Tuning: Latin America
Background
The idea behind the ALFA Tuning- Latin America Project stems from a close examination of Higher Education at both a regional and international level. Historically speaking, Tuning has been an exclusively European initiative. More than 135 European universities have been working towards the creation of a European Area of Higher Education since 2001.
At the IV Follow- Up Meeting of the Common Area of Higher Education for the European Union, Latin American and Caribbean (EULAC) that was held in October 2002, the representatives from latin America took heed of the results of the First Phase of Tuning. In fact, they warmed to the idea of doing a similar project with Latin America.
From then onwards, preparations for the project slowly developed. The actual plans were presented to the European Commission by a group of European and Latin American Universities in the final quarter of 2003. It is considered a well-known fact that the Tuning proposal for Latin America is an inter-continental initiative. What’s more, it is a project that has benefited from the academic support of Europeans as well as Latin Americans. The philosophy behind seeking a consensus for Latin American HE· is generally speaking based on the same principles. Indeed, it is both unique in concept and universal in its application. What is different, however, are the key protagonists and the impression that each university reality provides.
Objectives:
*To contribute to the development of academic degree titles that are based on comparative models, and to ensure that they are practical and can be suitably applied in Latin America.
* To promote a significant level of HE Convergence on a Latin American scale for twelve thematic areas: Business Management, Architecture, Law, Education, Nursing, Physics, Geology, History, Civil Engineering, Mathematics, Medicine and Chemistry by using widely accepted definitions of learning and professional outcomes.
*To develop professional profiles in terms of generic and relative skills for each field of studies, including academic skills, knowledge, and content for four thematic areas as well as project work.
*To ease the transparency of educational structures and to promote innovation through the communication of experiences and the identification of best practices.
*To create networks that are capable of presenting examples of effective practice, and to stimulate innovation and quality through further analysis (reflection) and mutual exchange.
*To develop and exchange information related to the development of curricula in chosen areas and to create a curricular structure model that is based on a points of reference system for each area, thus promoting the recognition and Latin American integration of academic titles.
*To create bridges between universities and other appropriate and related entities in order to produce convergence in specific discipline areas.
Action Lines
The project has four strategic lines:
1) Skills (generic and specific)
2) Teaching foci, learning and assessment
3) Academic Credits
4) Program Quality
Line 1- Skills (generic and specific)
As far as generic skills are concerned, this strategy refers to identifying shared attributes that are part of any degree title and which are considered significant by society. There are certain attributes such as learning ability, analytical skills and synthesis that are common to most, if not all, degree titles.
In addition to analyzing generic skills, there are other skills related to each thematic area that will be employed. These skills are crucial for any academic degree title because they directly correspond to specific knowledge of each thematic area. They are also known as skills and competencies that are related to academic disciplines. These provide programs with identity and consistency.
Line 2: Teaching foci, Learning and Assessment
A lot of research is done on the practical application of generic and specific skills -i.e. in terms of activities within the process of teaching, learning and assessment. For this reason, a series of materials have been proposed that help identify the most effective teaching, learning, and assessment methods, so as to achieve the desired results. Each student should get a taste of different teaching foci and also experience different learning contexts irrespective of their field of study.
Line 3 – Academic Credits
For this strategic line of action, there is a close examination of how a student’s skills relate to his/her work. Academic credits will be used to assess a student’s performance and also the length of his/her course.
Action Line 4 – Program Qulaity
This action line is established on the theory that quality is an integral part of curriculum design and is also based on skills. Indeed, it is pertinent to all the other goals already mentioned. If, for example, a group of academics wanted to elaborate a study plan or redefine it, a set of mechanisms would be required in order to provide a high level of quality to these programs and degree titles.
