Internal Quality Assurance System (IQAS)
The Internal Quality Assurance System (IQAS) aims to achieve high quality in the operation of the Agricultural University of Athens and the continuous improvement of its educational and research work, as well as the effective operation and performance of its services, in accordance with international practices, especially those of the European Higher Education Area and the principles and guidelines of the HAHE.
The scope of IQAS is the implementation of quality assurance in the academic units, administrative services, and human resources of the Agricultural University of Athens. It includes the academic accreditation of the University's Programmes of Studies and the accreditation of the Internal Quality Assurance System (IQAS).
The structure, operation, and purpose of AUA’s IQAS is described in Government Gazette 1321/18.04.2018.
IQAS Manual
The structure of the EMS is detailed in the Quality Manual, which is an official document and is used as a guide for its implementation. It includes processes, procedures, and work instructions, which describe the actions to be taken and through which the IQAS takes shape.
A procedure is a set of tasks designed to fulfil a specific requirement of the relevant IQAS standard. It considers specific qualitative and quantitative data required (input data) and produces the corresponding results (output data).
A process is the way in which the procedure is implemented. The process has a start, an end and stages or steps. Procedures include steps followed to achieve the expected outcome of the process.
A work instruction describes a stage of a process in the form of detailed steps for its implementation.
Each process is internally evaluated both in terms of its own functionality and its effectiveness (i.e., whether it produces sufficient results to justify its existence).
The procedures of the Internal Quality Assurance System of the Agricultural University of Athens are as follows:
- Quality Policy of the Foundation
- Establishment of quality assurance objectives
- Allocation and management of necessary resources
- Internal evaluation of curricula and the Internal Quality Assurance System (IQAS)
- Collection and analysis of quality data
- Publication of information
- External evaluation
