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The plenary session addressed the measures proposed by the Council, within the framework of the processing of the 2023 Budget, which includes proposals such as the use of the surpluses of the University Credit Solidarity Fund; the restitution of the Institutional Development and University Strengthening Funds and the strengthening of the Regional Higher Education Fund, among others.
The Council also made progress in forming the Pedagogy Commission, and learned about the results of the 2021 version of the National Student Engagement Survey (ENCE).
The proposals for the 2023 Budget formulated by the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) to guarantee the sustainability of the institutions was one of the main topics addressed by the plenary in its session No. 638.
“We ask that some contributions of no major resources be considered and that there be political will that contributes to the better functioning of high-quality institutions that contribute to the development of the territories,” said the executive vice president of CRUCH, Emilio Rodríguez (U. of Tarapacá).
The monthly meeting took place this Thursday, October 27th, at the Isla Teja Campus of the Austral University of Chile, and was preceded by The presentation by Rodríguez and one of the rectors in charge of the CRUCH Economic Commission, Carlos Torres (University of Talca), before the Fourth Joint Subcommittee on Budgets.
In Valdivia, Rodríguez acknowledged that “the Government has made an effort to implement a budget with the smallest possible reductions,” but warned that the 2023 budget proposal includes an inflation factor that “does not fully compensate for inflation, and consequently, there is a deterioration in real terms.”.
It is worth noting that, in recent years, the universities of the Council have had to face a complex scenario due to the costs associated with the health crisis, as well as the difficulties in the implementation of the free tuition policy and other responsibilities related to mental health and the implementation of Law No. 21,369, among other emerging challenges.
In this scenario, the rector argued that while the bill considers compensation with “other contributions that the Government has tried to make, universities need specific support so that next year's budget allows for a balance in the system.”.
Rodríguez also highlighted that “we have supported all the proposals of the CUECH in the executive committee, the essential proposals of the G9 and the AUR, which has allowed us to present an aligned proposal to the Government and Parliament.”.
Proposals for the 2023 budget
Among the measures proposed by CRUCH before the Fourth Joint Subcommittee is the use of the 50% of the accumulated surpluses of the University Credit Solidarity Fund (FSCU) from 2021 and 2022.
Other proposed measures include the restitution of the Institutional Development and University Strengthening Funds of Article 1 of DFL (Ed.) No. 4 of 1981, which were reduced to $0 in 2021; and readjusting the funds of the Direct Fiscal Contribution and other basic or agreement funds in a percentage equivalent to the CPI.
Likewise, it is requested that the entry into force of Article 48 of Law No. 21,094, which governs state universities, be postponed again, as well as facilitating tools that allow these institutions to access long-term debt with a state guarantee.
It also advocates increasing resources for regional universities, through strengthening the Regional Higher Education Fund, along with the creation of state financing instruments and resource transfers to cover the zone allowance that benefits officials of state institutions, in order to equalize the payment method of the Extreme Zones Bonus with the rest of the public sector.
Likewise, Rector Rodríguez stated that "there are a number of requests related to having the necessary resources to conduct a Higher Education Access Test (PAES) with broad coverage, but also inclusive, and there are additional resources required beyond those contemplated in the bill.".
New Pedagogy Commission
On the other hand, this session addressed the formation of the new advisory committee on Pedagogy of the CRUCH, approved by the plenary session during the September session.
Rector Rodríguez emphasized that through this initiative, the Council is “addressing one of the most significant problems facing the country.” He added that “estimates suggest a shortage of over 30,000 teachers in the next decade. Consequently, this is a very large issue, and we are addressing it systemically, from access—which has certain restrictions and requirements—to strengthening processes to improve teacher placement rates, as well as contributing to the design of public policies that will effectively strengthen initial teacher training.”.
In this context, the rector of the University of Playa Ancha, Carlos González, joined the working group at this session, and will share tasks with the rector of the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences, Elisa Araya, and the rectors of the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso, Nelson Vásquez, and of the University of Los Lagos, Óscar Garrido.
In addition, the members of the commission were defined, which will be made up of 32 academics and university authorities, belonging to 29 of the 30 universities of the Council.
Thus, the commission was composed of Iván Salinas, from the Department of Pedagogical Studies of the Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities of the University of Chile; Dr. Alejandro Carrasco, dean of the Faculty of Education of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile; Dr. Oscar Nail, dean of the Faculty of Education of the University of Concepción; Carmen Montecinos, executive director of the Center for Educational Leaders of the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso; Jennifer Jones, director of Teaching and Learning at the Federico Santa María Technical University; Catherine Flores, academic of the Faculty of Education of the University of Santiago of Chile; Dr. Patricia Castillo, director of the School of Education of the Catholic University of the North; Dr. Alberto Moreno, academic of the Faculty of Medicine and of the Early Childhood Education program of the University of Valparaíso; Juan Salinas Valdés, academic of the Faculty of Education of the University of Antofagasta; Dr. Sandra Álvarez, Director of the Integrated Management Unit for Pedagogies at the University of La Serena; Dr. Fancy Castro, Dean of the Faculty of Education and Humanities at the University of Bío-Bío; Juan Manuel Fierro, Dean of the Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of La Frontera; Álvaro González, Dean of the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences at the University of Magallanes; Dr. Mauricio Véliz, Dean of the Faculty of Educational Sciences at the University of Talca; Carla Palma, Academic at the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Atacama; Dr. Carlos Mondaca, Dean of the Faculty of Education and Humanities at the University of Tarapacá; Dr. Marcela Quintana, Dean of the Faculty of Human Sciences at the Arturo Prat University; Dr. Paola Quintanilla, Academic Vice-Rector of the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences; Dr. Miguel Caro, academic at the Department of Basic Education of UMCE; Dr. Marta Castañeda, director of the Department of Pedagogy of the Faculty of Educational Sciences of the University of Playa Ancha; Dr. Javier Vergara, academic at the Faculty of Educational Sciences of UPLA; Dr. Diana Venero, general director of Teaching at the Metropolitan Technological University; Rodrigo Lagos, director of the Department of Education of the University of Los Lagos; Dr. Marcelo Cassis, head of the Pedagogy in Basic Education program at the University of Los Lagos; Nancy Leppe, academic coordinator of the Initial Teacher Training Program (FID), of the Faculty of Educational Sciences of the Catholic University of Maule; Dr. Marcelo Careaga, head of the Department of Curriculum and Evaluation of the Faculty of Education of the Catholic University of the Most Holy Conception; Dr. Juan Mansilla, dean of the Faculty of Education of the Catholic University of Temuco; Dr. Sergio Martinic, academic of the Department of Social Sciences of the U. of Aysén; Dr. Soledad Concha, language academic with experience in public policy from the U. of O'Higgins; Paula Lozano, dean of the Faculty of Education of the U. Diego Portales; Dr. Marisol Latorre, dean of the Faculty of Education of the U. Alberto Hurtado; and Ignacio Illanes, dean of the Faculty of Education of the U. of Los Andes.
Meanwhile, Thomas Griggs, head of the University Education Division of the Undersecretariat of Higher Education, presented to the rectors the work plan promoted by the department, within the framework of the National Teaching Strategy and the formation, at the end of August, of the “Diagnosis and Reformulation Table of the Access to Pedagogy Programs (PAP)”.
ENCE Survey 2021
Also in this session, the results of the National Student Engagement Survey (ENCE) were shared, which was applied during 2021 to more than 8,000 undergraduate students from 13 CRUCH universities and which were recently presented at a hybrid seminar.
The director of the ENCE Project, Gonzalo Zapata, along with the deputy director, José Miguel Salazar, explained that one of the most significant aspects of the latest application of the instrument was that during the second year of the health crisis there was evidence of an improvement in the perception of students regarding teaching practices and the quality of interactions with teachers.
The university presidents valued the information from ENCE because it contributes to obtaining information in different dimensions, which offers the possibility of providing feedback to the universities regarding their own academic and training processes.
On the other hand, during this October session the Council welcomed the new rectors of the Federico Santa María Technical University, Juan Yuz Eissmann, and of the University of Playa Ancha, Carlos González.
It was also agreed that the rector of the Catholic University of Temuco, Aliro Bórquez, would assume the position of head of the CRUCH Admission and Enrollment Commission.
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