Terminal Efficiency in Higher Education: Towards a New Approach

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54674/ess.v36i1.694
Keywords: Evaluation, Educational Indicators, Accreditation

Abstract

The study is an analysis of the terminal efficiency (ET) as a quality indicator, which is used to evaluate the student's trajectory and is determined in terms of percentage, taking as a reference the proportion of the number of graduates in relation to the number of students. who entered. The research question revolves around whether we are dealing with an indicator that allows evaluating the quality of higher education institutions (HEIs) or their programs, or is it an evaluation indicator for monitoring and follow-up of the process. The objective is to demonstrate that there are many variables that intervene in TE, which are not always attributable to the educational system and should not be used to evaluate or admissibility or a final process of a program, it is a starting point for improving terminal efficiency. which raises the need for a new approach in accordance with the SDGs

Author Biographies

Luis Carlos Herrera, Santa María La Antigua Catholic University (USMA), Panama City, Panama.

PhD. in Social Sciences, Researcher and Professor of Sociology at the School of Social Communication of the Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigua, (USMA), member of the National Research System of Panama (SNI), former SENACYT grantee and Researcher at the Research Center Social Sciences Scientists (CENICS). Member of the Central American Agency for Graduate Accreditation (ACAP). He has a number of publications between books and articles, to mention some of his publications are; Socioeconomic marginalization of Panama 1990-2010: establishing a baseline (2019), Critical Thinking in Social Research (2019), Integration Process of Latin America and the Caribbean (2018), Weights and Counterweights of the Panamanian Democratic System: An Approach Institutionalist (2017), The new human rights agenda for equality and sustainable human development (2015), Recent experiences on knowledge transfer and exchange relationships between academic actors within the framework of a Human Rights agenda (2015), Inequality social: between hopelessness and survival. Case study of two communities in Costa Rica and Panama (2013), Control policies in Panamanian democracy from 1994 to 2004 (2009).

Markelda Montenegro, Center for Scientific Research in Social Sciences (CENICS), Panama City, Panama.

Lawyer, specialist in Political Science and studies with a gender perspective. Researcher at the Centro de Investigaciones Científicas de Ciencias Sociales (CENICS), she has more than 40 years of experience in studies of public policies and gender approach, holding various positions, highlighting the position of National Director of Women (2009.2014), with a degree of Minister. During the period 2009 to 2014, she held various international positions, to name a few; Vice President of the Inter-American Commission of Women of the OAS, member of the board of directors of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean of ECLAC, President Pro Tempore of COMMCA/SICA, among her various publications it is possible to highlight , The Rights of LGBTIQ+ people, gender agenda and equality policies (2020), Factors involved in femicide in Panama in indigenous Ngäbe Buglé and Afro-descendant women. (2019), Impact of the Universal Scholarship on School Retention and Education Cycle Compliance (2019), Rights of Afro-descendant women in Panama: a pending agenda (2018), it is important to note that it has received various recognitions from the United Nations System ( UN), for the permanent work in defense of the human rights of women, among others. She has worked as a gender, local development and public policy consultant.

Virginia Torres-Lista, Santa María La Antigua Catholic University (USMA), Panama City, Panama.

Virginia Torres-Lista, Ph.D., with over 16 years of experience, at the clinical and university/research level. She was a postdoctoral/predoctoral fellow at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain. She where she made a scientific career in the field of psychological and behavioral symptoms of dementia (BPSD) and disturbances in activities of daily living (DLA). She where she worked with the 3xTg-AD triple transgenic model created by the laboratory of F.M. LaFerla (UCI, USA). She is currently Director of Research at the Santa María la Antigua Catholic University (USMA). She is also a member of the National Research System of Panama (SNI-SENACYT) and Associate Researcher at CENICS. She has participated in various national and international projects, in various fields such as Education, gender, Diplomacy, Psychosocial, among others. She is an Editor of the USMA Journal of Research and Critical Thinking (IPC) and an Editor at Frontiers Magazine. In addition, she is a champion of Open Science as a driving force to bring knowledge to all people.

Luis Martínez, Central American University José Simeón Cañas (UCA), San Salvador, El Salvador / Member of the Central American Agency for Postgraduate Accreditation (ACAP)

Mechanical Engineer, with an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States. His research is focused on simulation and integration of energy efficiency and renewable energy, as well as on the implementation of the Net Zero Energy concept and decarbonization. He has been a professor and researcher at the José Simeón Cañas Central American University in El Salvador since 2003, developing the role of Head of the Department of Energy and Fluid Sciences from 2013. He is the owner of the consulting firm Sustainability & Research S.A. de C.V., specialized in energy consulting in the Central American region. Since 2014 he has been a member of the Accreditation Council of the Central American Postgraduate Accreditation Agency (ACAP), serving as its president as of 2021.

Virna López, National Autonomous University of Honduras / Member of the Central American Agency for Graduate Accreditation (ACAP)

Professor and researcher at the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) and the Francisco Morazán National Pedagogical University (UPFNM) – Honduras. She obtained her PhD from the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany; She has a Master's Degree in Environmental Engineering, a Master's Degree in Environmental Systems from the Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, and a Bachelor's Degree in Biology. She is a specialist in Quality Management and Change in Higher Education from the University of Kassel and the University of Leipzig. She is the former president of the Central American Agency for Graduate Accreditation (ACAP); She is a commissioner at the National Commission for the Accreditation of the Quality of Higher Education (CNACES) and former president of the national chapter of the Organization for Women in Sciences for the Developing World (OWSD, for its acronym in English).

Published
2024-06-30
How to Cite
Herrera, L. C., Montenegro, M., Torres-Lista, V., Martinez, L. A., & López, V. (2024). Terminal Efficiency in Higher Education: Towards a New Approach. Higher Education and Society Journal (ESS), 36(1), 245-261. https://doi.org/10.54674/ess.v36i1.694
Issue
Vol 36 No 1 (2024): Higher education governance, government and management
Section
General section articles

Copyright (c) 2024 Luis Carlos Herrera, Markelda Montenegro, Virginia Torres-Lista, Luis Aarón Martínez, Virna López

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