Higher Education Institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean: Analysis of Quality Assurance Systems and Their Challenges

Abstract

The mechanisms that make up the quality assurance systems of higher education in the context of Latin America have been integrated in order significant guidelines for improving the quality of higher education institutions, a process that has also made it possible to identify the strengths of the systems as well as the important shortcomings and how they can be improved. The objective of this work is to analyze from a regional perspective how quality assurance systems function and to establish similarities and differences among them. Documentary analysis was used as a technique for collecting information and the criteria considered to select the parameters is that they will present the minimum information for analysis, thus creating an overview of the essential and characteristic factors that evaluate the agencies in higher education institutions, allowing to identify and conclude that despite the consolidation, legitimacy and commitment of the agencies, the time has come to reconsider their efficiency. As a result, significant deficiencies were identified in the agencies’ state regulatory processes, evidenced by weak government coordination in the design and implementation of evaluations, limited objectivity in procedures, and the involvement of actors with insufficient expertise in the field of evaluation.