Oriental Languages and Cultures

The Quality Assurance System (QA) of Sapienza is described in detail on the webpages of the Quality Team, available at: https://www.uniroma1.it/it/pagina/team-qualita.
These webpages describe the ten-year process developed by the University to build Sapienza’s Quality Assurance system, the organizational model adopted, the QA actors (Quality Team, Monitoring Committees, Joint Student–Faculty Committees, Degree Programme Quality Committees), the active working groups, the main activities carried out, and the documentation prepared for managing Quality Assurance processes and activities in Teaching, Research, and Third Mission.
The webpages also serve as a communication platform and provide access to reference data for review activities, the drafting of reports by Joint Student–Faculty Committees and Monitoring Committees, and the completion of the SUA-Teaching and SUA-Research forms.
Each Degree Programme and each Department may adapt the Sapienza Quality Assurance Model—defined on the Quality Team webpages—to their own QA systems, tailoring it to their specific organizational needs while complying with the models and procedures defined by ANVUR and the Quality Team.
The webpages of Degree Programmes/Departments, together with the SUA-Teaching and SUA-Research forms, constitute the tools for communicating how the Quality Assurance System is implemented at the programme/department level.

The Quality Assurance Management Committee (CGAQ) consists of the President of the Degree Programme, additional faculty members, a technical-administrative staff member, and a student representative.
The CGAQ carries out an overall review at the end of each academic year. It also meets to address deadlines related to the SUA sections and whenever necessary or appropriate, either at the initiative of its members or following requests from students or faculty.
Through the CGAQ, the Degree Programme monitors the Review Reports, evaluates their outcomes, highlights strengths, identifies any critical issues and necessary changes, verifies the adequacy and effectiveness of programme management, and proposes corrective actions to be included in subsequent Review Reports.
It also reviews the content of individual course syllabi and monitors the proper delivery of teaching activities.

The committee meets annually; it submits proposals and implements decisions concerning Quality Assurance adopted by the Academic Area Council, which includes a specific QA item on the agenda of each meeting. It reports to Faculty and University bodies responsible for quality control, providing documentation of its activities, actions undertaken, and results achieved (SMA, RRC, DARS).

The Faculty has obtained positive feedback from the consulted trade union representatives and from several institutional partners with whom it has developed productive exchange relationships over the years, namely the Municipality of Rome – Department of Security, the Lazio Region, and the Department of Education and Training of the First Municipality of Rome. Agreements for internships and collaboration have been established with these entities in various areas relevant to the teaching activities of the Faculty of Oriental Studies.
Finally, the LM-36 project was also presented to some nationally significant organizations, such as the Italian News Agency (AGI), which approved its structure, convinced that it could foster further exchanges between the world of education and that of employment.
At the final consultation meeting on January 24, 2008, “on the basis of the motivations presented and taking into account the consultation and evaluations previously carried out by the proposing faculties, and considering positively the rationalization of the overall educational offer with a reduction in the number of programmes, particularly Bachelor’s programmes, noting that no comments were received during the prior online consultation and that none were raised during the meeting itself, a favorable opinion is expressed for the establishment of the individual programmes, in accordance with Ministerial Decree 270/2004 and subsequent decrees.

The consultation on the educational project for the academic year 2016–17 of the degree programmes of the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy took place through two meetings (30–31 March 2016) with representatives from the various sectors in which graduates with a humanities background can work.
The participants confirmed the overall validity of the educational proposal. Among the aspects considered essential in the training of humanities graduates are: the ability to manage information from different sources and subject it to critical analysis; the ability to communicate information in ways appropriate to different audiences and media; the ability to work effectively as cultural operators, with mastery of appropriate modes of communication; and the ability to mediate between different subjects and contents.
Contacts established with graduates of the Faculty and with students (through internships and placements) have shown that these aspects are well developed in the Faculty’s degree programmes.
Among the aspects that need improvement or consolidation are:

mastery of basic communication tools, particularly Italian, both spoken and written, across different registers suited to specific communicative situations, and a foreign language, particularly English;
knowledge of current tools and technologies for archiving, searching, and transmitting information, documents, and knowledge;
fostering familiarity with the applied component.

Finally, better monitoring of the access phase to the educational pathway is desirable.
The Faculty and the degree programmes agree to take these indications into account: improvement of tools and forms of communication (Italian, foreign languages, communication channels and contexts, etc.) and greater attention to the applied dimension of acquired knowledge.
In light of what has emerged, the educational project of the Faculty and its degree programmes is considered to be adequately structured internally. It is also considered that the functions and competencies characterizing humanities graduates are appropriately described, and that the expected learning outcomes meet the broader needs of society and the labour market.

On 30 and 31 March 2016, two meetings were held at the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy of Sapienza University of Rome with representatives of various sectors in which humanities graduates may work, for consultation on the educational project for the 2016–17 academic year. The participants included representatives from schools, publishing houses, museums, cultural institutions, public bodies, and private companies.
The discussion addressed several topics: the titles and educational objectives of the degree programmes; professional profiles and career opportunities; learning outcomes; and the structure of educational activities.
The overall adequacy of the educational framework emerged, aimed at transmitting the traditional foundations of a humanities-based culture, adapted in content and form to contemporary realities. Given current uncertainties and the wide variety of work contexts in which graduates of the Faculty are employed—often not easily classifiable into clearly defined professional profiles—the overall educational offer is considered appropriate.
The consultations highlighted key competencies for humanities graduates, including the ability to:

manage and critically evaluate information from different sources, organizing it hierarchically;
communicate information effectively to various audiences and across different contexts, adapting both content and form to different media;
act as cultural professionals, mastering different communication modes and languages, with strong mediation and synthesis skills.

These competencies are already well developed in current programmes, as confirmed by feedback from graduates and students involved in internships.
Areas needing improvement include:

mastery of core communication tools, particularly Italian (both written and spoken, across multiple registers, from academic prose to web writing) and at least one foreign language, especially English;
awareness and basic operational knowledge of modern tools and technologies for information management;
further development of applied skills, including practical exercises.

Attention should also be given to the admission phase, including strengthening relationships with secondary schools.
The Faculty and the degree programmes agree to incorporate these recommendations.

A further consultation, concerning the 2018–19 academic year, took place on 11 December 2017, involving representatives of archives, libraries, publishing houses, social cooperatives, Caritas, and the Red Cross. Opportunities for internship collaboration were discussed, and useful labour-market competencies were identified, particularly in foreign languages and related cultural knowledge.
After a pause partly due to the pandemic, the Steering Committee of the Academic Area of Oriental Languages and Civilizations was reconvened in May 2023 to confirm and expand its membership. The committee was broadened to include scholars from other disciplines and successful graduates now working professionally, with discussions also addressing the integration of doctoral education. It was decided to hold regular meetings, starting six weeks after the initial session, and to include committee activities in the five-year review report.
Further consultations for the academic year 2025–26 are presented below. Additional consultations were also initiated to adapt the programme to new degree classifications: in November 2024, the Steering Committee met again, and the outcomes are available at the provided link.

• Annual Monitoring Form (AMF) (PDF)
• Cyclic Review Report (CPR) (PDF)
• Opis Results Analysis Document (Opis-RAD) (PDF)