Colombia in the international development of high quality accreditation in higher education

Abstract

High-quality accreditation of higher education emerges in the United States and develops, some time later, in other countries. In Colombia, such processes have been evident since the 1990s, although similar activities have been recognized throughout the 20th century. As an objective, this reflective article analyzes the place of Colombia in the international development of quality accreditation in higher education. To do this, from the qualitative hermeneutic approach, a critical reflection and contrast of the characteristics in the accreditation processes in Colombia with respect to other countries in America and Europe is carried out. The results expose the birth of accreditation in the United States and the underlying values ​​of quality in Colombia at the beginning of the 20th century, the initial characteristics of the evaluation of higher education in Latin America and the underlying values ​​of quality in Colombia up to the years eighties, and accreditation in Colombia, Latin America and Europe with a brief contrast between agencies. In conclusion, the quality of the National Accreditation Council is recognized to balance the global accreditation processes with the social and cultural problems of the country's higher education institutions