Entre la utopía tecnocrática y la colegialidad académica: aseguramiento interno de la calidad en universidades chilenas

Abstract

This study explores the ways Chilean universities deal with quality assurance requirements. It focuses on both the External Quality Assurance Systems (EQAS) as well as Internal Quality Assurance Systems (IQAS) created by the universities themselves. The dissertation focuses on the following questions: how a university's academic quality culture is affected when its IQAS is configured and institutionalised. In relation to this, how universities themselves can critically analyse their IQASs and guide their potential for better teaching and training. The fieldwork for this qualitative study is based on three Chilean universities: a state university, a dependent private university, and an independent private university. The three are in different parts of the national territory but are similar in size in terms of enrolment and academic body, as well as being accredited at similar advanced levels according to the national accrediting agency. The results of this study provide an analytical focus that allow a better understanding of the academic organisation, as well as investigate the proximity or distance of (developing) IQA to institutional quality cultures at Chilean universities. Likewise, it considers to what extent evolving IQASs are based on compliance or transformation. Possibly, neither the state nor the market takes into account these dimensions of quality culture, although they are a necessary component for the renewal of universities.