Proposed methodology for classifying career departments at the Institute of Pharmacy and Food of the University of Havana

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Abstract

The Institute of Pharmacy and Food (IFAL) offers two-degree programs: Food Science and Pharmaceutical Science, and within its structure, all processes related to training are managed by the degree departments. Although the excellence rating for both programs, as well as for other  postgraduate programs, was reaffirmed in 2025, the need for contextualized management is recognized to ensure continuous improvement and the sustainability of the quality levels achieved. The advantages of designing an institutional strategy to classify teaching departments as drivers of change for endogenous quality improvement at IFAL served as the basis for this research. The objective is to design a methodology for classifying the academic departments of IFAL's degree programs as a contribution to continuous quality improvement. A proactive research project was conducted, culminating in the design of a classification methodology comprised of five phases, 32 indicators (13 of which are proprietary, or 40.6%), and corresponding measurement criteria. The proposal is innovative, organizing and harmonizing actions with a proactive and integrated vision focused on ensuring critical success factors within the IFAL context. These factors include: the commitment of all stakeholders, awareness-raising among administrators, the relevance of the dimensions, indicators, and measurement criteria, as well as the reliability and consistency of the input data for subsequent processing and analysis.