The Pro-3 database

By law in Italy, universities have to produce 3-year developmental plans. These plans must also take into account the objectives that the Ministry for Universities requires institutions to reach. In order to measure how well universities are reaching these objectives, the Ministry also has a series of indicators. These indicators are important, as there is a financial impact on how well these objectives are reached – to a certain degree government funding depends on these results.The calculation and monitoring of these indicators occurs through a central database, the “Pro-3” (3-year plan), to which all universities have access. This database collates and compares data provided by the national databases (national student database, national lecturer database, Cineca, Istat, etc.) following the aforementioned indicators and criteria

The Pro3 database has subdivided the objectives into various macro-areas: teaching, research, students, internationalisation and staff, which are then subject to 21 indicators.

The Development Office, which manages the Pro-3 for the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano and ensures all the information submitted is correct, has to make sure that all the indicators from the national system are integrated into the internal monitoring system, as well as all the consequences of that (objectives and related activities).

For more information please refer to the government's official website at www.istruzione.it (available in Italian only).