Higher Education Policy Forum holds first meeting at CRES+5

The first edition of the Higher Education Policy Forum, held on Friday, March 15th, during CRES+5 – the follow-up meeting to the III Regional Conference on Higher Education (CRES 2018) – addressed two key topics for public policies in higher education in the region: quality and funding, with the cross-cutting axis being the contribution of higher education to the achievement of sustainable development goals through quality and funding.   

Organized by UNESCO's International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC), the event was divided into two panels with the participation of the region's most senior policymakers along with the public, in open sessions.   

The first panel of the day presented the challenges and opportunities for improving quality in higher education from a broad perspective. Aspects such as monitoring and improving quality within institutions; system-level oversight by quality assurance agencies; quality in mission development (teaching, research and administration); staff competencies and professional development; relevance of higher education and research to societal needs; and innovation in quality improvement practices were discussed.      

The second panel discussed higher education funding and sustainability. Aspects discussed included public and private funding mechanisms for higher education institutions; student financial support schemes through scholarships and loans; staff employment and working conditions considerations; research grant awards; economic models for quality, accessible, and inclusive higher education; institutional financial autonomy; and innovative funding approaches.   

During the debates, participants presented perspectives based on their experiences and discussed effective strategies for building sustainable funding models that meet the needs of higher education and optimize its impact on society. Finally, the meeting also addressed the relationship between higher education funding policies and the sector's contribution to sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

MEC Communications Department