Quality Assurance System
Colombia has established a Quality Assurance System for Higher Education. The purpose is to ensure the quality of institutions and academic programs, and to promote their continuous improvement. The system has three inter-related components: Information, Evaluation and Development.
Information
A set of information systems supports the supply of information, evaluation processes and plans for institutional improvement. The systems are:
National System of Higher Education Information, SNIES.
SNIES provides reliable data on Colombia's Higher Education Institutions and the programs they offer, and generates consolidated data and indicators. www.mineducacion.gov.co/snies
Labor Observatory for Education.
This system tracks Colombian graduates from institutions of higher education. It uses a variety of data to interpret the relationship between higher education and the work force. Its goal is to provide the best possible guidance on the relevance of education policies, the quality of programs and students' career choices.
www.graduadoscolombia.edu.co
Higher Education Quality Assurance Information System, SACES.
SACES contains information on the Qualified Registry process of academic programs.
System for the Analysis and Prevention of Desertion in Higher Education, SPADIES.
This system is designed to track individual students who are deemed at risk of desertion in order to prevent and lower drop out rates
Evaluation
With collaboration from academic peers and consulting agencies, the system evaluates programs and institutions when they are created in order to obtain or update their Qualified Registry (minimum quality requirements). The programs are evaluated periodically throughout their operation, or on demand as they seek accreditation. Students are evaluated before they start and upon completion of undergraduate studies through an accumulated competencies evaluation scheme.
Promotion
The Ministry of Education offers a variety of mechanisms to support quality requirements, including: technical assistance in evaluation processes; coaching to improve plans for institutions that may have faced obstacles in obtaining Qualified Registry; projects to improve specific areas, such as infrastructure, research, and teacher training; and supply adequacy [?] at different levels or programs.
Appraisal and monitoring
Monitoring of institutions' operations is done by checking and evaluating academic, administrative and financial aspects. This includes monitoring compliance with constitutional and legal regulations in higher education.
National Council of Consulting Agencies
in Higher Education, CESU
Created by Law 30 of 1992, the Council is composed of representatives of the higher education (teachers, students, institutions, and researchers), the private sector, and the government. The Council is responsible for advising the government on education policies and follow-up.
Cross-Sector Committee for the Assurance of Quality in Higher Education, CONACES
CONACES is made up of a General Assembly, with representatives from the government and academia. It has seven committees, one per area of knowledge; a committee for Masters' and PhD programs and another for Institutions. Its functions include evaluation of the requirements for the creation of higher education institutions and academic programs. It also advises the government on policies concerning quality assurance.
National Accreditation Council, CAN
Made up by seven CESU designated scholars with ample expertise, this council advises the Ministry of Education on matters concerning accreditation and programs that different institutions access voluntarily. Following an academic evaluation, the council issues concepts that the Ministry applies to issue High Quality Accreditation resolutions for programs and institutions.
Support Agencies
Institute for the Promotion of Higher Education, ICFES
ICFES designs and administers standardized tests that evaluate the Colombian education system. Students are required to take the tests before they start higher education, and upon completion of their academic program. The evaluation of these test results are used to make improvements in the education system. www.icfes.gov.co
Colombian Institute for the Development of Science and Technology, COLCIENCIAS.
COLCIENCIAS promotes and guides policies to strengthen research in science and technology as instruments for the country's development. www.colciencias.gov.co
Colombian Institute for Educational Credit and Technical Education Abroad, ICETEX.
ICETEX promotes access to and permanence in the higher education system by providing educational loans to finance tuition and living expenses abroad. It is directed to students who lack economic resources. www.icetex.gov.co
The requirements to access undergraduate education in Colombia are a high school diploma certifying that basic middle school was completed (10th and 11th grades), and the results of the state test administered by ICFES, the Colombian Institute for the Promotion of Higher Education, or its equivalent in other countries.
Undergraduate education is provided at three different levels: professional technical programs, technological program, and university professional programs. A student may enter a technical professional program after completion of ninth grade in a school that is linked to a higher education institution.
In Colombia, higher education is provided by four different types of institutions defined according to their fields:
Professional Technical Institutions, offer undergraduate programs at the professional technical level, and specialization courses in technical fields.
Technological Institutes, offer undergraduate programs in the technical and technological fields, and specialization programs in technical and technology fields.
University Institutes or Technological Schools, offer undergraduate programs at the three levels, as well as graduate, specialization and master's programs
Universities, offer undergraduate programs in the three levels mentioned above, and graduate programs (specialization, master's and PhDs)
Regional Higher Education Centers, CERES
The strategy of CERES is to help higher education institutions reach socially or geographically marginalized areas with relevant, high quality programs. The centers make it possible to share human and financial resources, infrastructure and networks. They are conceived as an alliance between the national, departmental, and local governments and civil society, the private sector and academia, in pursuit of a common goal: to generate social and economic development in communities by facilitating access to higher education.
Project to Invigorate Technical and Technological Education
This project links the education sector with strategic productive sectors. Partners gain access to economic resources in order to develop specific projects to ensure that academic programs develop skills and competencies that are relevant and in demand, contributing to Colombia‘s productivity and competitiveness.
National Education and Innovation Program based on the use of ICTs
This program seeks to improve education by positioning virtual education with an international vision. The strategies include: teacher training , support in creating virtual communities, technical assistance in strategic planning, the promotion of information and communication technologies, the development and use of quality digital contents, and e-learning
Contact information:
President: Marta Lucía Villegas Botero
Director of International Relations: Ruby Stella Montaño Fajardo
E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Website: www.icetex.gov.co
Institutional Information
The Colombian Institute for Education Credit and Technical Studies Abroad (ICETEX, for its Spanish acronym) is a specialized financial institution that promotes higher education by combining its own and third party funds to provide educational loans to study abroad While it is bound to the Ministry of National Education, it is administratively autonomous, and has its own budget.
By law, ICETEX, administers scholarships for Colombians offered by foreign governments, international organizations and foreign higher education institutions. These are non reimbursable scholarships that totally or partially cover educational expenses for Colombian citizens abroad.
In reciprocity, ICETEX, offers scholarships for postgraduate studies to foreign students coming from sponsoring countries with the purpose of building and encouraging the internationalization of Colombian education, and increasing the number of foreign researchers and students who see our educational system as an excellent opportunity to further their education. Likewise, ICETEX and Colombian universities finance the participation of international experts who contribute to postgraduate programs and thereby promote higher education in Colombia.
Over the past 4 years ICETEX has financed transportation or expenses for about 1,200 foreign scholars, coming from different parts of the world as part of the Visiting Professors Program. Visiting professors have contributed to the internationalization of Colombian higher education, by supporting diverse research projects and have generated significant opportunities for academic mobility.
Similarly, ICETEX leads the Languages Assistantship Program which is developed in partnership with different institutions and governments to foster bilingualism. This is done by improving the teaching of a variety of languages in Colombia and of Spanish in other countries.