ACCUA issues favourable reports for all degree proposals from the UMA for the 2026/27 academic year

The Málaga-based institution has presented 4 degrees — three master's degrees and one bachelor's degree — two of which are joint programmes and two will be taught solely on its campus

UTAMED has received unfavourable reports for two master's degrees and will be able to offer the bachelor's degree in Multimedia Graphic Design and Digital Creation

The Agency for Scientific and University Quality of Andalusia (ACCUA) has issued favourable final verification reports for the four degree programmes presented by the University of Málaga (UMA) for 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.

These four programmes consist of three master's degrees, two of which are joint programmes, meaning they will be taught together with other academic institutions, while two other degrees — one master's degree and one bachelor's degree — will be delivered solely on the UMA campus. Thus, the Málaga-based institution will coordinate the master's degree in Design, Art and New Technologies: Project Management and Cultural Strategies, which it will offer together with the University of Seville, and the master's degree in Biotechnology and Plant Biology, which it will teach in collaboration with the International University of Andalusia (UNIA). Additionally, it will launch a sole bachelor's degree in Market Intelligence and Analytics and a master's degree in Research and Innovation in Physical Education.

Apart from acting as coordinator, UMA participates in three other interuniversity master's degrees and one doctorate, specifically the latter in Marketing and Market Research together with the University of Cádiz. The other three degrees are a master's degree in Project Management, with the University of Cádiz and the University of Córdoba; another in Advanced Practice Nursing in Chronicity and Dependency Care, with the University of Huelva; and a third in Language Learning through Intelligent Technologies, with UNIA.

Regarding the programmes proposed by the Atlantic-Mediterranean Technological University (UTAMED), a private online higher education institution, it presented three degree programmes, two of which received unfavourable reports. Specifically, two master's degrees: one in Psychonutrition and Food Psychology and another in Business Administration (MBA). For its part, the bachelor's degree in Multimedia Graphic Design and Digital Creation obtained a favourable report.

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.