Luis Eduardo González

Accreditation in higher education in Chile: results and consequences

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze and discuss the results that the accreditation system implemented in Chile has brought to higher education institutions and undergraduate and graduate programs, taking into account both its positive and negative implications.Design/methodology/approach – The examination of the Chilean accreditation regime relies on descriptive statistics based on official data from several sources.Findings – It appears that the Chilean accreditation regime has helped to establish permanent procedures for quality assurance in higher education institutions which has resulted in improving its internal processes, but still the system faces a series of challenges that have to be addressed in order to improve the higher education system as a whole.Originality/value – The Chilean accreditation experience is placed within the discussion and context of accreditation systems around the world, and lessons which can be relevant to other countries are drawn.

Causes and Consequences of the Student Protests in Chile

The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the Chilean student movement (which took place between May and December in 2011), its demands, and the government’s answers during the conflict. The main issues of the protests will be identified along with their implications. The Chilean Higher Education System (CHES) includes 60 universities. Among them, 16 state-owned institutions and 9 private establishments created before 1980 belong to a group named the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) and receive direct public support (AFD). In 1981 a newly enacted legislation allowed the creation of new institutions that don’t rely on state support. As a result, 35 universities, 43 professional institutes (IPS; similar to colleges) and 69 technical training centers (CFTS) emerged. Universities are nonprofit but the IPS and CFTS are not.

What if privatising higher education becomes an issue? The case of Chile and Mexico

Over the last 30 years, Chile and Mexico have been implementing neoliberal policies to reform their higher education systems. This report compares the development and impact of those policies within three main areas in both countries, namely: (1) trends and characteristics of the growing private higher education sector, (2) commercialisation and business-like trends that private academia is experiencing and, finally, (3) it discusses how all this has created tensioning situations with assessment and accrediting agencies to ensure quality in their private higher education systems. This study shows that private higher education is facing the following challenges in both nations: (1) an uncritical implementation of neoliberal policies, (2) that there is a very unregulated legislation that has allowed many private institutions to profit within loopholes in the law, (3) that quality has become a central concern and some of the mechanisms applied to correct it have not been effective, showing a lack of a comprehensive system of quality assessment, and (4) that enrolment has grown but with several mismatches that challenge the initial goal of advancing economic development through human resources capacities. Alternative policies are discussed.

Experiencias y aspectos a considerar para la implementación de un sistema de información de apoyo para el aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida en Chile

This study is aimed to identify the requirements for the creation of an information system oriented to support long lasting learning in Chile based on a diagnosis of the information available in different sources. To this end, it has developed an analytical model including strategies needed to achieve long lasting learning, mechanisms and instruments to carry out those strategies, recommendations for the design of such an information system and resources needed. Recommendations organize the resources in four dimensions: i) stages of labour-educational paths, ii) information requirements by different users; iii) users themselves; and iv) organizations providing information.

Collaborative Research by Chilean and North American Scholars: Precedents and Projections

This chapter provides a snapshot of recent experiences in collaborative research between scholars in universities in Chile and in the United States, from the perspective of Chilean researchers. International research collaboration was severely constrained during the military dictatorship (1973–1989) but, in the following years, democracy and rapid economic growth contributed to a significant increase in the number of projects of cross-border research production involving universities in Chile and elsewhere. Results from a survey of a non-representative sample of research projects in Chile indicated that at least 79 collaborative research projects involving Chilean and US universities were initiated between 2010 and 2014. Data were obtained from participants in 11 of the projects. Overall, Chilean participants indicated a high level of satisfaction with their collaborative research experience.

University Strategies to Improve the Academic Success of Disadvantaged Students: Three Experiences in Chile

This chapter analyzes initiatives by three Chilean universities. These are: the Propedeutico Program of the University of Santiago (USACH); the Priority Admission System (SIPEE) of the University of Chile; and the PENTA Program of the Catholic University. The objective of the chapter is to assess the impact of these initiatives on student access and performance once enrolled.

VALORACIÓN DE LA FORMACIÓN ACADÉMICA Y DE LA INSERCIÓN LABORAL EN TITULADOS DE PEDAGOGÍA EN EDUCACIÓN BÁSICA EN CHILE1

The expansion of access to higher education represented an advancement for the integration of traditionally excluded groups in Chile. However, expanding access is insufficient to ensure the equity of the higher education system. Under this premise, the article seeks to investigate aspects of academic training and employment from the perception of graduates, considering that these dimensions reflect relevant aspects of the degree of equity that could be evidencing the Chilean system. This exploratory study focused on graduates of the Teaching for Basic Education career of three universities with different levels of selectivity of their students. We conclude that there is no evidence that the degree of selectivity, as well as 1 Universidad de Playa Ancha, Centro de Estudios Avanzados, Viña del Mar, Chile. * Doctor en Política, Planificación y Evaluación en Educación. Investigador en el Centro de Estudios Avanzados de la Universidad de Playa Ancha e investigador en el Programa Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Educación (PIIE). E-mail:. 2 Programa Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Educación (PIIE), Santiago, Chile. ** Doctor en Administración y Planificación Educativa. Investigador en el Programa Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Educación (PIIE). E-mail:. 3 Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, Santiago, Región Metropolitana, Chile. *** Magister en Ciencia Política. Director de Docencia, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana. E-mail: . 4 Programa Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Educación (PIIE), Santiago, Chile. **** Sociólogo. Investigador en el Programa Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Educación (PIIE). E-mail:.

Factors that affect post-graduation satisfaction of Chilean university students

ABSTRACT Universities’ reputations are built in part on graduates’ assessments of the quality of education they received. What do these assessments tell us? Are graduates’ judgments of quality based on their experiences as students or on their later job satisfaction, that is, on process or on outcomes? The objective of this study was to assess the extent to which Chilean university graduates’ satisfaction with their professional training is associated with experiences during the degree program they pursued, employment experiences including salary level, or the prestige level or image of the university they attended. Survey questionnaires were used to collect data from recent graduates of professional programs in Primary-Secondary Teaching and Psychology in three universities that differ in prestige. A linear regression model shows that graduates’ satisfaction with their degree program is a joint function of family background, program quality and university image, but not salary once graduated.

Access of Disadvantaged Students to Higher Education in Chile: Current Scenarios and Challenges

The purpose of this chapter is twofold: (1) to analyze how public policies and some institutional initiatives affect equity and inclusion issues in higher education in Chile, and (2) to explore the evolution of these initiatives, especially in the area of student support schemes. Data analysis was based on primary and secondary sources including household surveys (CASEN databases), national and regional reports, and academic reports, as well as databases provided by national and international agencies. It was concluded that the expansion of enrollment in higher education over the last three decades had little impact on equity in access. Students who are disadvantaged (by virtue of socioeconomic status, gender, or ethnic origin) mainly enroll in private lower-prestige postsecondary educational institutions (which offer low-quality programs) and in institutions oriented to technical and vocational training.

Trans-Nationalization of Latin American Higher Education

Higher education in Latin America has been evolving in many directions, since the first institutions created in the colonial era. The Catholic Church was the first one to set universities throughout the region. These institutions were without competition for centuries until regional governments developed state funded universities to train citizen in the 20th century.