High quality accreditation for universities is an academic process, constituting itself as a mechanism for the continuous search for higher levels of quality. Said tool is part of the state and institutional policies of Quality Promotion.
Ricardo Moreno Patiño, advisor to the office of the Ministry of Educationcoordinator of groups delegated by the minister to higher councils and former director of Higher Education in Bogotá, spoke with EL NUEVO SIGLO about the current panorama of high-quality accredited institutions in Bogotá.
EL NUEVO SIGLO: What is the current panorama regarding the accreditation of higher education institutions in Bogotá?
RICHARD MORENO: The outlook is favourable, both as the offer and as the characteristic of these institutions, based on the fact that Bogotá presents the widest offer of higher education institutions in the country.
This is directly reflected in the number of institutions that have managed to obtain high-quality accreditation recognition. Of the total universe of active institutions in the city, which is 122, currently 32 are accredited as high quality, which means that one in four institutions has this recognition. this is really important
Of the total number of accredited institutions throughout the country, Bogotá has 27%. Of course, this accreditation is an individual and autonomous process that the institutions carry out, which is why the effort that Bogotá makes in terms of contributing to the accreditation through its institutions is very important.
ENS: Does the city have that quality ecosystem?
RM: We could say that in Bogotá there is a higher education ecosystem that is highly committed to the current quality assurance system, which allows them to promote that culture of self-assessment of their conditions in each of the factors established by law, but also a willingness to participate in these schemes and this recognition of quality in the terms established by the standards.
According to official data from the National Higher Education Information System, in Bogotá, out of 122 currently active institutions, 32 have this high-quality accreditation recognition. Seven of them are from the official sector, that is, they are public higher education institutions, and the rest are from the private sector.
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ENS: What parameters must an institution meet to be accredited?
RM: During the last two decades, the country has been building what is now called the Integrated Quality Assurance System, which is a set of self-evaluation, self-regulation practices that allow both institutions and programs to undergo evaluations. of its different conditions.
The definition of quality is controversial and diverse, which is why this evaluation system establishes different parameters of what is desirable within the educational system of higher education objectives, such as social recognition, transparency before society, suitability of institutions and programs, but also the conditions of response to educational communities, students, teachers, graduates, workers, etc.
The National Accreditation Council defines 12 factors that include the institutional mission and project, students, professors, academic processes, national and international visibility, research and artistic and cultural creation, the relevance of social impact, processes self-assessment and self-regulation, organization, administration and management; the physical plant and academic support resources, institutional welfare and financial resources.
Each one of these factors must be evaluated by academic parents, must be submitted to an external review, an assessment and a self-evaluation by the institutions. This is a process that allows an institution to know in detail what its strengths are, but also what its weaknesses and factors to improve may be.
THE NEW CENTURY: What benefits does accreditation provide for a community, students and institutions?
RM: The benefits that high-quality accreditation brings to an institution are varied, beginning with the recognition and visibility that it obtains at a local, national or international level after having submitted to having been part of a process of measuring academic, administrative, financial quality. , of its conditions in all aspects.
This generates recognition by society but at the same time the communities are valued, because students, professors and researchers, administrative staff participate in the accreditation process, and it is the community that becomes part of a socially valued institution. .
On the other hand, each of the factors that are subjected to this review of conditions are strengthened: research, internationalization, the processes of physical plant conditions, well-being, are valued and at the same time give them a navigation route. institutions to maintain these quality conditions and improve them.
ENS: What should be improved in these evaluations?
RM: It is a cumulative process and in this sense, both for institutions and for students, this results in better conditions for their participation in the university or higher education institution in terms of well-being, access to programs and benefits for their quality. of life.
Perhaps one of the most important issues is to permanently improve these conditions over time. At an institutional level, obtaining the recognition of high-quality accreditation gives the possibility of offering accredited programs anywhere in the national territory.
Similarly, creating new programs at the undergraduate or graduate level without all the conditions that an unaccredited institution must meet. This places high-quality accredited institutions in a research-academic social status that also results in better conditions for their entire community.