Academic Senate of 7 July 2026
The 2027/2028 Guidelines approved: procedures and tools defined for planning degree courses
The Guidelines for planning degree courses and managing teaching activities for the academic year 2027/2028 confirm the existing framework, which was recognised by ANVUR during the recent institutional accreditation visit, and introduce some new elements with a view to administrative simplification and regulatory updating.
More autonomy and quality
The assessment of the sustainability of student numbers is now brought within the monitoring system for Degree Programmes, through the specific ANVUR indicators. The minimum student number thresholds, previously required to activate a Degree Programme or an individual curriculum, are now expressed as a percentage of the reference number required for accreditation. At the same time, the establishment and accreditation of programmes will be more closely linked to the University’s strategic policies.
Reducing the fragmentation of examinations
With the aim of supporting regular progression through students’ academic careers, the new guidelines pursue the objective of reducing the fragmentation of teaching units. As regards student support, the management of OFA (Additional Learning Requirements) is harmonised at School level to ensure consistency of treatment and greater effectiveness in addressing gaps.
Blended Learning and single courses
The Guidelines define the framework for courses delivered in blended mode, setting a maximum percentage for online activities in relation to ordinary curricular teaching and strengthening quality monitoring systems. Single courses delivered by teaching structures will also benefit from more streamlined and codified activation procedures.
Timing
In order to enable timely promotion of the educational catalogue and attract prospective students with a clear and final framework, the entire degree course portfolio must be approved in a single step by December 2026. Planning activities and the monitoring of deadlines will therefore be managed on an ongoing basis in a coordinated and synergistic way.
Read the timeline.
The Foundation Year gets under way to attract international talent
An academic bridge to reduce cultural distances and bridge international students’ educational gaps, making the University increasingly competitive in the higher education landscape. The Foundation Year has been created to meet a specific regulatory and inclusion need.
The profile of the target students
The main beneficiaries will be potential international applicants who have completed only eleven years of schooling in their country of origin and who require the twelfth compulsory year of attendance in order to enrol at an Italian university. However, the initiative is also aimed at a further group, namely those who, although they have already completed twelve years of schooling, choose to attend this preparatory year in order to consolidate their skills and become familiar with the Italian university system.
The study plan: 690 hours between language and subject areas
The training agreement is characterised by an intensive modular structure lasting one year, for a total of 690 hours of teaching divided into three macro-components:
• Italian language (450 hours): a compulsory course for all enrolled students that will take students from beginner levels through to achieving level B2;
• Subject teaching units (192 hours): three different pathways will be available: Humanities (Humanities), Social Sciences (Social Sciences) and Natural Sciences (Natural Sciences);
• Workshops (48 hours): targeted activities and specific focus areas to prepare for university entrance tests, both in Italian and in English.
To complete the pathway, a series of common activities will be offered with a view to encouraging integration and the creation of an international student community.
Student status and costs
Students enrolled on the programme, for whom the University undertakes to provide board and lodging (excluded from the tuition fee), will be duly enrolled. At the end of the year, subject to passing the required examinations, a final certificate will be issued. The tuition fee will be 6,000 euros, an amount that fully covers teaching activities and insurance cover, payable in three instalments.
Review of the Quality Assurance System for 2025
The Review of the University’s QA System is the set of activities carried out by the Governance System with the support of the Quality Committee and the Evaluation Group, each within their respective areas of responsibility, to determine the suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of the Quality Assurance System in achieving the established objectives. Starting from the monitoring of the results achieved by the University in 2025 and from the proposal of the Quality Committee, the review identified the system improvement actions for 2026, with reference to the four areas identified below:
• University Strategic Plan and Quality Assurance (QA). Improvement objectives: consolidate the monitoring of the University Strategic Plan; strengthen the integration between strategic planning and the QA system; consolidate information support for QA processes (Teaching, Research, Third Mission); provide evidence of the results of strategic policies; periodic accreditation of the European Charter for Researchers (HRS4R);
• University QA System. Improvement objectives: strengthen the active involvement of students in QA processes; update the Quality Assurance System document; improve communication and transparency of the QA system;
• QA System of Degree Programmes. Improvement objectives: report on the teaching activities carried out by Departments in the three-year programming period of the PS 2022-2025; conduct a complete monitoring analysis on all active Degree Programmes and provide useful data and information to all parties involved in QA; ensure coordination of the cross-cutting sections of the SUA-CdS forms;
• QA System of PhD Programmes. Improvement objectives: strengthen the involvement of PhD students in QA processes; consolidate the QA system of PhD programmes;
• QA System of Departments. Improvement objectives: consolidate the review activity of Departments; support the annual monitoring activity of departmental strategic plans 2026-2028.
For further decisions taken by the Academic Senate, please refer to the report.