As a sign of the historical commitment to the search for excellence and continuous improvement of its work, the University of Concepción has worked since 2022 in the first phase of implementation of the UdeC Internal Quality Assurance System (Siac), whose purpose is to order, articulate , support and optimize all institutional processes.
Although the University has had quality assurance mechanisms since its inception, these have been developed implicitly, therefore, Siac seeks to formalize these mechanisms and consolidate support policies and tools that guarantee the continuous improvement of processes. at all levels of university work, in addition to complying with the quality assurance dimension of the PEI and the UdeC Quality Policy.
The director of UdeC Strategic Development, Dr. Jorge Dresdner Cid, stated that “the idea is to move towards the integration of a permanent system in the University that invites all members of the community to think about quality assurance as part of their their daily tasks and that, ultimately, becomes a culture within the institution”.
Paradigm shift
The process management methodology implies following four steps: identify, define, document and measure them, that is, they have management indicators through the cyclical and constant evaluation of the processes, explained Claudia Muñoz, Siac coordinator.
In line with the above, during 2022 at the Vice-Rector for Institutional Relations and Links with the Environment (Vrim), Vice-Rector for Research (Vrid) and the Department of Teaching (DirDoc) an exercise was carried out to gather information through interviews with different actors to identify processes in which work is done not only within departments, but also in coordination with different units at the university level.
The Siac coordinator maintained that “this has been a job involving a lot of effort and socialization. The idea of this methodology is to improve the processes and that they manage to work together with the other units with which they are related. I think it is a paradigm shift for the University to work interconnected”.
Along the same lines, Jaime Contreras, Director of Social Outreach at Vrim, shared that this has generated reflection on how to optimize the actions that are carried out under the wing of the outreach activities that the Vice-Rectory is implementing.
“Siac becomes a tool that allows us to identify spaces where we can incorporate new technologies and recognize the actors that are part of the processes, therefore, I believe that one of the main improvements that it will generate has to do with an interrelation that we have with the different units and the activities and products that we are generating, and also the optimization of time and resources to be able to do a much more efficient job”, he highlighted.
For her part, Andrea Catalán, executive director of Vrid’s Transfer and Licensing Office (OTL), said that “we realized that many times we had processes in which we had not identified other users and others responsible for the stages of process; That opened up the scenario for us in terms of us having to work more connected, more articulated”.
He added that the benefits are associated with having more fluid communication with the identified actors. Also, “we recognized opportunities for improvement, therefore, after the more strategic processes that were the first ones we developed, we have to zoom in and start working on the microprocesses that are more specific and that are often more internal, but that In any case, they will allow us to understand this work and improve it in view of our internal and external clients”.
Meanwhile, Jorge Roa Molina, head of DirDoc’s Student Development Support Center (Cade), commented that the first impression “was pleasant, because although we had been working on the processes for some time, we needed a guideline at the institutional level.” .
“We were able to define the processes and project them. It was intense and arduous work, but at the same time very orderly. Although we already have some direct articulation protocols with other units, Siac helped us see how we are supporting each other and see how we mutually favor each other with other institutional departments, ”he reflected.
Normative dimension
The Siac complies with the new Higher Education Law No. 21,091 published in 2018, which establishes that all higher education institutions must integrate an Internal Quality Assurance System.
These modifications were complemented by Law No. 21,186 (2019) and its Exempt Resolution 253 (2021) and had a direct effect on the institutional accreditation processes that the CNA is in charge of. All institutions that are accredited as of October 2023 will have to be evaluated with the criteria and standards of the new Internal Quality Assurance dimension.
Criteria and standards that are not yet mandatory for the current UdeC accreditation process, but that the University has voluntarily worked on implementing.
