special attention to Spain. We demonstrate the difficulty involved in establishing classification criteria for existing indicators, on which there is currently no consensus

Indicators for evaluating higher education institutions: validation through the Delphi method

Artículo distribuido bajo una licencia de uso y distribución “Creative Commons Reconocimiento-No Comercial 3.0 España”.[ES]: Evaluar el desempeño de las universidades es complicado ya que se trata de una institución multidimensional que desarrolla numerosas actividades en base a sus tres principales misiones: docencia, investigación y transferencia de conocimiento. En este contexto, diversas metodologías de evaluación de las universidades han sido propuestas en base al uso de indicadores, existiendo intensos debates acerca de qué indicadores son los más apropiados. Esta situación hace que resulte indispensable sistematizar la diversidad de indicadores para obtener una evaluación más rigurosa de las instituciones universitarias. El presente trabajo profundiza en esta cuestión, identificando un listado de indicadores relacionados con la evaluación de las universidades. El sistema de indicadores propuesto ha sido validado a través del método Delphi que ha permitido alcanzar cierto consenso entre los expertos participantes. La identificación realizada sirve de ayuda para tomar decisiones en torno a qué indicadores deben ser incluidos en los modelos de evaluación universitaria. Sin embargo, los resultados del estudio ponen de manifiesto que entre los gestores universitarios continúa habiendo discrepancias en cuanto a la identificación de los indicadores tanto a qué misión representan como en su tipología y grado de importancia.[EN]: The evaluation of higher education activities is complex given their multiple objectives, which focus activities on the three principal academic missions of teaching, research and knowledge transfer. Various methodologies using indicators for the evaluation of universities have been proposed in the professional literature and there is intense debate over which are the most appropriate. Therefore, it is necessary to establish criteria against which to judge the existing indicators. This paper contributes directly to both theory and practice by providing a list of prioritized critical indicators for the evaluation of higher education institutions. For that purpose, we use the Delphi technique to try to achieve some sort of consensus among a group of experts with in-depth knowledge of higher education evaluation. Our results show that among the panel of experts there is no consensus and no clear cut division on the identification of which indicators are the most effective for the evaluation of university missions, the type of indicator and their degree of importance in the evaluation process.Este trabajo ha recibido apoyo del proyecto ref. ECO2008-02553/ECON, titulado «Las misiones de la universidad y su complementariedad. Nuevos métodos de evaluación en términos de efi ciencia», fi nanciado por el Plan Nacional de I+D del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.Peer reviewe