During the second annual plenary session of the Commission of Academic Vice-Rectors (CoVRA) of the collegiate body, the new Steering Committee was elected and the strategic guidelines for the period 2023-2025 were approved.
With the aim of generating a space for analysis, discussion and collaborative work, the Commission of Academic Vice-Chancellors (CoVRA) of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) seeks continuous improvement of the processes between the various institutions that make up the collegiate body.
During the second annual plenary session of this Commission, held at the Catholic University of the Santísima Concepción (UCSC), the new Steering Committee was elected and the strategic guidelines for the period 2023-2025 were approved.
On the occasion, Dr. Nelson Fernández, academic vice-rector of the Universidad Católica del Norte (UCN), assumed the presidency of the new CoVRA steering committee for the next two years. “As CoVRA, our scope of action is quite broad, since most of the undergraduate and postgraduate training work is in these vice-chancellors as well as student, admission and library issues, among others. Our challenge as a new board is to begin to relate to the other work spaces that have been generated in recent times, such as Linking with the Environment and Mental Health, as well as with the other existing committees; Therefore, we seek to work in an associative manner, generating synergies that improve results within the university system. We are very interested in being able to contribute to public policy in the field of education in our country,” said the authority.
In addition to this, the Steering Committee defined advancing initiatives associated with inclusion in order to contribute to the cultural change that our country requires and also address academic integrity as a transversal and important challenge for Higher Education institutions in their different missionary functions. .
CHALLENGES
Nelson Fernández commented that the Commission has several challenges ahead, including working to reduce post-pandemic gaps, placing emphasis on students who are entering Higher Education. “This involves greater and better efforts, investment of resources and facing the new difficulties or new problems that we are discovering as our students enter universities,” he explained.
Another relevant challenge is institutional accreditation based on the new criteria that came into effect in October of this year. Likewise, other relevant challenges are inclusion, diversity and the mental health of students.
Additionally, the CoVRA is being called to work together with the Ministry of Education in the modernization project that contemplates four lines of work, the shortening of careers, virtual education, the national qualifications framework and the transferable credit system, he stated. Fernandez.
DIRECTIVE
The new board was made up of the academic vice-rectors of the Catholic University of the Santísima Concepción (UCSC), María Graciela Badilla; from the Metropolitan Technological University (UTEM), Sandra Gaete; from the University of O’Higgins (UOH), Carlos Pérez; from the University of La Serena (ULS), Alejandra Torrejón; from the Catholic University of Temuco (UCT), David Figueroa; and chaired by Nelson Fernández from the Universidad Católica del Norte (UCN). This new work team contemplates balance in its composition in terms of gender, geographical areas and type of institution.
On the occasion, the strategic guidelines proposed by the new Steering Committee were also approved, which consider the themes of inclusion, good practices, academic integrity, artificial intelligence, contribution to the country’s public policy and contingency of the national university system.
