University probes ‘irregular’ professorial appointment

The Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) has initiated an investigation into the appointment of a tenured professor amid allegations that she lacked the necessary accreditation for the role.

Sandra León, a career academic who is the current director of the Carlos III-Juan March Institute, a research and postgraduate institute for the social sciences in Madrid, is also a former a high-ranking official of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government, having previously served as the director general of the Spanish government’s High Commission for the Fight Against Child Poverty, part of the Ministry for the Presidency.

It is alleged that she was appointed as a full professor by UC3M in 2021 without the accreditation required by the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (Aneca), according to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo. The allegation of a lack of accreditation has prompted UC3M to scrutinise the circumstances surrounding León’s appointment and consider the possibility of revoking it.

Minister of Education, Science, and Universities in the Community of Madrid Emilio Viciana confirmed the launch of the investigation following communication from UC3M’s rector, Ángel Arias Hernández.

Unprecedented

Viciana described the situation as “absolutely irregular” and “very serious”, suggesting potential criminal implications.

The revelation has raised concerns within the academic community, as it represents a departure from standard procedures for verifying documentation during the appointment process. According to José Vida Fernández, the general secretary of UC3M, this incident is unprecedented within the institution and probably in the country.

“We are not aware of any other case like this in Spain. Of course, it had never happened before at the Carlos III,” said Fernández.

Fernández said that “the applicable regulations leave no room for doubt that it is an obligatory and essential requirement to obtain prior accreditation issued by Aneca in order to be able to compete for tenured lecturer positions”.

He cited the 2001 Organic Law on Universities, which states in Article 57 that “access to university teaching bodies shall require prior national accreditation” and added that Article 62.2 states: “Those who have been accredited may apply to state competitions for access to positions in university teaching bodies.”

He also mentioned the recent Organic Law of the University System, which states in Article 69 that “access to university teaching bodies shall require, in addition to the doctoral degree, prior accreditation by Aneca which, assessing the merits and competences of applicants, guarantees quality in the selection of civil servant teaching staff throughout the country”.

Husband alerts university

The investigation stems from a notification received by UC3M from León's husband, Ignacio Jurado, also a professor at the university. Jurado informed the university's human resources department that documentation required for León's appointment had not been provided. He was not aware that this would have repercussions for his wife.

Subsequent inquiries revealed that León lacked the necessary accreditation at the time of her appointment, prompting UC3M to commence a review procedure to nullify her appointment in accordance with relevant administrative regulations.

Having had “reliable evidence” that León did not have the accreditation when she took up the post, the university initiated a review procedure on 3 April to annul her appointment. It did so in accordance with the Law on Common Administrative Procedure for Public Administrations, which states that acts “by which rights are acquired when the necessary conditions are lacking” are null and void.

According to El Mundo and other sources, the intention of the campus is to annul the appointment, for which it has initiated a process to be resolved within a maximum period of six months. It will be subject to a report by the Advisory Council of the Community of Madrid and León will be able to present her arguments.

‘Administrative error’

León said she is the victim of an administrative error.

She said she came to Spain from Britain’s University of York via the I3 talent attraction programme for excellent researchers, which focuses on research and is granted by Aneca.

She said: “In the call for applications to which I applied, there was no requirement for accreditation. It only required i3 accreditation. If they had asked me for the Aneca accreditation, I would have validated it with my position as a full professor at the University of York. I meet the requirement for I3 accreditation. If the university hasn’t asked for anything else, it's the university’s mistake.

“I didn't know I had to be accredited,” she continued. “A researcher coming from abroad has no reason to know these things. All the documents I sent were checked and at no time did the university alert me that the procedure was wrong.

“I am the victim of an administrative error on the part of the university,” she said.

Jurado told University World News: “When we were hired for different contracts we were told that only the i3 was necessary for I3 positions – Sandra made it clear she just had that.

“I had an externally funded research contract and when it came to my time to apply to make it permanent within the university I submitted the same certificate and explained that in the past only this was one required.

“It’s as simple as that. Others have sought to make it seem more than just an administrative error, but we have always been transparent.”

ANECA told University World News the accreditations granted by ANECA which are essential to be able to apply for teaching posts offered by universities, are certificates derived from the evaluation of different merits, mainly in research, teaching and leadership.

An I3 certificate (Programa de Incorporación e Intensificación de la Actividad Investigadora – Agency for Incorporation and Strengthening of Research Activity) accredits exceptional research merits, and is awarded by a different body (the Agencia Estatal de Investigación – the State Research Agency).

ANECA said: “Holders of an I3 certificate will automatically have sufficient research merits recognised for accreditation to the teaching body of Full Professor of University applied for before ANECA.”