Institutional accreditation and the actors' perception. A qualitative study in private universities of Santiago

Abstract

The quality assurance by accreditation methods is a challenge facing universities and actors. Empirical evidence in Latin America and Chile is still little, not knowing how to build and provide meaning to the subject, particularly in the private schools of higher education. The research describes the meaning attributed by authorities, teachers and students to institutional accreditation and the main difficulties faced by comparing accredited and non-accredited universities of Santiago de Chile. The results showed discrepancies between the two types of universities and the setting of refractory and favorable guidelines regarding the existing system with various consequences for their development and legitimacy.