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In an interview following his recent election as executive vice president of CRUCH, the rector of the University of Tarapacá addresses the guidelines for the 2022-2024 period.
“A strategic perspective in the area of quality, equity and territorial development seems to be an important challenge to take on in two years of management,” says the university authority.
In the context of the 68th anniversary of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities, Rector Rodríguez states that "strengthening and positioning CRUCH as an international benchmark of the utmost importance is a near possibility, to the extent that we deploy our efforts with strategic direction.".
Almost a month ago, the rector of the University of Tarapacá, Emilio Rodríguez, was unanimously elected by the rectors as executive vice president of CRUCH for the period 2022-2024.
At the plenary session on July 28, in Valparaíso, the rector of the Austral University of Chile, Hans Richter, was also elected as alternate executive vice president, as well as the new members of the Executive Committee.
In this first month in office, she has addressed current issues, such as regulated fees, the implementation process of Law No. 21,369 that regulates Sexual Harassment, Violence and Gender Discrimination in the field of Higher Education, the concern for the mental health of university students, the new provisions for the 2023 admission process, among other aspects.
Also in August, on the occasion of the 68th anniversary of the Council of Rectors and Rectresses, he reflected on the role of CRUCH and its contributions to the higher education system, the main axes of his management and his main expectations for this public and autonomous administration body that was created by law in 1954.
Reference institution
-Regarding the anniversary of CRUCH, what is your view of this organization, whose main role is to advise the Ministry of Education?
The Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) is a key institution for the development of Chilean higher education. Since its inception, it has played a vital role in improving educational processes, fostering research, and ultimately strengthening the university system. The country's highest-quality universities are members of CRUCH; these institutions are either public or possess an undeniable and proven public commitment, forming a robust academic network stretching from Arica to Magallanes.
-In your opinion, what are the most substantial contributions of CRUCH to the higher education system?
Throughout its history, the CRUCH has not only played an advisory role, but has also been instrumental in the design and implementation of key elements of university development. Notable examples include the implementation of a standardized entrance exam, which is the essential foundation of the current admissions system; the standardized self-regulation commission, which ensured quality before the existence of accrediting bodies and whose principles still prevail in the system; and its role in supporting research policy and tuition-free education policies.
The CRUCH provides the system with an underlying qualitative standard, which can serve as an implicit paradigm, in a context—incidentally—where institutional development projects have both intrinsic and extrinsic value. The CRUCH is a benchmark for quality and equity.
Quality, equity and territorial development
-What are the main priorities that will guide your administration over the next two years?
The CRUCH enjoys a prestigious reputation built on a history of contributions to the national system, serving as an international benchmark. Therefore, it is essential to continue along the current path of development, incorporating a deeper strategic perspective that allows for projecting society's long-term needs and, in turn, enables the development of appropriate responses that must necessarily consider the dimensions of quality, equity, and territorial development.
All of Chile is Chile, and more than a demand, strengthening a high-quality and equitable education system throughout the national territory is a moral obligation, and the CRUCH, in its advisory role, can decisively contribute to the debate.
-What will be the main areas of development for the 2022-2024 management period?
Defining and establishing a strategic perspective in the areas of quality, equity, and territorial development appears to be a significant challenge to undertake during this two-year term, always bearing in mind that the CRUCH is a collective body where decisions are typically made by consensus and where all opinions are valued due to the expertise and qualifications of those who express them. Consequently, these and other substantive aspects for fulfilling the CRUCH's legal mission will be defined within the CRUCH itself.
Challenges and future of the CRUCH
-Regarding the upcoming challenges for CRUCH, what are the ones you foresee?
In two years, the Council of Rectors will reach its 70th anniversary, and we need to have a vision of what higher education will be like in the world, towards 2030, towards 2050. In this sense, our capacity to generate and contribute to the design of public policies through advice is a fundamental issue.
This long-term strategic vision is fundamental to decisively improving the quality of universities, but we know that further progress is possible. Improvements can be made by also focusing on equity, which has multiple dimensions, from gender equity to socioeconomic equity, including territorial equity, inclusion, and equity in cultural terms.
Our Council should adopt a long-term perspective on initial teacher training, as well as on technological transformation, which is an inevitable reality worldwide. In this regard, it is necessary to define how this technological transformation reaches students, teaching practices, and classrooms, in order to better integrate ourselves into the knowledge society.
-In the context of the contingency, what challenges do you foresee?
Our higher education system is one where resources are contested in many ways, almost annually, and in that context, budgetary discussion is an aspect that always has an important place within the Council.
In this context, the modeling of a new financing model is a challenge that the government faces today, and consequently, we will also have to make pronouncements on this matter, as well as on regulated tariffs, among other issues.
-Finally, what are your wishes for the future of CRUCH?
Strengthening and positioning CRUCH as a leading international institution is a near-term possibility, provided we deploy our efforts with strategic direction, leveraging the essential resources and capabilities of this unique network of high-quality universities. Furthermore, given that Chilean universities are among the best in Latin America, international projections become a natural short-term outcome.
*Photo: University of Tarapacá.
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