Andorra conference urges quality and equity in online higher education

The Consell General in Andorra hosted a conference on the World Day for Access to Higher Education, organised with the Agency for Quality in Higher Education (AQUA) and delivered by Josep M. Duart, professor at the Open University of Catalonia. The talk focused on ensuring fair access and maintaining quality in online and hybrid university programmes.

Duart argued that the rapid expansion of digital modalities makes it essential to guarantee their quality. He said institutions must adapt educational models, resources, teaching staff and support systems to the virtual environment, and put in place robust programme designs and prepared teaching teams able to interact with remote students.

Ensuring quality in the digital realm, Duart added, requires systems to monitor, analyse and validate how programmes actually function. Institutions need data and mechanisms to verify that online provision is credible and effective.

He also highlighted the potential of digital formats to democratise access to knowledge, while warning that their growth brings challenges for trust, transparency and equity. Duart stressed the importance of aligning quality assurance with the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG).

Speakers noted that Andorra already has a key tool to meet these demands: AQUA’s integration into European quality assurance networks. The agency has recently been admitted to ENQA and to European registers and consortia, a development its director, Isaac Galobardes, described as a historic achievement that places Andorra within the European university quality ecosystem and makes 2025 a pivotal year for the agency.

Carles Ensenyat, the síndic general, said forums like this are important for reflecting on education’s central role in building the collective future. Organisers and speakers concluded that advancing a university model based on equity, trust and quality is essential for higher education institutions to contribute to citizens’ development.