Council of Rectors announces the validity of PSU scores for two years

28/10/2010
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The measure will take effect after the University Selection Tests are administered this year.

The CRUCH also expressed its concern about the 2011 Budget, since, according to Executive Vice President Víctor Pérez, the project being discussed in Congress reflects that "higher education is not a priority for this country.".

In today's monthly session, the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) made an important and long-awaited announcement: the validity of the scores of the University Selection Tests (PSU) for a period of 2 years.

«The Council of Rectors welcomes the request made by the President of the Republic and the Minister of Education to maintain the score for two consecutive years. We will continue working with the Ministry of Education to ensure that no student loses benefits or student aid with the implementation of this measure. We believe it is a good initiative because it will allow students who decide to change their major due to their vocation to avoid having to retake the exam,» stated the Council’s Executive Vice President, Rector Víctor Pérez.
The measure will take effect starting with this year's PSU exams, and the last score taken will be considered valid. In other words, if a student takes the test this year and decides to retake it next year, only their most recent score will be considered.

Budget concerns

Regarding the 2011 Budget, the Council of Rectors expressed its concern. "According to this proposal, higher education is not a priority for this country. We, as the Council, believe that a public policy is being imposed through financing mechanisms without due national debate. By establishing performance agreements, a policy is being imposed in practice, and what is being done is to maintain public resources by increasing the number of applicants. This has consequences for the quality and coverage of higher education, and if a policy that opens up fiscal resources is to be imposed, there must be a proper debate on the matter," Pérez stated.
Furthermore, the Council criticized the freezing of resources from the University Credit Solidarity Fund (FSCU), which puts at risk an entire cohort of students who would be left without state support.
In other aspects, the increase in resources for FONDECYT was appreciated. However, the reduction in regional science and innovation funds and resources allocated to collaborative research was viewed with concern.
«Although it is said that the budget increases by 81%, that is the average, and it must be borne in mind that the largest increase in the higher education budget is due to financial contributions from loan guarantee provisions for state-backed loans. In other words, there are no actual additional resources. We hope that the government and parliament will resolve these issues during the budget discussions,» concluded Rector Pérez.