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The executive vice president of CRUCH, Juan Manuel Zolezzi, praised the progress in processing the short bill that extends the entry into force of regulated tariffs to 2024.
The plenary session of university presidents and rectors valued the efforts of the Undersecretary of Higher Education to resolve the situation of foreign students, academics and researchers who have not been able to enter Chile due to problems with the issuance of visas.
Likewise, CRUCH agreed to a working group with the CNA, so that postgraduate programs whose certifications were affected by the pandemic can complete their processes and their students can access ANID scholarships.
The review of the progress in processing the bill that postpones the entry into force of the regulated fees was one of the main topics addressed in session No. 634 of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH).
The initiative is in its first legislative stage and has already been approved by the Senate's Education and Finance committees, meaning it is now ready to be reviewed in the plenary session.
In this regard, the executive vice president of CRUCH and rector of the University of Santiago, Juan Manuel Zolezzi, explained that “the Ministry of Education is interested in the approval of this short law as soon as possible, which allows for the extension of the technical bases of regulated tuition fees to 2023 and its entry into force in 2024. Based on this, a way has been designed to move forward with the different university stakeholders, because this is not just a matter for the Council, but concerns all universities participating in the free tuition program.”.
Rector Zolezzi added that the Undersecretary of Higher Education, Verónica Figueroa, stated that "a financing system for higher education will be studied," without providing further details of the proposal that the Executive will present in this area.
Visas for foreign students and academics
In addition to the progress in the area of regulated fees, in the session held this Thursday, June 30, at USACH, Undersecretary Figueroa referred to the problems of processing visas for foreign students, academics and researchers and committed various efforts by the Undersecretariat of Higher Education to contribute to the search for solutions, among which the formation of a working group stands out.
This issue is being addressed by the Council of Rectors through its Internationalization, Postgraduate and Research committees.
The executive vice president of CRUCH welcomed the announcement, stating, “There are many professors and students who are foreigners and have had visa applications for a long time, and they cannot continue working and studying without the corresponding visa. They cannot come here on a tourist visa, as some have done, trying to salvage the situation, because they will not be able to obtain a residence visa afterward, which means they cannot work.”.
In another matter, Undersecretary Figueroa addressed the new developments in the 2023 admissions process, which involves the 45 universities affiliated with the Access System. She highlighted the upcoming administration of the Winter Transition Test on July 4 and 5, and the start of the registration period for the Higher Education Entrance Exam (PAES), which will run from June 29 to August 10.
Working group with the CNA
The plenary session of university presidents also received the president of the National Accreditation Commission (CNA), Andrés Bernasconi, to discuss the New Accreditation Criteria and Standards, which will come into full effect on October 1, 2023.
In addition, the accreditation of postgraduate programs was analyzed, which in many cases is delayed due to the pandemic. Rector Zolezzi explained that “the situation with postgraduate programs is serious, because students are currently losing scholarships,” since one of the requirements of the National Research and Development Agency (ANID) for awarding scholarships is that the program must be accredited.
The executive vice president of CRUCH praised Bernasconi's willingness to resolve these cases. “Today it was agreed to establish a working group where we can discuss, together with ANID and CNA, how to reach an agreement. We have to resolve this situation.” Zolezzi added that the Undersecretary of Higher Education was invited to participate in this meeting.
Welcome to Rosa Devés and goodbye to Claudio Elórtegui
The CRUCH plenary session welcomed the rector of the University of Chile, Rosa Devés Alessandri, who assumed the position on June 22, replacing Ennio Vivaldi.
In her first session as a rector and member of the CRUCH, Rosa Devés stated that “the Council of Rectors has a very important challenge: to always maintain the unity of the higher education system. All the institutions that make up the Council have their own approaches and challenges according to the nature of each one, but the unity, the convergence of the system, is very important, and we have much in common.”.
On the other hand, the rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso, Claudio Elórtegui Riffo, was dismissed; he will leave the rectorship in July, after 12 years in the position.
Claudio Elórtegui holds a degree in Business Engineering from the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (PUCV) and a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh, USA. He began his academic career at PUCV as a professor in the School of Economics and Business in 1975, eventually becoming head of the Academic Unit. Between 1994 and 2010, he served as Vice-Rector of Administration and Finance, and in June 2010, he became Rector, a position he held for two consecutive terms (2014 and 2018).
In his farewell address, Rector Zolezzi said that Claudio Elórtegui “is a very well-prepared person, with a deep interest in contributing to improving the higher education system” and added that “his participation in CRUCH has been a relevant contribution to the various debates that have taken place in this plenary session.”.
For his part, the rector of PUCV—who participated remotely in the session—expressed his gratitude for the recognition from CRUCH and stated that his participation in the Council “has been a tremendous learning experience in higher education and other areas. I also want to highlight the personal relationships that developed during this period, which allowed me to deepen my connections with many people.”.
*Photographs: University of Santiago Communications – CRUCH Communications
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