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Introduction
Responding to huge growth
in demand for tertiary-level studies across Central
America in recent decades, universities and colleges
have been opening in ever increasing numbers. The
response has mainly come from the private sector,
however, and has occurred with very little regulatory
oversight.
Traditionally, it has been the responsibility of the
state, or a state-sponsored university, to guarantee the
quality of degrees offered by the nation’s institutions
of higher education. However, the small, resource-poor
governments of the region have not only had difficulty
in responding to the growth in demand for postsecondary
education, but also in the need to monitor the quality
of education offered at the private institutions that
have responded to student demand. Hence, the quality of
education offered at universities, colleges and
professional schools varies greatly, and has been called
into question by citizens demanding better standards and
equal access to quality instruction across social
classes.
In the 1990s, the need to evaluate quality standards
began to gain traction among higher education
stakeholders in Central America. Various organizations
and governments have taken steps to promote quality
assurance practices, and to ensure the public of the
accountability of universities and colleges to higher
standards of education. As national programs to improve
higher education have taken root across the region, so
too have cross-border initiatives.
Below is an overview of some of those regional
organizations and initiatives.
Initiatives
Since 1948 the Confederación Universitaria
Centroamericana (Central American Confederation of
Universities) and its governing body, the Consejo Superior Universitario
Centroamericana – CSUCA (Central American University
Council), has worked to promote the integration of
higher education in Central America as it has strived to
create a modern university system for the region. The
council’s membership is comprised of the state
universities of Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador,
Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panamá , and Dominican
Republic.
From its inception, CSUCA has played a major role in
shaping evaluation and accreditation practices at
Central American institutions of higher education. Three
of the council’s most important initiatives over the
last 50 years have been the formation of the Sistema de
Carreras y Postgrados Regionales – SICAR (Regional
Career and Postgraduate System) in the 1960s; the
Sistema Centroamericano de Evaluación y Acreditación de
Educación Superior – SICEVAES (Central American System
of Evaluation and Accreditation for Higher Education) in
the 1990s; and in 2003 the creation of the Consejo
Centroamericano de Acreditación de la Education Superior
– CCA (Central American Council of Acreditación in
Higher Education).
Sistema de Carreras y Posgrados Regionales
Centroamericanos (SICAR)
Background:
In the 1960s, CSUCA officials decided that the most
effective method for improving specific academic
programs at Central American universities would be to
select a successful department at one particular
institution and invest singularly in its continued
progress. The logic behind this assessment followed that
given finite resources, one department with a strong
academic program could offer quality education for
students throughout the region and serve as an example
for the development of similar programs at all Central
American universities. To establish which university
programs would be selected for the distinction of
educating students from the eight member nations of
CSUCA, a rubric of qualifications and a system of
external evaluation conducted by regional experts was
established. The Regional Career and Postgraduate System
– SICAR was the outcome, and the first degree programs
were regionally accredited by CSUCA in 1962.
Organizational Structure:
SICAR is overseen by a 16-member council comprised of
university officials from CSUCA member institutions. The
organization employs a commission for technical
evaluation made up of seven members, all of whom are
experts in university evaluation and from CSUCA
affiliates. Evaluation teams are selected at random, the
only discriminating criteria being that they do not
represent SICAR in evaluating their home university.
The Accreditation Process:
SICAR has 40 years of experience evaluating
postgraduate programs in Central America and in that
time more than 85 programs have been evaluated. The
SICAR evaluation process is in line with international
standards and comprises three stages: preparation,
evaluation and the final decision.
Universities must solicit SICAR to perform an
evaluation in order to be considered for accreditation
from CSUCA. In the first stage of the process the
university seeking accreditation must complete a
thorough internal evaluation adhering to standards
established by CSUCA. Once this is complete and
submitted to SICAR authorities an external evaluation of
the university is conducted by members of the SICAR
technical evaluation commission. Upon completion of an
external evaluation, the results are then considered by
the directors of SICAR and passed along to CSUCA for a
final decision.
There are three possible outcomes from the process:
full accreditation - Categoría Regional
Centroamericana (Central American regional
accreditation); the designation of “in the process of
achieving regional accreditation;” or an institution is
denied accreditation completely. Programs falling into
the second category of “in progress” are offered the
opportunity to prepare an improvement plan and the
option of being reevaluated after a two-year period.
Between 1962 and 1991, CSUCA performed evaluation
procedures for 45 different degree programs. Ultimately,
only 23 programs achieved regional accreditation during
this period; an insight into the relatively few programs
with the capacity to serve students on a regional level.
Since 1991, the number of programs accredited through
SICAR has vacillated between 17 and 30 due to
de-accreditation and periods of re-accreditation.
Today, the heightened sensitivity universities in
Central America assign to quality assurance practices
has expanded the role of SICAR. The organization now not
only accredits regional postgraduate programs, but also
public and private programs on a country-by-country
basis. SICAR has a wealth of acquired experience in the
field of evaluation and accreditation compared to many
other Central American institutions, and will therefore
likely be a major influence in developing quality
assurance procedures across the region.
Sistema Centroamericano de Evaluación y
Acreditación de Educación Superior - (SICEVAES)
Background:
In 1995, the Fourth Central American University
Congress, a gathering of higher education officials from
around the region, established that a major priority of
the Central American Confederation of Universities
should be to create a general quality assurance
mechanism for the region’s institutions of higher
education. Thus, in 1998, after four years of research,
study and consensus building, CSUCA approved the
formation of the Central American System of Evaluation
and Accreditation for Higher Education – SICEVAES.
In the formation of SICEVAES, CSUCA envisioned a dual
role for the organization. On the one hand SICEVAES
would evaluate universities as a means of promoting a
culture of quality assurance and accountability among
Central American institutions of higher education. On
the other, SICEVAES would be responsible for
establishing regional accreditation mechanisms
compatible with generally accepted international quality
assurance procedures.
Organizational Structure:
SICEVAES is divided into four separate bodies:
- The Regional Coordination
Committee is made up of the vice presidents
of CSUCA member institutions and the president of the
Federation of Central American University Students.
This committee is responsible for approving the
guidelines governing both internal and external
university evaluation, organizing regional
accreditation workshops, facilitating cooperation
between regional universities, assigning evaluators to
the accreditation process, and in general securing the
integrity of the accreditation process as it occurs at
each university.
- A Technical Evaluation Commission
is comprised of nine professors selected from regional
universities for their expertise in the field of
evaluation and accreditation. This group is charged
with designing and overseeing the external evaluation
process
- Technical Support Units are
academics at each university that represent SICEVAES
and help guide their university through the internal
evaluation stage of the accreditation process.
- A Bank of Evaluation Experts are
selected experts in the field of evaluation that serve
on external evaluation teams. There are more than 400
Central American evaluators registered with SICEVAES
and that number is expanding.
Accreditation:
SICEVAES accreditation is voluntary, and universities
or departments are required to submit a request to the
local Regional Coordination Committee if they want to
undergo the accreditation process.
Regional Coordination Committee members provide
universities with a guide to the internal and external
evaluation process. Technical Support Unit members
employed at all universities, as described above, guide
the university through the formation of a consultative
commission composed of students and faculty. This
commission is responsible for working through the
various stages of the internal evaluation procedure
including identifying the university’s strong points and
those that need improvement. At the end of the internal
evaluation a final report and plan for improvement is
submitted for review.
Following the internal evaluation, members of the
Bank of Evaluation Experts are selected by the Regional
Coordination Committee to assess the degree program or
university undergoing the accreditation process. Upon
completion of the external evaluation, a final report is
submitted and an accreditation decision is made.
Since its introduction in 1998, SICEVAES has greatly
improved the presence of quality assurance measures at
Central American universities. SICEVAES has effectively
established set criteria and benchmarks which
institutions have embraced to gauge and improve their
academic offerings. Through the accreditation process
and workshops, the quality of regional higher education
and the capacity of universities to monitor their
progress has increased significantly.
Currently, more than 75 universities have undergone
the process of internal evaluation to fall in line with
SICEVAES-established guidelines for institutional
quality. Across the region, where countries have yet to
develop or implement national accreditation procedures,
many universities, both public and private, have
utilized SICEVAES accreditation to maintain and
demonstrate that they uphold international standards of
quality.
Consejo
Centroamericano de Acreditación (CCA)
The Central American Accreditation Council – CCA –
was created in 2003 by CSUCA for the
purpose of establishing a regional mechanism for
integrating and articulating the various accreditation
and quality assurance initiatives operating in the
region.
At the beginning of the century, CSUCA organized four
Central American Forums on Accreditation and invited
state and private university presidents, presidents of
national professional associations, representative from
different academic departments from various
universities, and representative of accreditation
organizations from all seven Central American nations.
The goal of these conferences was to establish a
consensus on the creation of the CCA.
At the final meeting in 2003, the organization was
established and has since worked to integrate and
improve the multiple universities and accrediting bodies
with a stake in the quality of higher education in the
region. The goals of the CCA are outlined as follows:
- To promote a culture of quality assurance in
Central American higher education and to act as
mediators of accreditation practices in the region
- To recognize the quality of accreditation
organizations both national and regional
- To contribute to the mobility of professionals,
professors, students, and researchers in order to
improve Central American integration
- To promote research and development of mutual
studies and degrees between Central American
institutions of higher education
- To provide the public with reliable information
concerning the quality of Central American higher
education
The CCA functions as an accreditor of the “second
order,” an organization that oversees and validates the
functions of individual accrediting bodies that function
on the regional and national level. The accrediting
organizations of Central America can solicit the CCA to
audit their organization’s practices and request
assistance in the development of their own quality
assurance practices. The CCA also functions as a
cooperative where organizations from different countries
can share their experiences and utilize other
institutional experiences to help grow the evaluation
culture within their country. In 2007, the CCA will
accept its first solicitations for the accreditation
process.
You can access a very informative, interactive
organizational chart for the CCA in Spanish here.
Asociación de Universities Privadas de
Centro América (AUPRICA)
Background:
The Association of Central American Private
Universities – AUPRICA – was formed in 1990 with the
mission of accrediting private institutions of higher
education in Central America. AUPRICA was established in
response to a proliferation in the number of private
universities and colleges operating in the region and at
a time of increased international awareness about the
necessity to monitor quality standards in higher
education.
AUPRICA developed a method of accreditation, the
Sistema Centroamericano de Acreditación Universitaria
(Central American University Accreditation System) with
the aid of the Council of Independent Colleges, a
U.S. organization dedicated to enhancing private higher
education’s commitment to society. AUPRICA accredits
only its member universities and colleges, the majority
of which are based in El Salvador and Honduras.
Typically, the universities evaluated and accredited by
AUPRICA are smaller than Central America’s national
universities and are consequently not as well
recognized. Currently, 20 universities in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua are accredited by AUPRICA.
Organizational Structure:
AUPRICA does not have a permanent headquarters and is
overseen by a rotating board of directors. The accreditation
commission employed by AUPRICA is also not permanent and
is reformed according to the schedule of evaluation
procedures. This commission is made up of five members,
academics with institutional evaluation experience, one
representing the universities from the four member
countries and one coordinator. External evaluation teams
are named by the commission from AUPRICA member
institutions.
Accreditation:
AUPRICA members solicit the organization if they want
to undergo the accreditation process. AUPRICA assigns an
accreditation commission which first guides the
institution through a process of internal evaluation as
set out by official guidelines. Following the internal
evaluation, the commission assigns external evaluators
from a member institution in a different country to
visit the institution and complete an assessment. The
assessment is based on validating all of the assertions
made in the internal evaluation report. The
accreditation commission and AUPRICA’s general assembly
of members review the findings of both the internal and
external evaluations and a final decision on
accreditation is then handed down.
With the exponential growth in the number of private
universities in Central America, the need to monitor
quality standards is a pressing issue. Student capacity
at private institutions is outstripping the state’s
ability to accommodate postsecondary students in a
majority of Central American nations. However, the
extent to which these new universities and colleges are
accountable to their students has been questioned by
numerous observers and government officials. AUPRICA is
one organization offering private universities and
colleges an opportunity to validate their programs
through membership and subsequent accreditation;
unfortunately, most institutions lack the resources to
pursue such a venture.
Red
Iberoamericano para la Acreditación de la Calidad de la
Educación Superior – (RIACES)
The Latin American Network for the Accreditation of
the Quality of Higher Education (RIACES) was established
in Buenos Aires in May of 2003 as an association of
agencies involved in the evaluation and accreditation of
institutions of higher education. Much like the CCA, but
encompassing all of Latin America, RIACES is designed to
provide a network that promotes exchange and cooperation
between national and regional quality assurance
organizations. Nearly all of the countries of Latin
America have member organizations affiliated with
RIACES, as does Spain.
The organizational goals of RIACES are very similar
to those of the CCA. RIACES promotes quality assurance
workshops, encourages the exchange of students and
professors within Latin America, supports the
development of new accrediting bodies, and offers to
accredit such organizations according to their own
established guidelines.
One issue that has decelerated the advance of
accreditation practices in Latin America is the
difficulty that nations have encountered in implementing
established international models of quality assurance
into their own higher education systems. RIACES offers
an opportunity for the exchange of experiences and a
degree of oversight in the process of regulating
academic standards. RIACES also serves as a watchdog
organization to ensure efficacy in the accreditation
practice across the region.
Links to Additional Information:
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