ACCUA reports favourably on the verification of 49 new university degrees for the 2026/27 academic year

The Agency has evaluated a total of 56 degree verification proposals, of which 87.5% received a favourable report (49) and 12.5% an unfavourable report (7).

A total of 49 curriculum proposals for new degree programmes to be implemented in the upcoming 2026/27 academic year have received a favourable verification report from the Agency for Scientific and University Quality of Andalusia (ACCUA), representing 87.5% of all reports issued. Likewise, the corresponding evaluation committees issued a total of 7 unfavourable reports, accounting for 12.5% of the total. All proposals were evaluated by the corresponding committees of independent experts, comprising academic, professional and student profiles, whose composition is public and can be consulted on the ACCUA website. All reports are also public, and those with unfavourable outcomes may be appealed to the Council of Universities.

Of the total number of new degrees proposed by 12 Andalusian universities, ACCUA evaluated 38 degree programmes from public universities (73%) and 18 from private universities (27%). The programmes proposed by public universities received 36 favourable reports (95%) and 2 unfavourable reports (5%), while private universities received 13 favourable reports (72%) and 5 unfavourable reports (28%).

Regarding the type of degree, the 56 proposals evaluated consisted of 20 bachelor's degrees, 35 master's degrees and 1 doctoral degree. By field of knowledge, there were 12 degrees in Health Sciences and the same number in Engineering and Architecture, 11 in Social Sciences and Education, 8 in Economics and Business, 5 in Sciences, 4 in Law and another 4 in Humanities.

European quality assurance guidelines

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.

Thirteen Andalusian universities will offer new degrees

Thirteen Andalusian universities submitted degrees for evaluation in this exercise. The universities of Cádiz (3), Córdoba (5), Huelva (3), Jaén (2), Málaga (4), Seville (4), and the International University of Andalusia (4) obtained a full set of favourable reports for all the programmes they proposed. For their part, the University of Granada and Pablo de Olavide University each obtained six favourable reports and one unfavourable report from the seven programmes they each submitted for verification. In addition to the degrees that each university coordinates and proposes, it should be noted that nine public Andalusian universities participate in 12 joint degrees, comprising 11 master's degrees and 1 doctorate, with the following breakdown: Almería 1, Cádiz 2, Córdoba 3, Granada 2, Huelva 1, Málaga 6, Pablo de Olavide 2, Seville 3 and International University of Andalusia 4.

Regarding the programmes proposed by private universities, CEU Fernando III University obtained eight favourable reports and two unfavourable ones, Loyola Andalusia University obtained four favourable and one unfavourable, and UTAMED obtained one favourable report and two unfavourable ones.

ACCUA wishes to highlight that its mission is to guarantee that university degrees in Andalusia meet the quality standards required for student training, so that they can access the labour market with the necessary guarantees, can develop fruitful scientific careers, and can ultimately reach their full potential and thereby contribute to development and well-being in Andalusia.