Council of Rectors agreed to request the postponement of the fee regulation process to the Undersecretariat of Higher Education

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The executive vice president of CRUCH, rector Juan Manuel Zolezzi, pointed out that “as a country we owe ourselves the opportunity to design a system that adjusts to the reality and diversity of the Chilean higher education system, in accordance with the needs of thousands of young people who require support. to study in a quality higher education. The transcendence of the public interests that are at stake requires that its application and implementation have a due process of piloting, testing and adjustments. This is why we request not to apply the model determined by the Undersecretariat and to work on designing one that is appropriate for the country. Otherwise, the process may result in a precariousness of higher education and irreparable damage to its institutions ”.

"The plenary session of the Council of Rectors agreed to request the Undersecretariat of Higher Education to postpone the process of determining fees, for which it will request a meeting as soon as possible," said the executive vice president of CRUCH, rector Juan Manuel Zolezzi, at the end of the meeting. session this Thursday, August 27.

The decision was adopted after making a detailed analysis of how the first process of regulating the values of fees, basic enrollment rights and charging for the concept of qualifications or graduation for higher education developed by the Undersecretariat of Education has been carried out. Superior in the context of Law 21.091, as well as the systemic consequences of its implementation.

“The model and application of a new system of regulated fees is a first theoretical exercise for the country, it is the first version of a career costing model in which there is no previous experience in Chile. The higher education system is very complex and diverse, therefore, as a country we owe ourselves the opportunity to comprehensively design a system for regulating fees in accordance with the needs of thousands of young people who require support to study in a quality higher education. Its application and start-up requires a due process of piloting, tests and adjustments. That is why we request not to apply this model and to work in a participatory way in one that is more suitable for the reality of the country. Otherwise, the process may result in a higher cost for the country and its higher education system, ”explained Rector Zolezzi.

Reasons for the request

Based on the review of various antecedents by the Economic Commission of the CRUCH, the rectors and rector agreed that during the process there has been a lack of participation of the regulated institutions during the process of determining both the technical bases and the regulated values.

Regarding the model defined in the technical bases, which was not consulted with the regulated institutions, the chosen methodology does not adjust to the heterogeneity of the Chilean Higher Education System, which is characterized by institutional diversity. Additionally, the look at historical costs determined by the Undersecretariat does not allow institutions to project themselves over time or finance improvements in quality and innovation.

On the other hand, there are various questions regarding the application of the technical bases and calculation of the regulated values, which will be presented in a formal document to the Committee of Experts. Finally, it is observed that a systemic approach to the public policy problem is lacking. If the model is applied, the CRUCH universities will suffer a serious financial impact and will be seriously injured.

Admission Process 2021

The first part of the session was led by the Undersecretary of Higher Education, Juan Eduardo Vargas, who referred to the development of the 2021 Admission Process and the progress made in the installation of the new Access System. In this context, he unveiled the new portal of the Ministry of Education for access to universities and technical professional institutions.

Con respecto a los resguardos que se deberán tomar para la aplicación de la Prueba de Transición Universitaria, “el subsecretario indicó que la idea es como mínimo tener el doble de locales, lo cual significa un esfuerzo bastante grande. Por ello, nos han pedido la colaboración a las universidades en primer lugar, para poder poner a disposición la infraestructura propia que tenemos las instituciones universitarias a lo largo de todo el país”, explicó el rector Zolezzi.