Ministry of Higher Education begins external evaluation of Cuban university

GUANTANANO, Cuba, Nov 14 (ACN) The external institutional evaluation by experts of the National Accreditation Board (JAN by its Spanish acronym) of the Ministry of Higher Education (MES by its Spanish acronym) of the University of Guantanamo (easternmost province) is underway from November 13 until November 17.

At the request of the Higher Education Center, the working group, headed by PhD. Marcia Esther Noda Hernandez, national director of evaluation and quality of the MES and executive secretary of the JAN, will analyze the progress of the processes during the last five years, with the aim of obtaining a higher category of accreditation, which is currently Qualified.

Experts, prestigious professionals with extensive experience in the field, will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the institution known as House of Science and Progress, its master's and doctoral programs, specialties, exchange with students and professors, carry out knowledge checks and visit municipal university sites.

The University of Guantanamo (UG) has 35 degree programs, 11 of which are accredited and two are in the category of Excellence (Agronomy and Physical Culture), with 13,149 students distributed among its seven faculties.

During the presentation of the institutional self-evaluation report, PhD. Osiris Aranda Creagh, rector of the UG, mentioned that in the last five-year period, 90 % of the accredited degree programs have been accredited, while three academic programs have been evaluated with a higher category of Certificate.

Cooperation and integration of relations within and outside the UG was also strengthened, with the signing of 47 national and territorial agreements, as well as improved collaboration with universities in the province and the country, university centers, institutes and other ministries.
The external institutional evaluation process allows higher education institutions to opt for the different categories of Qualified, Certified and Excellence, in accordance with compliance with the quality standards established by the JAN.

When a university is accredited, its worldwide visibility increases, which allows it to offer enrollment to foreign students, superior collaboration with professors from other universities, the opening of master's and doctoral programs in other countries, all of which results in greater social commitment to Cuban and international society.