The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) has seen constant
growth in the number of students on its accredited Catalan Language and Literature degree since its
inception in the academic year 1998-1999. A total of 121 students enrolled for the first course,
and two years later the figure was up to 252, with the threshold of 300 passed in the academic year
2003-2004, when the number of Catalan Language and Literature students reached 323. During the
first semester of the academic year 2007-2008, 503 students were enrolled, and during the second
semester, this figure reached 510.
It is worth pointing out that the UOC has an enrolment system that works in terms of
semesters, and not academic years as at the other universities. The degree has had a total of 170
applications for the upcoming semester. Last year, 111 new students enrolled from the 171 who
applied in the first semester, and 103 new students enrolled from the 161 who applied in the second
semester.
These figures come in a context where the government is clearly concerned about the low
number of applications to the public Catalan universities and the University of Vic. For next year,
104 people have chosen Catalan Language and Literature as the first option in their university
pre-registration, a figure which, although higher than the previous year’s 89, the
Universities Department has deemed to be insufficient given the lack of qualified people in the
labour market, which could have negative effects on the renewal and extra demand for Catalan
language and literature professionals in education in years to come.
One of the reasons for the high level of applications to the UOC is, doubtless, its unique
nature and the profile of its students. The University was designed and has developed to offer
those people who for various reasons –mainly due to work, family or mobility issues–
could not attend brick-and-mortar institutions the chance to study accredited qualifications. Thus,
the University’s range of courses have, to date, been better adapted to students of an
average age of 30 who are looking to take up their studies again or who want to study something
new, whether for personal enrichment or to improve the professional prospects. In this context, the
humanities (where, again, the UOC is one of the most sought after universities in Spain) or
language and literature are studies that people usually sign up for with the desire to find out
more and increase their knowledge, without forgetting about the possible advantages for their work
in the future.
The characteristics of the UOC mean that these courses can also be studied outside Catalonia,
bringing together all those who live beyond its borders and share a common interest. For example,
there are 44 students enrolled on the degree living in the Balearic Islands, 41 in Valencia, 3 in
Madrid and some twenty outside Spain.
Looking to the future
In the case of the UOC’s language and literature studies, a trend has been seen over recent
semesters whereby more students are interested in the professional applications in the field of
language and literature. The desire to offer up-to-date studies that adapt to the evolution of the
discipline and its applications is a constant concern for the degree’s faculty. As the
Director of the University’s Catalan Language and Literature programme, Narcís Figueras,
states, this “is what has also inspired us to produce the new Catalan Language and Literature
degree adapted to the European Higher Education Area that the UOC is to present soon”.
In the words of Figueras, “the new degree renews and updates the contents, widens the
theoretical and methodological perspectives and is clearly aimed at professionalising”.
Likewise, “the new degree offers new possibilities for customising training via a wide range
of options and the starting up of an innovation experience in the student’s portfolio, where
they can record and explain their trajectory and choices, in terms of the degree’s
skills”, explains the Director of the UOC’s Catalan Language and Literature programme.