Organisms and processes for the quality certification of private higher education in Mexico.

Abstract

In Mexico, official mechanisms regulating private higher education are very flexible, thus, there is a wide variety of private higher education institutions: On the one hand, there are institutions that meet the requisites to provide professional training, on the other hand, there are institutions that barely meet the necessary requirements. This has caused an uneven academic quality among private higher education institutions. This quality is certified (on a voluntary basis, i.e. not legally binding) by three agencies. This article analyzes the procedures of the three agencies that are responsible for assessing and certifying the quality of private higher education institutions. It is assumed that, due to its voluntary nature, this evaluation process has limited influence on improving the quality of the private higher education system, since few institutions are subservient to it.