Sistemas de apoyo para estudiantes matriculados
1. Academic advisory services. In December 2005, the Governing Board of the University of Córdoba unanimously approved its 2006/15 Strategic Plan. In order to achieve one of its objectives, and within the framework of the UCo's own Education Quality Plan, approved in March 2007 by the Governing Board, the figure of the Academic Advisor was created. This figure is considered a student right under the Spanish Framework Act for Universities (LOU) in Article 46.2, sections c and e, and in the by-laws of the University of Córdoba, under Articles 117 and 194, sections e and j. The actions that have begun to be implemented during the 2007/2008 academic year are: a) Personalized counselling to each new student in the university environment and specifically on the chosen degree program; and b) Development of the figure of the student's tutor to carry out a permanent, effective follow-up aimed at optimizing their study effort.
Academic advisory services are , therefore, an educational task for the guidance of students with the purpose of participating in a 360º training, promoting their academic and personal development, as well as their social and professional projection. Advisory work requires the faculty to be in charge of a small number of students whom, throughout the course of their degree, they guide and inform. The figure of the Advisor is key to improve the students' performance rate.
Academic advisory services must be carried out by permanent civil servants or teachers, with a knowledge of the current Syllabus, having the possibility of dedicating the necessary time to the personal relationship with their students and the will to help solve new studens' common bewilderment. These consultancies can and must be fundamental for the improvement of the quality of teaching.
2. Degree Coordinators in Pilot Experience. The UCo reinforces the counselling of its students, once enrolled, thanks to the figures of the Degree Coordinators in Pilot Experience (Governing Board meeting of 28/03/07, modified on 30/10/2007). These figures, among their functions, have been assigned the task of convening at least two meetings per year between the students and faculty of the degree programme to assess their satisfaction with the implementation of the educational model proposed by the EHEA.
3. Specific needs service. Once the service has verified that a student with special educational needs has enrolled, a first contact is made to inform them of the existence of the service and its benefits. Then, the required individualized support approaches are implemented and finally, a personalized follow-up is carried out in each case to check how the process is developing.
4. Psychological attention service. The UCO has a Psychological attention service (SAP) to respond to such needs within the large and growing university student population, to which a university strongly committed in quality cannot be oblivious. This assistance is completely free of charge, and is delivered by professionals from the Area of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment of the Psychology Department of this university(further information).
5. The Employment guidance programme of the Social Council of the University of Córdoba has a network of Employment Information and Guidance Centers (COIE), located in: Faculty of Education Sc., Faculty of Law, Faculty of Arts (Filosofía y Letras), Labour Sc., ETSIAM, Rabanales Campus and Higher Polytechnic School. Its purpose is to facilitate access to sources of information for university graduates, to guide them in the construction of a personalized itinerary for labour market insertion and to bring them closer to the socioeconomic and productive environment.
The aim is to offer a professional guidance service that is as complete as possible and rooted in the reality of the current labour market. In order to provide users with greater professional competence, the areas of complementary training and professional experience are covered through internships in companies. To this end, this office has established collaboration ties with numerous public and private entities and organizations.
The services offered are:
1. Information on market needs and professional opportunities (new employment opportunities).
2. Advice on job search tools: preparation of résumés, cover letters, selection interviews…
3. Job offer information and search.
4. Training internships in public and/or private bodies.
5. Employment exchange.
6. Information on training, public service tests, scholarships, conferences, courses, congresses, master's degrees, etc...
7. Development of training and job counselling activities.
8. Conducting group workshops for job search.
9. These services are provided through: a) personalized attention; b) guidance on personal possibilities and aspects to be developed to access the labour market, and c) preparation and motivation for socio-labour insertion (further information).
Graduate orientation and level of employability
Within the actions to improve the employability of its graduates, the University of Córdoba, from the University Foundation for the Development of the Province of Córdoba (FUNDECOR), develops five lines of intervention that are focused on:
- Line 1: employment guidance. This line of action encompasses all the services and activities that the University of Córdoba offers to its students and graduates, to provide them with strategies that favor their insertion in the labour market. To this end, it provides advice on resources, profiles and career opportunities, as well as techniques and tools for job search.
- Career guidance service, Andalucía Orienta programme. The guidance unit of the University of Córdoba belongs to the Andalusian guidance network Andalucía Orienta, under the Andalusian Govt. Employment Service. It has been designed for the acquisition of the necessary skills for the social and labour insertion of university students seeking employment. Its activity is carried out through Personalized Employability Pathways and includes: (i) Information on training and job opportunities; (ii) Guidance on career options, providing basic skills and strategies to achieve greater knowledge of their personal and professional skills; (iii) Advice on possible solutions or procedures to follow in the search for employment; and (iv) Advice for university students to enable them to make their own decisions. The total number of users of the Andalucía Orienta professional counselling service of Fundecor in 2007 was 1,480 university students, with a total of 3,900 services provided.
- Employment Days for University Students. The University of Córdoba, through Fundecor, has been developing since 2002, the Employment Days for University Students. Among its objectives are: to offer updated information on the labour market and professional opportunities for each degree, to promote internships in companies and entrepreneurship, as well as to provide students with the necessary tools to successfully face a selection process. To this end, in addition to the conferences, hands-on workshops are held, especially oriented to the study programmes of each campus. In the last edition, 247 students from all the campuses of the University of Córdoba took part in them.
- Line 2: Professional internships. This line of work includes all University of Córdoba initiatives for professional internships in companies, aimed at both students and graduates of the UCo. The shared objective of these programmes is to provide the beneficiaries with professional skills and to enable a first professional experience that will favor their subsequent insertion in the labour market.
- Universitary internship programme. The University of Córdoba's Internship Programme is aimed at students enrolled in the second cycle of their degrees. Within this programme, the Faculty of Sciences has managed 775 internships in different Spanish companies among its students between academic years 2004-05 and 2007-08.
- PRAEM: Internship Programme for Professional Business Insertion. The Internship Programme for Professional Business Insertion (PRAEM) is financed by the Department of Innovation, Science and Business Development of the Government of Andalusia. This program is open to all students of public universities of Andalusia. Students admitted to this programme shall receive a scholarship paid 50/50% by the company where the internship takes place and the University of Córdoba, subsidised by the Department of Innovation, Science and Business Development of the Government of Andalusia. The number of such grants awarded in 2007 was 199 amounting to 356,988 €.
- EPES Programme. (Professional Experiences for Employment Programme: “EPES”). The Professional Experiences for Employment Programme (EPES) is financed by the Department of Employment and will be renewed for the second time in 2008. It is aimed at university graduates, registered as job seekers and who, having completed their studies in the two years prior to applying, have no related work experience. These internships come with a scholarship paid by the companies the university graduates shall work for, staying over 75% of the minimum wage (“SMI”). According to data provided by Fundecor foundation, which manages this programme, in 2007, 71 graduates benefited from this internship programme, 70% of whom were employed, either during the internship or during the 6 months following it.
- Line 3: Labour Market Intermediation. This line of work includes services and activities carried out by University of Córdoba to drive access of its graduates to employment, either through direct management of job offers or through networking events for graduate jobseekers and companies/organisations.
- University Employment Agency. The University of Córdoba, through a covenant with the National Employment Institute (“INEM”), launched its University Employment Agency in 1999. It was created to support the employment of some 1,500 students who complete their university studies each year. The main purpose of this Agency is to connect the companies that request human capital with our graduates. This is done by broking job offers. The entire process is monitored for it to provide with positions having at least the minimum guarantees in terms of type of contract, suitability of the position and remuneration. During 2007, 1,337 applicants registered with the Employment Agency and a total of 699 job offers were processed, out of which 680 were filled. The employability rate of the graduates registered in the Employment Agency and who took part in the selection processes was 85%.
- University of Córdoba Job Fair. This Fair is organized by the University of Córdoba, the Andalusian Employment Service, the Provincial Council, the Municipal Institute of Economic Development and Employment, as well as Fundecor being partners to it. The fair was created with the aim of establishing a meeting point between university graduates looking for their first job and companies, both national and European, in recruiting process. In parallel to résumé collection, company presentations and guidance sessions for job search take place, as developed by Human Resources directors of present firms as well as representatives and experts of our partners. They have the opportunity to introduce their training, employment and self-employment programmes to UCO graduates. In addition, it belongs to the Eures Network, whose aim is to inform on selection processes in Europe and to help with on-site candidate selection for participating companies. During its last edition, the fair welcomed 15,000 visitors, collected 30,000 résumés and 350 employment contracts were made. In total, 1,000 contracts have been closed in its four editions. 80% of attendees were UCO graduates looking for their first job. In 2007, 27 national and European companies participated.
- Line 4: Equality, Solidarity and Interculturality.
- Universem Programme. The University of Córdoba, with funding from the Andalusian Women's Institute of the Department of Equality and Social Welfare and the European Social Fund, carries out this UNIVERSEM- UNIVERSITY AND WOMEN'S EMPLOYMENT Programme. Its objective is to improve the employability for recent university graduate women, providing them with guidance and training resources available, as well as the most advantageous options for accessing and maintaining employment according to their interests, demands and training profiles. By participating in the Program, these university students, together with their counsellor, design an integrated employability itinerary through training, guidance, hiring management, professional internships and individual or group meetings with employers, according to the profiles required by companies. The 2008 program had 40 vacancies.
- European Volunteer Service. The University of Córdoba collaborates with the Andalusian Youth Institute in the development of this programme, which offers young residents of the European Union between the ages of 18 and 25 the opportunity to acquire a training experience in a foreign country and at the same time provides local projects with volunteers. These projects give young people the opportunity to gain personal and enriching experiences, to learn a wide variety of skills and tasks, useful for future employment, from a different and global perspective. The programme covers a broad array of fields such as health, environment, art, culture, European awareness, youth information services, etc. Through a campaign for the support and the dissemination of the European Voluntary Service, the University of Córdoba aims to raise awareness among university students of the many advantages of this programme, such as language learning, internships abroad or personal growth, al of with is linked to their working experience and their employability. In addition, this aims at extending the information framework of the European Voluntary Service, which has particularly a local scope, by informing them about the possibilities that Europe offers them and giving them the opportunity to broaden their training, as well as their cultural and professional knowledge. This Service has collaborated in projects with different European countries, among them: Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. An annual average of 5 outgoing projects and 2 hosting projects issue from these collaboration.
- Line 5: Youth Participation in the University
Know your University and Prepare for the Future sessions. These sessions are organized by the Student Council of the University of Córdoba and the University administration, the Andalusian Department of Equality and Social Welfare and Fundecor collaborate. The University Participation sessions were created as way to reciprocate energies between the students and university. They are intended to be a first approach among students as a Community, presenting all the services that the University has at their disposal and a starting point in universitary counselling for employability. Fundecor's counselling service is involved in these activities, through workshops and conferences on the different programs for a hands-on training of university students, for the development of job search tools and to prepare them for professional interviews and internships. In 2007, there were over 600 registrations, exceeding initial forecasts.
Alumni Association of the University of Córdoba In an effort to promote personal and professional relationships among graduates, the University of Córdoba created an Alumni Association to help disseminate information, events and meetings and to allow a better management of services to graduates. With this project, the University of Córdoba aims to foster the links of graduates with the University and among themselves as a community. To this end, an electronic platform was created and promoters for this activity recruited withing the University of Cordobá's collaborating companies. This platform brings a unique opportunity, via networking, to facilitate professionals exchanges and fo foster the mobility of graduates among companies in our province, thus continuing with the much needed connection between the University and the business community.