La necesidad de la sensibilización en los procesos de autoevaluación de la Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR): una mirada crítica y una propuesta efectiva

Abstract

The most relevant element about achieving a quality accreditation for a university career is the self-assessment process itself, the one that leads to this quality state. Actually, accreditation could be dispensed with, though not the self-evaluation process. If accreditation is conceived as a "recognition of the quality of a career, program or institution (first level accreditation) by an accreditation agency of higher education for compliance with a set of quality principles, after a rigorous process of self-evaluation and visits by external peers (...) "(CCA, 2014, p.2); it is evident that is the self-evaluation process the one that gives meaning to the accreditation. Now, this does not mean (or should not mean) that the purpose of the self-assessment process is the accreditation. The critical question here is: are university careers really aware of this when they develop their self-evaluation process or is the "accreditation title" become the only real purpose by itself? In this document, based on various self-assessment experiences (either looking forward to an accreditation or for a reaccreditation) at the University of Costa Rica, is explored the importance of careers being truly sensitized to the purpose of self-evaluation, overcoming the constant difficulties they confront in these processes. In response to this, the “Centro de Evaluación Académica” (Academic Evaluation Center), from the Vicerrectoría de Docencia of the University of Costa Rica (UCR), has developed a particular way of conceiving and developing an awareness process for careers, as a transversal sensitizing process.