| |
| EXPANSIÓN OF COVERAGE WITH QUALITY, |
| RELEVANCE AND SOCIAL INCLUSION |
| a) RECOMMENDATIONS TO GOVERNMENTS |
| |
| * To establish and strengthen reliable information systems on Higher Education in |
| order to carry out appropriate diagnoses, offer inputs for public and institutional |
| policies and enabling comparisons between systems. Moreover, it is essential that |
| governments cooperate with UNESCO-IESALC to foster the consolidation of the |
| Map of Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (MESALC) and its |
| implementation in all countries of the region, including Puerto Rico and the |
| countries of the Ibero-American Area of Higher Education Likewise, it is equally |
| important for countries to participate in the UNESCO Portal on Higher Education |
| Institutions. |
| |
| * To reach the goal of 40% of expected quality coverage by the year 2015, taking |
| into consideration appropriate standards. Currently, gross coverage rate in the |
| region is 32%, and the average percentage for developed countries is 55%. It is |
| recommended that each State defines national coverage goals at undergraduate |
| and graduate levels, as well as strategies to promote geographic de-concentration |
| of offerings based on common efforts among governments of the region. |
| |
| * To increase government budgets for Higher Education, fostering a policy of |
| recovery of the public sector, especially in countries that exhibit an imbalance in |
| regard to private offerings and implementing appropriate mechanisms of |
| accountability. |
| |
| * To expand inclusion policies for admission of students in undergraduate and |
| graduate levels, and include new aid mechanisms for students (education grants, |
| financial aid, room and board and healthcare as well as academic monitoring and |
| |
| vocational and professional guidance). These policies aim to generating equity, |
| decreasing drop-outs, improving student achievements, eliminating training gaps, |
| and fostering digital inclusion. |
| |
| * To implement inclusion policies for vulnerable populations taking into |
| consideration gender, disabled, indigenous and afro-descendants, including those |
| deprived of their freedom or who live in rural areas, people with scarce resources, |
| migrants, refugees, and other vulnerable populations to ensure their permanence |
| within the institutions. |
| |
| * To encourage the creation and consolidation of venues for inter-cultural dialogue |
| based on equal rights and mutual respect. |
| |
| * To thoroughly assess the status of primary and secondary education, in order to |
| increase and update quality in pedagogical innovations, as an efficient manner to |
| assure better training of those who seek higher education. |
| b) RECOMMENDATIONS TO HEI |
| |
| * To assume a commitment to attain qualified and inclusive coverage, and |
| implement management mechanisms that provides self-assessment procedures |
| and appropriate accountability. |
| |
| * To include in their strategies indicators of social responsibility. |
| |
| * To expand inclusion policies for admission while carrying out institutional support |
| programs for students (education grants, financial aid, room and board, health |
| care, as well as academic monitoring and vocational and professional guidance) |
| aimed at generating equity, decreasing drop-outs, improving student achievement, |
| eliminating training gaps, and fostering digital inclusion. |
| |
| * To implement, as part of institutional plans, affirmative actions for the inclusion |
| and permanence of minority groups, disabled persons, ethnic groups (indigenous |
| people and afro-descendents), and individuals with scarce resources, workers, |
| refugees, and other vulnerable populations. |
| |
| * To incorporate an academic monitoring system for students in order to reduce |
| drop-outs and to assure appropriate performance and comprehensive training. |
| |
| * To develop links for the entire education system, fostering solid cognitive bases |
| and learning on pre-university levels to ensure that students that access Higher |
| Education level already have the values, skills and abilities in order to acquire, |
| construct and transfer knowledge for the benefit of society. |
| |
| * To incorporate a monitoring system of graduates within the labour market that |
| makes it possible to assess and strengthen the relevance and quality of higher |
| education. |
| |
| * To contribute with plans for the review and improvement of the primary and |
| secondary levels of national education. |