Final International Conference Irkutsk, October 15-19, 2012 Prof. Stefano Elia, Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, Rome Tor Vergata University, Italy Tempus Coordinator Project TEMPUS IV – 1 – 2009 – FR – TEMPUS - SMHES Life Long Learning Framework for Medical Teaching Staff Self-assessment, evaluation and accreditation of the Italian University System. The new recruitment system for Italian University Medical Teaching Staff…is it worth?

Italian System of Education High School Bachelor Degree 3 years Master of Science 2 years PhD programs One-cycle courses (5 or 6 years) Architecture/Law/Medicine

Italian University System First Reform: 1999 Law n.509 AUTONOMY Teaching By-laws and rules Financial Organizational

From 2006 (law no.262) Agenzia Nazionale di Valutazione del Sistema Universitario e della Ricerca (ANVUR) National Agency for Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes

Law n.240/December 30, 2010 Rules in the organization of universities, academic personnel and recruitment, and committment to the Government to enhance the quality and efficacy of the university system.

ANVUR provides: To universities: a pattern for Quality Assurance (QA) and pathways to teaching and administrative staff for adequate development. Useful information finalized to better education and research To study courses and research units: comparison keys to improve the quality of their activity. To the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR): useful information for the National Planning. To the students: useful information for their choices. To the working world: info on the quality of programmes and graduates To the society: information on the activity of national universities

Definition of terms Quality is the ability to “change” and improve the value of a good or a service (added value) or reach excellent results compared to a baseline standard. Namely the distance between pre-established goals and achieved reults. Quality Assurance (QA) all activities aiming at producing an adequate belief that all goals in education and research will be achieved and effective. Audit of QA is the verification process for the QA procedures, it may be internal (within the university) or external and is never performed by experts who are involved in the QA process.

Definition of terms Accreditation is the formal recognition by a “third party” that a single institution has the competence and media to fulfill its tasks. The accreditation of university education has 3 main goals: To ensure that upper education institutions comply with the minimum quality standards The autonomous, responsible and reliable action by universities in the use of public funds allocated for education and research purposes. The continuous improvement in the quality of education and researchaction

Initial Accreditation authorizes a single university or a study course to start their activity : The institution prepares self-assessment document based on its QA with the competence of parithetic teachers’-students’ committeeand evaluation committee. An external evaluation of self-assessment documents is performed even by a visit to the institution and a report is prepared. Such report is analyzed by the accreditation authority and decision is finally taken. Periodical Accreditation Re-assessment

International context and Italian pattern of rules Standards and guidelines for QA in the European upper level educational area (ESG-ENQA 2005) and recommendation by European Parliament and Council have been taken into account as follows: Encouraging all institutions to introduce a rigorous quality certification system Encouraging all certficating and accreditating agencies to fulfill the criteria defined by recommendation 98/561/CE

Law n.240/December 30, 2010 A system of accreditation of universities and study courses is introduced based on the use of specific indicators defined by ANVUR to verify if universities fulfill didactic, structural, organizational, teachers’ qualification and qualification of research activity, and finally economic-financial sustainability requirements.

QA of study course is performed by the compilation of the annual report of the study course form which contains information concerning: Educational goals Educational request Expected results Student’s experience Educational environment Erification procedures Educational results Organization of the study course and QA

External evaluation of universities: procedures, criteria,indicators and parameters for accreditation and periodical assessment. Teaching requirements and teaching qualification: 4 teachers per annum Referee teachers

Law n.240/December 30, 2010 Art.16, comma 1. The national scientific qualification is instituted. It is valid for a 4-year term and asks for specific and distinct rerquirements to achieve the functions of associate or full professor.

This recent legislation has substantially modified the recruitment system for academic staff in Italy. The new procedure is based on a national competition for the National Scientific Qualification (abilitazione), which from now on is required to enter Italian universities as associate or full professor. The qualification, comparable to the French "qualification", is granted by National Committees, one for each group of disciplines (a total of around 200 distinct groups). All committees shall be made up of five members, four affiliated to Italian universities and one affiliated to a foreign university in an OECD country.

ANVUR is in charge to produce a list of at least four eligible foreign members for each academic discipline. For each field of research, the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research will randomly extract among them the member that will actually participate to the Committee.

Candidates shall be Full Professors complying with criteria of scientific excellence. They need to be positioned in the best 50% of the distribution of scientific production indicators, as defined by ANVUR. The committees will serve for two years, during which two rounds of evaluations will occur.

Scientific production indicators 1.Number of scientific articles published on indexed reviews 2.Number of citations in the overall scientific production 3.Contemporary h index

Table 1 – Median values for candidates to be members of national committees for national scientific qualification Scientific area Subgroup of Scientific disciplines Median value of Articles published in indexed periodicals Median value of citations in the overall scentific production Median value of Hirrsch index 06/E1 Cardiac Thoracic Vascular 36,561313

Table 2 – Median values for candidates to national scientific qualification for full professorship Scientific area Subgroup of Scientific disciplines Median value of Articles published in indexed periodicals Median value of citations in the overall scentific production Median value of Hirrsch index 06/E1 Cardiac Thoracic Vascular 36,521,519

Table 3 – Median values for candidates to national scientific qualification for associate professorship Scientific area Subgroup of Scientific disciplines Median value of Articles published in indexed periodicals Median value of citations in the overall scentific production Median value of Hirrsch index 06/E1 Cardiac Thoracic Vascular 2210,887

The MIUR invites the national committees to follow the established criteria in the selection of candidates to professorship.

In the new recruitment system no mention is made concerning the evaluation of teaching and, for university medical teaching staff, oftheir professional skills. Critical issues

In the very next future we might have excellent writers, peer reviewers but very bad teachers and physicians………might we? Critical issues