Proposal of Visual Literacy Indicators for competencies courses. An academic literacy perspective for academic excellence

The paper presents the results of a research based on the evaluation culture approach and particularly on the social corporate responsibility of universities and their duty to account for the quality of their mission, researches, teaching and dissemination of knowledge. Metrics and international rankings have been developed to measure value and performance of the universities; as a consequence, the academic world must express appropriate means in order to improve its position in quality evaluation rankings. The research project focuses on "La Sapienza" University of Rome and especially on international rankings and metrics used to measure its degree of information literacy. The indicators that would take advantage of a program devoted to digital competences are here listed and analyzed to underline: a) the instructional plan, based on the cooperation between researchers-professors and librarians; connectivism as a pedagogical concept; the flipped classroom methodology; the necessity of taking into due account visual competencies and social networks; Educational Digital Objects as Web didactic materials; b) the educational plan meant to enhance visual competences, given the relevance of virtual and augmented reality for university education. The best Visual Literacy standards are selected to empower iconic and visual reading and to envision effective goals, learning units, methodology and quality. The evaluation must then be considered as one of the principal results of the research itself: it must be based on competencies and quality, and the 13 indicators suggested to measure the educational program - feedback and other metrics included - will be of great use to help the University to highlight its quality standards.