09/02/2024

UIC Barcelona launches Via Universitaria survey to analyse what it means to be a university student today

Twenty universities of the Vives Network have participated in the survey which is aimed at more than 300,000 undergraduate and graduate students from Catalonia, the Valencia, the Balearic Islands and Andorra. The programme analyses the current profile of students, living and study conditions, socioeconomic environment, satisfaction with teaching and university, and future expectations. This is the 4th edition of the established reference study in the field of higher education

On 1 February, the Vives Network of Universities began the groundwork for the fourth edition of the Via Universitaria: access, learning conditions, expectations and returns of university studies (2023-2025). The study analyses the living conditions of students, the way they study, their connection to the university, their cultural habits and economic conditioning factors, as well as the expectations, values and beliefs they have in relation to higher education. Between February and March 2024, more than 300,000 undergraduate and graduate students from twenty universities including UIC Barcelona, will participate in the programme through the online survey sent to them by their university. This is the fourth edition of the study, which has established itself as a reference in higher education with the involvement of renowned agencies and university institutions.

Via Universitaria is an instrument for the definition of social equity and gender policies in the university system and is aligned with the results of the EUROSTUDENT report, which collects the same information in 28 European countries. The report will study student trajectories from a triple perspective: equity in access to higher education, the transformation of the reality of students as a result of an increasingly diverse social environment, gender perspective and the quality of teaching and learning methodologies.

The results of the study will be published in May 2025 and will serve not only as a tool for reflection and debate, but also for discussion. It will also serve to guide decisions and the university policy developed both from within the universities themselves and from public administrations in the field of education, research, occupation or youth.

Via Universitaria 2023-2025 is led by the Vives Network of Universities and the Agency for the Quality of the University System of Catalonia (AQU) has assumed the technical direction. The programme is also supported by the Andorran Agency for Quality in Higher Education (AQUA) and the Government of Catalonia.