"Form together to evangelize. Report of Roman Pontifical Universities and InstitutionsJosé M. BarrioOpening spaces for dialogue, a university urgency".Armand Puig i Tàrrech, rector of the Ateneu Universitari Sant Pacià in Barcelona, as President of the Holy See's Agency for the Evaluation and Promotion of the Quality of Universities and Ecclesiastical Faculties (AVEPRO), sheds light on the profile and mission of this Agency erected by Benedict XVI with a chirograph of September 19, 2007.
AVEPRO
It is an Institution linked to the Holy See, in accordance with articles 186 and 190-191 of the Apostolic Constitution. Pastor Bonuswhose mission is to promote and develop a culture of quality in the academic institutions directly under the Holy See and to ensure that they meet internationally valid quality criteria.
According to vatican.vaThe accession of the Holy See to the Bologna Process (which took place on September 19, 2003 during the meeting of the Ministers of Education of the European Union in Berlin) was also determined by the intention to pursue and realize some of the objectives envisaged in the Bologna Process, among which are included:
- Respect for the specificities and diversity of the different university systems;
- Creation of a Common Area of Higher Education that favors the involvement of university institutions in an international dimension;
- Attention to quality as an intrinsic and necessary value for university research and innovation.
Quality of higher education
AVEPRO's activities are regulated by the apostolic constitution. Sapientia christiana (April 15, 1979) and are in line with the European Standards and Guidelines, as well as other international agreements concerning standards and procedures for quality assessment in higher education.
The Agency collaborates with academic institutions in defining procedures for the internal evaluation of quality in teaching, research and services, through the development and use of appropriate operational tools (guidelines, questionnaires, databases, information networks, etc.). It also plans the external evaluation procedures of the various academic institutions by organizing on-site expert visits.
While respecting the autonomy in which it carries out its activities, the Agency works in partnership with all the actors involved in the life and progress of the communities in which it operates. universities and ecclesiastical faculties: the institutions themselves, the Congregation for Catholic Education, the Bishops' Conferences, all international, national and regional authorities, and all those who work in the various dioceses of the countries where the ecclesiastical academic institutions are located.
Armand Puig i Tàrrech
Armand Puig i Tàrrech was born in La Selva del Camp (Spain) on March 9, 1953 and was ordained priest on April 25, 1981 for the Archdiocese of Tarragona.
He holds a degree in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and a Doctorate in the same discipline from the Pontifical Biblical Commission.
He has been a professor in several Faculties and Institutes of Theology. He was Dean of the Faculty of Theology of Catalonia and is currently Rector of the Ateneu Universitari Sant Pacià in Barcelona.
