ACCUA issues favourable reports for 21 proposals for new degrees to be implemented in Seville in the 2026/27 academic year

The universities of Seville, Pablo de Olavide, Loyola Andalusia and CEU Fernando III have submitted a total of 25 degree programmes for evaluation

The Agency for Scientific and University Quality of Andalusia (ACCUA) has issued favourable final verification reports for 21 degree programmes that may be implemented by public and private universities based in Seville in the upcoming 2026/27 academic year. Their implementation is only pending final approval by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, which must now issue its decision, now that these reports have been sent to it today. Overall, the universities of Seville, Pablo de Olavide, Loyola Andalusia and CEU Fernando III submitted a total of 25 degree programmes for evaluation, of which 21 (84%) obtained a favourable outcome and four (16%) an unfavourable outcome.

The University of Seville obtained favourable reports for the four programmes it proposed, specifically the new bachelor's degree in Speech Therapy, and three master's degrees in Advanced Statistics and Data Science; Contemporary Design of Interior, Ephemeral and Virtual Architecture; and Plasma Science and Fusion Technologies, which it proposes to teach jointly with the University of Granada. Additionally, the University of Seville participates in two other joint master's degrees coordinated by the University of Málaga in the case of the Master's Degree in Design, Art and New Technologies, and with the Pablo de Olavide University in the case of the Master's Degree in Sexual Diversity and LGBTIQ+ Studies.

For its part, the Pablo de Olavide University submitted seven degree programmes for evaluation, with a result of six favourable reports and one unfavourable report. Thus, it receives the experts' approval for the bachelor's degrees in Scientific Computing Tools, Data Analysis for Business and Robotic Engineering; as well as for the master's degrees in Computational Linguistics, Language Technology and Natural Language Processing, Computer Engineering and the aforementioned degree in Sexual Diversity and LGBTIQ+ Studies. In contrast, the Master's Degree in Research in Rare Diseases obtained an unfavourable report.

CEU Fernando III University requested verification reports for ten new degree programmes, of which eight received favourable reports and two unfavourable reports. The programmes with favourable reports are four bachelor's degrees in Dentistry, in Biomedical Engineering, in Mathematical Engineering and in Industrial Design Engineering and Product Development; and four master's degrees in Access to the Legal Profession and Court Representation; Sports Nutrition, Performance and Health; Emergency, Urgency and Critical Care Nursing; and Neuroeducation and Psychomotricity. The degree proposals that obtained unfavourable reports were the bachelor's degree in Social Education and Gerontology and the master's degree in Management and Direction of Educational Centres.

Lastly, Loyola Andalusia University proposed implementing four new master's degrees on its Seville campus, of which three obtained favourable reports and one an unfavourable report. The degrees with favourable reports were the master's degrees in Labour Advisory and Consultancy, in Auditing, and in Advertising Creativity; while the one that obtained an unfavourable report was the Master's Degree in Psychooncology and Palliative Care.

Evaluation procedure

The final evaluation reports issued by ACCUA culminate an evaluation process regulated by state legislation and in accordance with European standards for university quality assurance, in which a provisional report is first issued, detailing the strengths and weaknesses of each degree, with specific mention of those deficiencies that must be corrected in order to obtain a favourable report. Universities are then given a period of fifteen working days to correct the identified deficiencies and make any submissions they deem appropriate, after which the expert committees meet again to issue their final reports.

These final reports are sent to the requesting academic institution, the Regional Ministry of University and the Council of Universities, a body attached to the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. Ultimately, the Council of Universities is the body responsible for issuing the verification resolution for the degree, taking into account the evaluation report issued by the experts. Likewise, these final reports are published on the Agency's website, as required in compliance with European standards.

In the case of an unfavourable final report, universities may file an appeal with the Council of Universities, which has the authority to refer the file back to ACCUA for review based on the aspects identified that warrant a new assessment. In such cases, the files would be analysed by the ACCUA Appeals Committee, which would issue a new report to be sent again to the Council of Universities for consideration prior to the final verification resolution.

The evaluation system applied by ACCUA is endorsed by the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR), has a favourable report from the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and follows the guidelines agreed with the other Spanish agencies within the Spanish Network of University Quality Agencies (REACU), which guarantees that it is a process that ensures rights, is transparent, independent and based exclusively on evidence and technical criteria.