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In a ceremony held at the former National Congress, the CRUCH presented the 2026 Participatory Public Account, reported on the closing of the 2022-2026 administration and the beginning of a new stage with the transfer of power of the Executive Vice Presidency.
The meeting brought together the main authorities of the system, who agreed to highlight the role of the Council as an advisory body to the State and a space for building agreements to promote public policies, strengthen the university system and contribute to the development of the country.
The Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) began a new institutional cycle with the assumption of the rector of the University of Valparaíso, Osvaldo Corrales Jorquera, as Executive Vice President for the period 2026-2028, in a ceremony that included the closing of the administration of former rector Emilio Rodríguez Ponce during the last four years and the presentation of the Participatory Public Account 2026, in charge of the General Secretary of the Council, Angélica Bosch.
The meeting took place at the former National Congress building on Thursday, July 30, and was chaired by the Minister of Education, María Paz Arzola, who also presides over the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities. Participants included the Undersecretary of Higher Education, Fernanda Valdés; the Undersecretary of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, Carolina Rossi; the President of the National Accreditation Commission, Andrés Bernasconi; rectors from the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH); and representatives from the higher education system and public agencies linked to the sector.
Minister Arzola emphasized that “when we talk about the Council of Rectors, we are talking about the universities where more than half of Chile's university students study. This leadership is also reflected in their quality: according to the National Accreditation Commission, 29 of its 30 universities have accreditation at the advanced or excellence levels, and 13 have reached the level of excellence.”.
Regarding the challenges, the minister emphasized the need to strengthen support for students and move towards more efficient educational pathways. "This is a task that the Ministry has embraced as its own, and in which the CRUCH, as an advisory body to the Ministry of Education, is an irreplaceable partner.".
Assessment of a four-year term
The ceremony marked the end of Emilio Rodríguez's tenure as executive vice president of CRUCH between 2022 and 2026. His management was focused on strengthening the Council's role as a space for coordination, promoting dialogue, building agreements, and ongoing collaboration to address the challenges of Chilean higher education.
During this period, CRUCH consolidated its role as an advisory body to the Ministry of Education on higher education matters, strengthening its capacity to contribute to the design of public policies and to coordinate the joint work of its member universities. In parallel, it promoted a process of institutional modernization that included the implementation of a roadmap to 2030, the renewal of its institutional identity, and the updating of its corporate image—milestones that sought to project the Council's development into the next decade. As part of the ceremony, the award was presented. Management Report 2022-2026, a document that brings together the main institutional advances of the period.
In closing, Emilio Rodríguez expressed his gratitude for the support he received during his tenure and emphasized the collective nature of the progress achieved by the Council. “Terms of office come to an end. Institutional responsibilities remain. I relinquish this role with gratitude and the satisfaction of having contributed to a collective endeavor. What has been accomplished is the result of the work of university presidents, academic teams, and professionals who understood that the future of higher education demands collaboration, knowledge, and a sense of national purpose.”.
New driving cycle
Another highlight of the ceremony was the transfer of power of the Executive Vice Presidency of CRUCH, which began the 2026-2028 period headed by Osvaldo Corrales Jorquera as Executive Vice President and Marcela Momberg Alarcón as Alternate Executive Vice President.
“I take on this task with full awareness of its importance, with a deep sense of responsibility and with the commitment to continue the collective work that the Council has built throughout its history,” Corrales stated.
In her speech, she emphasized that “what characterizes the Council of Rectors is the unwavering defense of a set of values and principles that unite us and that we seek to project to the rest of society: democracy and human rights; equity, inclusion and social mobility; the recognition of merit; a strong public vocation; autonomy, diversity and academic freedom; the pursuit of excellence in the fulfillment of all our mission roles and, above all, the conception of education as a social and human right, which is a necessary condition for the development of people and society.”.
Among the priorities for the new period, he identified strengthening initial teacher training, building a sustainable financing system for higher education, modernizing training pathways, and developing capacities to responsibly incorporate artificial intelligence in teaching, research, and knowledge creation.
Public Account 2026: Main advances
During the 2026 Participatory Public Accountability Report, the Secretary General of CRUCH, Angélica Bosch, presented the main results of the management developed during the last year, highlighting that the Council has strengthened its contribution to the design and improvement of public policies in higher education.
Regarding the main advances and initiatives, Bosch highlighted the Council's contribution to the debates on financing and regulation of higher education, initial teacher training, and the modernization of educational processes in the face of challenges such as artificial intelligence. He also emphasized initiatives that reflect CRUCH's commitment to the development of the system, such as the creation of the new "Youth Participation and Leadership" admissions quota, the strengthening of international cooperation, and the technical work of the advisory committees, which develop proposals and promote the exchange of experiences in areas such as quality, research, student well-being, and community engagement.
Finally, he shared the preliminary results of a consultation with key actors in the system and noted that "the responses gathered in this consultation express a clear expectation: that universities act as a network capable of sharing capabilities, generating evidence and providing a common perspective that strengthens their contribution to public policies.".
The CRUCH brings together 30 universities, from Arica to Magallanes, with a wide diversity of academic projects and a strong territorial presence, contributing to access to higher education, the generation of knowledge and the training of professionals in all regions of the country.
The Council's institutions contribute significantly to strategic areas for the country. For example, 36.11% of the available positions are in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) programs, while nearly 6,000 new graduates received their teaching degrees in 2025. In research, CRUCH universities generated more than 29,000 scientific publications indexed in WoS, Scopus, and SciELO Chile, consolidating their leadership in knowledge production and national scientific development.
Download Participatory Public Account 2026
Text: CRUCH Communications
Photographs: Courtesy of the University of Chile
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