Generales

By: Julián David Ospina Sánchez - Journalist

For the third consecutive time, UdeA received institutional high-quality accreditation from the Ministry of National Education (MEN); now, in the multicampus mode. This means the University excels in its teaching, research and outreach mission in Medellín and all its campuses and branches. This new quality seal, valid until 2033, is the highest accreditation granted by the MEN. It was achieved after an extensive process of institutional self-assessment and the evaluation of 12 external peers.

Until April 2023, the MEN's National Higher Education Information System reported 301 higher education institutions with authorized registration in Colombia, 89 of which are accredited. In addition, of the 89 registered as universities, 69 are currently accredited. Photo: UdeA Communications Office / María Camila Monsalve A.

On July 14, 2023, Universidad de Antioquia received the news it had been waiting for during several months: it obtained its third institutional accreditation of high quality. This was the Ministry of National Education's (MEN) decision through resolution 012029, which states that: "It realized that Universidad de Antioquia has worked progressively for the optimal strengthening of quality related to the comprehensive training of its professionals and the academic community through processes of creation, development and transmission of knowledge, which has allowed it to develop its mission, vision, objectives, organization and functions. Proof of this is the accreditation processes in its academic programs, in which the development of the Institutional Educational Project (PEI) has become evident via an organizational culture aimed at evaluation, continuous improvement and innovation through the definition of policies, strategic programs, projects, actions and resources." 

The education authority made this decision after learning about the evaluation report from the National Accreditation Council (CNA). The report noted that the University excels in its mission pillars of teaching, research and outreach both in Medellin and its campuses and branches in Antioquia. "It is a great pride to be able to say once again: 'Here is the quality seal for Universidad de Antioquia to serve society,'" said John Jairo Arboleda Céspedes, president of the institution, with deep emotion.

Read MEN's accreditation

Between 2018 and 2021, the University carried out a self-assessment process to renew its accreditation for the third time. This allowed it to consolidate the "Institutional Self-Assessment Report," which, in nearly 600 pages, gathered the strategies, actions and processes that demonstrate UdeA's commitment to quality. The document was delivered in December 2021 to the MEN so that this authority could continue the evaluation process.

In December 2022, 12 external peers -10 national and two international- visited the University. The CNA commissioned them to validate the contents of the Self-Assessment Report and conduct the external evaluation. After this work, the CNA finally recommended the MEN to grant Universidad de Antioquia high-quality institutional accreditation, multicampus mode, for 10 years.

"This means that the University has an offer of academic programs geographically distributed in the department that maintains common institutional elements of excellence and function as an integrated whole," said Lina María Muñoz Osorio, the UdeA professor who coordinated the Institutional Technical Committee for Self-Assessment.

"Thanks to each university community member for participating, contributing, being part of this team that can deliver this great news to Colombian society today," John Jairo Arboleda Céspedes, UdeA president.

The University had received two high-quality institutional accreditations. The first, granted in 2003, was valid for nine years; the second was given for 10 years in 2012. "The three ratings demonstrate that UdeA has a past, a present and a future. These accreditations have been possible because the institution has constantly been looking at and evaluating itself," noted Elvia María González Agudelo, the Teaching vice-rector.

On this occasion, however, the process followed the provisions of Agreement 02 of 2020, with which the National Council of Higher Education (CESU) updated the model of high-quality accreditation in Colombia. In keeping with this new scheme, 12 factors were considered for both the internal self-evaluation and the external evaluation. "Our commitment was to provide sufficient evidence so that the evaluators could develop their criteria and examine the institution's compliance through an exercise that included very satisfactory feedback," said Muñoz Osorio.

Thus, the resolution issued by the MEN determined this multicampus condition by "renewing Universidad de Antioquia's High-Quality Multicampus Institutional Accreditation for a term of ten (10), including the sites of activities in Medellín, Carmen de Viboral, Andes, Caucasia, Puerto Berrio, Turbo, Santa Fe de Antioquia, Yarumal, Amalfi, Segovia, Remedios, Sonsón, La Pintada, Apartadó and Carepa (Antioquia)."

How the University scored in the 12 factors

In the first 11 factors, the grade corresponds to a "very high degree of compliance." In factor 12, which is for the alumni community, the institution complies with a "high degree"

• Institutional Identity | Factor 1 / Rating 4.81 
• Institutional governance and transparency | Factor 2 / Rating 4.80 
• Institutional development, management and sustainability | Factor 3 / Rating 4.68 
• Continuous improvement and self-regulation | Factor 4 / Rating 4.81 
• Academic structure and processes | Factor 5 / Rating 4.60
• Research, innovation, technological development, and creation contributions to the environment | Factor 6 / Rating 4.66 
• Social impact | Factor 7 / Rating 4.78 
• National and international visibility | Factor 8 / Rating 4.62 
• Institutional wellbeing | Factor 9 / Rating 4.70 
• Professors community | Factor 10 / Rating 4.60 
• Student community | Factor 11 / Rating 4.59 
• Alumni community | Factor 12 / Rating 4.49

The quality standards evaluated at the University in Medellín were the same as those used in the regional branches and campuses. Photo: Bajo Cauca branch / UdeA Regionalization Office file.

The accreditation step by step

To achieve this quality seal, Universidad de Antioquia adopted the institutional self-evaluation route, a permanent exercise to examine how the different processes are being carried out and how to improve them. "We respond to what was proposed by the MEN, and we have managed to internalize the culture of self-evaluation to be able to improve the country's higher education offer," Muñoz Osorio said.

The self-evaluation process included all academic units and administrative offices in Medellín and the subregions. To gather and weigh the impressions of the university community members, the self-assessment committee used various instruments: documentary information, surveys, interviews and fieldwork.

According to the Teaching vice-rector, "The findings of the self-assessment and the improvement actions implemented were systematized so that later an institutional technical committee could gather the evidence and thus consolidate a report for external review."

The 10 national and two international peers read what was collected by the institution and visited UdeA's facilities throughout the department to generate their report and give recommendations for improvement. Last February, the peers sent feedback to the University before receiving the good news of the accreditation.

"I could only say to the president: 'This report is somewhere between marvelous and extraordinary,'" recalled Vice-Rector González. For her part, the coordinator of the Self-Assessment Committee pointed out, "The peers who mentored us gave a comprehensive and accurate vision of what UdeA is, its problems and all its benefits and scope. In addition, the recommendations for improvement coincided with actions that the University is already taking," she said.