Construction of public policy of higher education with participation of the academic community, Colombian, case for recognition of virtual and distance learning programs

Abstract

As of this date, 8641 academic programs are authorized by Colombia’s National Ministry of Education. Of these, 7923 are in-person, 404 are virtual, and 314 are offered at distance. Of the total number of virtual and at-distance programs, only 26 (3.62%) are accredited in the high-quality rank. This low accreditation figure is attributed to a lack of evaluation instruments encompassing criteria to recognize high quality of virtual and at-distance programs. Given the previous, the academic community joined efforts to design and develop the program “Collective construction of criteria aimed at enabling recognition of high quality virtual and at-distance learning programs in Colombia”. Regional workshops were conducted that succeeded in gathering representatives of around 100 Higher Education Institutions representing nearly 95% of institutions offering virtual and at-distance learning programs in Colombia. The product of those workshops was consolidated and brought to the consideration of the Principals of those institutions for their respective validation. The validated version was submitted to the National Ministry of Education as a technical document that will support the public policy that rules accreditation of virtual and at-distance learning programs in Colombia.