New Options for Higher Education in Latin America: Lessons from the Community College Experience
By EDU (10/00, En, Es) See also Education, Training and Science & Technology
This working paper is being published with the sole objective of contributing to the debate on a topic of importance to the region, and to elicit comments and suggestions from interested parties. This paper has not gone through the Department's peer review process or undergone consideration by the SDS Management Team. As such, it does not reflect the official position of the Inter-American Development Bank.
This international dialogue on education policy was sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
The event, held at Harvard University on September 4 to 8, 2000, responded to a growing conviction that Latin America would benefit from alternative post-secondary education options that are more flexible, less costly and that successfully prepare students for the labor market. With the increase in the number of students graduating from secondary schools, higher education enrollments are growing, and the expansion of short programs is inevitable. Nevertheless, it is worrisome to observe the mushrooming of low-quality, poorly-designed programs that do not respond to market needs.
In North America, community colleges have offered an effective alternative to meet the requirements needed to prepare for the labor market thousands of students who annually graduate from secondary schools and choose not to enroll in universities. Community colleges:
- provide short courses that prepare students for successful entry into the workplace;
- have close linkages with the business sector, in order to ensure that faculty and curricula are practical and up to date;
- are a source of well-prepared employees for public and private companies;
- offer students the possibility of transferring to traditional four-year university programs, typically after two years of study.
During this event, speakers and participants had the opportunity to exchange ideas on the relevance and applicability of different components of the community college model in Latin America. In addition, participants examined other successful or promising experiences, both public and private, that are being implemented in the region.
Last updated: 05/08/07
