Quality Assurance and the Organization at DiDEC

QA in Teaching

The adopted Quality Assurance (QA) system, consistent with the AVA framework, is based on the definition of the responsibilities and roles of the actors involved, the processes in which they interact, and the related information flows. Quality in the educational context requires that the degree programme:

specifies learning objectives that are meaningful and valuable
enables students to achieve them within the established timeframe
certifies that the learning objectives have been achieved
has a credible organisational structure.

Players and tools of QA in Teaching

The QA actors specific to the Teaching area are listed below. The central role of the Department Council is described in the section “The organisation of the Department: Institutional bodies, committees and individual roles”.

The systematic documentation of the main processes of design, management, review and improvement of degree programmes is an integral part of the QA system. The key documents for assessing the Degree Programme Quality Requirement (R3 – Quality of Degree Programmes) are:

Single Annual Course Report (SUA-CdS);
Annual Monitoring Report (SMA);
Cyclical Review Report (RRC);
Report of the Joint Student–Staff Committee

The Joint Academic Staff-Student Committee (CPDS)

This is a committee established at Department level, composed of an equal number of academic staff and students, representative of the Degree Programmes managed by the teaching structure. It serves as a permanent internal observatory within the Department on teaching activities, primarily focusing on monitoring the extent to which educational objectives are achieved, also on the basis of constructive dialogue with students, both to gather their feedback and to promote a culture of quality. The CPDS Annual Report represents a summary of the analytical activities carried out during the year and includes proposals for improvement addressed to the Degree Programme.

The Joint Academic Staff-Student Committee (CPDS)

Students and their representatives

Students participate in the life and governance of the University and, in particular, of their own teaching structure through their representatives on the Degree Programme Council, the Department Council, and the Department’s QA Committees.

The responsibilities of the representatives are as follows:

to listen to and consult the student community they represent
to present the collected issues to the relevant collegial body
to report periodically to the student community on decisions taken by the governing bodies
to convene regular meetings with the student community they represent
to maintain contact with representatives both within the Department’s bodies and committees and within the University’s governing bodies
to propose improvement actions to the competent bodies

In particular, student representatives in the CPDS and AiQua Committees are responsible for reporting observations, critical issues and proposals for improvement regarding the educational pathway and teaching support services, as well as for ensuring transparency, easy access to information, and effective information sharing, within the scope of the different roles of the QA Committees.

Student representatives on the Department Council of Law, Economics and Cultures – DiDEC are:

Asia Martina Di Lorenzo
Simone Maltagliati
Paola Anastasia Curciarello
Alessandro Vaiti
Francesco Tarantino
Leonardo Pinardi
Alice Beati
Aurora Sophie Casciana

For representatives in the DiDEC CPDS and in the AiQua Committees of the related Degree Programmes, please refer to the dedicated sections.

For representatives in the General Student Council (CGS), please refer to the dedicated webpage.

General Student Council (CGS)

The Degree Programme

For each Degree Programme (CdS), responsibility for the educational offer (design, including consultations with the labour market, management, and continuous improvement of the CdS) rests with the Degree Programme Coordinator, who also serves as Chair of the AiQua Committee. In the self-assessment and review activities of the CdS for which they are responsible, they are supported by the other members of the AiQua Committee.

The collegial body of reference for the Degree Programme is the Department Council of Law, Economics and Cultures – DiDEC, which normally meets monthly for routine management actions, to review and, where required, approve the preparatory activities carried out by the Committees of Coordinators/AiQua Committees established for each CdS, or by Committees delegated to specific activities of the CdS itself (including teaching planning, student procedures, internships and placements, guidance, agreements and collaborations with other Italian and foreign universities, laboratories, seminars, exam schedules, graduations, and lectures).

For the names of the Degree Programme Coordinators at DiDEC, please refer to the section on the AiQua Committees.

The AiQua Committee

The AiQua Committee of the Degree Programme, referred to in the SUA-CdS as the "Quality Management Group", is the main body responsible for the self-assessment and review process of the programme, playing a key role in managing the processes for internal quality assurance of each Degree Programme (CdS) through activities of planning, implementation, monitoring, and control.

Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Tourism Sciences

Master’s Degree Programme in Hospitality for Sustainable Tourism Development

Master’s Degree Programme in Modern Languages for Communication and International Cooperation

Single-cycle Master’s Degree Programme in Law

The Teaching Quality Manager (TQM)

The Teaching Quality Manager (TQM) is a professional role established at University level and present in each teaching structure. They support activities related to the management of teaching and act as a process facilitator within the QA system. For this reason, each Degree Programme’s Quality Management Group (AiQua Committee) also includes a TQM. For contact details, please refer to:

Teaching Quality Managers’ Listening Service – DiDEC

Industry Representatives / Advisory Committee

Industry representatives collaborate in the design of the Department’s Degree Programmes (CdS), providing information useful for defining and updating the professional profile, offering consultative input for the design of internships, and helping to assess the effectiveness of the educational pathway.

The main objective of this activity is to maintain a constant dialogue between the demand and supply of education, sharing the Degree Programme’s educational project and fostering effective collaboration with scientific and professional organisations, as well as with representatives from cultural and industrial sectors, including at the international level, not only during the establishment of the CdS.

Student Feedback

Student reports

Undergraduate students have a number of channels available to them for requesting information and submitting feedback and suggestions for improvement.

In addition to undergraduate students, PhD students, Master’s students and those enrolled in specialist schools may also contact the Head of Department, who is responsible for handling student feedback, regarding unresolved issues or complaints:

For a detailed description of the procedures available to DiDEC undergraduate students, please consult the relevant pages:

Contacts and reports from students – Degree Programmes

Student reports – PhD and Master’s programmes

QA in Research and Third Mission

The adopted Quality Assurance (QA) system, consistent with the AVA framework, is based on the definition of responsibilities and roles of the actors involved, the processes in which they interact, and the associated information flows.

Quality in the context of research and the Third Mission requires that the Department:

specifies objectives that are meaningful and valuable;
enables their achievement within the established timeframe;
certifies the results obtained;
has an adequate organisational structure.

Actors and tools of Research and Third Mission Quality Assurance

At Department level, the main QA actor specific to Research and the Third Mission is the AiQuaR Committee, described below. The central role of the Department Council is indicated in the section “The organisation of the Department: Institutional bodies, committees and individual roles”.

The systematic documentation of the main processes for the design, management, review, and improvement of the Department’s research and Third Mission activities is an integral part of the QA system. The key documents for assessing the Department’s Research and Third Mission Quality Requirement (R4.B – Research and Third Mission Quality) are:

Department Strategic Document
SUA-RD

The Committee for Internal Quality Assurance of Research (AiQuaR)

The AiQuaR Committee plays a key role in managing processes for research and Third Mission quality, acting as the main body responsible for the Department’s self-assessment and review activities. It reports to the Department Council, the collegial body responsible for the overall management of the Department, which makes the necessary decisions.

Composition of the DiDEC AiQuaR Committee:

The AiQuaR Committee of DiDEC

The Organisation of the Department: Institutional Bodies, Committees, and Individual Roles

In addition to the institutional bodies established by the Statute at the teaching and research structure level, the Department has implemented its own specific organisation to oversee areas of activity considered strategic, with a system of delegations and the establishment of dedicated Department Committees.

The Director and the Department Council

The Director represents the Department, acting as the head responsible for managing the structure, defining strategic directions, and evaluating results. They promote and coordinate all Department activities. The Director of DiDEC is Prof. Francesca Gisella Zoe Ruggieri.

The Department Council is the collegial body responsible for planning the Department’s activities and overseeing the use of its allocated resources. In particular, within the Department’s QA system, the Council makes decisions related to QA activities, taking into account both internal and external analyses and the proposals for corrective or improvement actions presented by the QA Committees.

DiDEC Delegates at the University Level

In addition to its representation in the University’s governing bodies, the Department is represented at University level within the following Committees:

Quality Oversight – Prof. Antonio Angelucci
University Research Committee – Prof. Luigi Testa
University Committee for Knowledge Valorisation – Prof. Daniele Canè
Internationalisation Committee – Prof. Chiara Perini
University Committee on Orientation and Placement – Prof. Paolo Duvia, Prof.ssa Roberta Minazzi, Prof. Stefano Fanetti
University Gender Budgeting Committee – Prof.ssa Lilli Casano
University Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation – Prof. Geo Magri, Prof. Stefano Marcolini
Scientific Council, Insubria International Summer School – Prof. Daniele Canè
University Committee on Libraries and Donations – Prof. Lino Panzeri
Library Scientific Council – Prof. Lino Panzeri
Ethics Committee – Prof. Maurizio Cafagno
University Committee on Intellectual Property – Prof.ssa Serenella Rossi
FAR Area 5 – Prof. Alessandro Panno
FAR Area 6 – Prof.ssa Valenti Erminia Albanese
FAR Area 7 – Prof. Alessandro Ferrari, Prof.ssa Francesca Ghirga, Prof. Paolo Lepore
FAR Area 8 – Prof.ssa Cristina Orso