# **2.2 Policies promoting educational productivity**

# _2.2.1 Responding to labor market needs_

Discrepancy between the qualifications of tertiary graduates and productive needs arise in part from insufficient information about shortages and opportunities in the labor market. Most countries in Latin America do not collect data on labor market outcomes on a systematic basis. A promising exception is Colombia where the Ministry of Education has established a labor market observatory to monitor and analyze the professional performance of university graduates. Accurate data about skill shortages and labor market outcomes of university graduates provides invaluable input for the future planning of curricula and course offerings.

Greater interaction between universities and companies is vital to ensuring a better match between educational output and the need for human resources in the economy. OECD countries in particular have begun to collaborate with employers when designing curricula and defining skills. Although still on a small scale, several countries in Latin America are also introducing competency-based curricula in tertiary education with clarity on the skills that students are expected to acquire. In the Tuning Latin America project, for example, 120 universities from across the region collaborate in defining competencies for eight fields in partnership with employers.

The interaction between industry and education can also take a more immediate form. Student internships in companies and involvement of practitioners in teaching are especially relevant in vocational tertiary education, but can also be used in many professional fields. In addition to training students to be employees, universities may prepare them to generate employment. A number of universities in Latin American have included courses in entrepreneurship in the curriculum. For example, engineering students at the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil are required to complete training in entrepreneurship and business management (Etzkowitz et al. 2005).

# _2.2.2 Quality enhancement_

Ensuring high academic quality in advanced education is another challenge faced by countries in Latin America. Quality became a public issue in the region especially in the context of rapid expansion of the private higher education sector. As a response, governments give high priority to establishing or strengthening accreditation and evaluation procedures. In recent years, accreditation agencies for undergraduate programs have been created in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, and Nicaragua (Hom-Nielsen et al. 2005). Methods used for quality evaluation vary among countries but generally include a combination of self-evaluation, external peer review, quantitative performance indicators, and student assessment. The first generation of quality assurance was heavily focused on inputs and process aspects of education. Over time, quality assurance has evolved to place increased emphasis on learning outcomes and acquired competencies.

Many Latin American countries have started to address deficiencies in teaching quality by experimenting with new funding instruments. Argentina and Chile, for example, have used competitive funding to encourage quality improvements in higher education programs by supporting projects developed and proposed by universities. This approach has been most effective when linked to quality assurance. Program and institutional accreditation allow institutions to identify weaknesses and appropriate remedies. Funding for quality improvement, in turn, provides the means by which corrective action can be taken. Hence, the combination of the two instruments ensures that funding targets key weaknesses and that quality assurance becomes 9