The initiative aims to foster shared perspectives on financial sustainability, modular training, and the challenges facing the student population. During the meeting, the CRUCH Academic Vice-Rectors' Commission also renewed some of its leadership.
The start of a joint working group between the Undersecretariat of Higher Education and the Commission of Academic Vice-Rectors (CoVRA), of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH), was the main agreement reached during the second plenary session of the Commission, held on June 4 and 5, 2026.
The meeting was organized by the Federico Santa María Technical University (USM), which provided the facilities of its San Joaquín Campus to host university authorities. Over the two days, attendees addressed key topics such as the use of artificial intelligence in educational processes, the duration of degree programs, and the National Qualifications Framework.
The meeting featured a presentation by the Undersecretary of Higher Education, Fernanda Valdés, who outlined her ministry's priorities for the coming years. These included the financial sustainability of the system (with a focus on student loans and tuition-free education) and a regulatory review of the distribution of state benefits and aid, aiming to provide them with greater rigor.
In that context, the authority extended an invitation to CoVRA to establish a strategic coordination body during the coming months.
“The idea is to maintain working groups with the institutions. Through the academic vice-rectors, I believe this is the most relevant channel to move forward with agreements to update the offerings, to dare to ask more out-of-the-box questions, to dare, for example, to have a modular, more structured, more flexible training, where students, young and not so young (...) can enter and leave the system in such a way that they are better prepared and with more skills for the labor market,” the official stated.
Work agenda
The meeting included working groups to analyze topics such as titles and degrees, the duration of undergraduate programs, and the National Qualifications Framework.
In that regard, the participants received a presentation from the National Center for Artificial Intelligence (CENIA), led by Brayan Díaz, entitled: “Strategic reflection on the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Chilean university system: challenges for teaching, academic governance, quality assurance and inter-university collaboration.”.
They also listened to academic Francisco Gangas Contreras, who presented on the topic of “Inter and Multidisciplinary Institute for Research in Education and Scientific Production of Chilean Universities: Background for Dialogue”.
Along with praising the initiative, Fernanda Kri, head of the Commission and rector of the University of O'Higgins, explained the nature of the discussions: “At CoVRA, we have been discussing the length of degree programs, a topic that resurfaces in the public sphere every so often. We have been debating whether it is possible, but above all, why it is desired, what the motivations are, when it is feasible, and making accurate comparisons with the international discussion; because it is often said that they are longer than in the rest of the world, but the truth is that this is not entirely accurate.”.
For her part, Sandra Gaete, president of the Commission and Academic Vice-Rector of the Metropolitan Technological University (UTEM), emphasized that the deployment of the working groups aligned with the Undersecretary's proposal. “Today we are coordinating on matters such as the use of artificial intelligence in educational processes, curricular flexibility, and the National Qualifications Framework, because we must have a shared vision to coordinate a five- or six-month work agenda that will allow us to reach agreements and co-design different aspects of higher education,” she stated.
Elections of new board members
During the closing session, the CoVRA plenary held elections to complete the board, electing four new representatives: Andrés Fuentes, Academic Vice-Rector of the Federico Santa María Technical University; Felisa Solar, Academic Vice-Rector of the Catholic University of Temuco; Milton Inostroza, Academic Vice-Rector of the University of Talca; and Martha Hengst, Academic Vice-Rector of the Catholic University of the North.
They will join Sandra Gaete, Academic Vice-Rector of the Metropolitan Technological University and president of the Commission; Claudia Mejías, Academic Vice-Rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso; Lorena Gerli, Academic Vice-Rector of the Catholic University of the Most Holy Conception and José Miguel Simian, Academic Vice-Rector of the University of Los Andes.
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