Admission and Enrollment Commission
The admissions delegates met to address the most relevant aspects of the 2024 Admissions Process and analyze the main challenges for universities.
The meeting was attended by the head of the Information and Access Division of the Undersecretariat of Higher Education, Osmar Valdebenito, who stated that one of the challenges is to advance the participation, under equal conditions, in the admission process of people with disabilities.
In the lead-up to the 2024 Admission Process, the Admission and Enrollment Commission of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) met on November 15 and 16 at the Catholic University of Maule (UCM) to review the most relevant aspects of the process and analyze some situations that present challenges for universities.
The commission's president, Ruth Candia, thanked the host university and emphasized the fundamental role of the commission's delegates in the development of admissions processes at their respective universities. "As admissions delegates, we are responsible for operationalizing these processes at our universities (...) and the purpose of this meeting is to reach agreements and clarify any doubts. Close collaboration among the 30 universities in the Council ensures the success of the higher education access process," she stated.
Candia, who serves as Director of Student Academic Records at the University of La Frontera, added that “as a commission of the Council of Rectors and Rectors, we have regulations and best practices that are aligned with what is established by the Undersecretary of Higher Education.”.
It is worth remembering that the Higher Education Access Test (PAES) will be administered on November 27, 28, and 29, 2023, and that the application process will take place between January 2 and 5, 2024. The selection results will be announced on January 16, and the following day, January 17, the university registration period will begin, extending until January 26.
Among those invited to the plenary session were the head of the Information and Access Division of the Undersecretariat of Higher Education, Osmar Valdebenito; and the president of the Commission of Academic Vice-Rectors of CRUCH, Nelson Fernández.
Admission and inclusion
At the meeting, Osmar Valdebenito, Head of the Information and Access Division of the Undersecretariat of Higher Education, spoke about the challenges of access to higher education, noting that “while the PAES has resolved some of the main problems of the PSU (University Selection Test), there are still elements that need to be developed.” He explained that “in addition to the PAES, it is important to make progress in how the different selection factors are combined, so that they can truly contribute to a better process.”.
According to Valdebenito, one of the areas that needs improvement is ensuring that people with disabilities can participate on equal terms in the admissions process, as established by Law 20.422.
This issue was extensively analyzed by the committee due to the increase in students requesting some type of adjustment to the PAES exam. In this regard, Ruth Candia pointed out that “universities have no way of identifying students who take the exam with adjustments and access the system through a centralized system, so we cannot make improvements in advance and accommodate students with disabilities under improved conditions.”.
The chair of the committee indicated that this issue is also of concern to the Committee of Academic Vice-Rectors of the CRUCH (Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities). This was raised by the chair of that committee, Academic Vice-Rector of the Catholic University of the North, Nelson Fernández, who was invited to the plenary session to strengthen collaborative work between the two committees.
On that occasion, Fernández said that the objective of the Vice-Rectors' Commission is "to generate a space for analysis, discussion and collaborative work, framed within the line of continuous improvement of processes, among which is admission and enrollment.".
Ruth Candia emphasized that, within the framework of the CRUCH Strategic Management System (SDE), "the aim is to generate synergy between both commissions in order to make progress on various issues.".
Situation of pedagogies
The members of the commission also analyzed the situation regarding admission to teacher training programs, "especially the continuation of studies, given that we are in November and by that date these programs would have the same eligibility criteria as the centrally accessed programs, which affects the universities that have these programs and the potential applicants," said the president of the commission.
In this regard, he stressed that it is important to have clarity about the processes, in order to provide guidance to the applicant so that they can make informed decisions.
Other topics addressed in the session were opportunities for improvement of the 2025 Admission process; the institutional process calendar vs. access calendars and the work plan for next year, aligned with the Strategic Management System (SDE) of CRUCH.
Text: CRUCH Communications
Photos: Catholic University of Maule (UCM)
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