The Honor Hall at PUCV Central Headquarters hosted the presentation of the book “The Pursuit of Prestige: Strategies and competition in Higher Education”, a work that examines the university system in the United States with evidence gathered from 26 Universities of the same country. The book describes how reputation and prestige have an impact in strategic and financial decisions of each institution.
The text, which was published by PUCV Editions, is the first spanish edition of the book and addresses the way in which universities strategize in the face of funding, enrollment and research. Its contents can render useful to address the increasing degree of complexity in the higher education system in Latin America and Chile.
The book was authored by Dominic Brewer, Susan Gates and Charles Goldman, scholars with an extensive trajectory at the Rand Corporation and advisors to universities all around the globe.
On the occasion, Nelson Vásquez, rector of the PUCV, noted that universities must have an impact on the development of public policy, a mission that can be fulfilled in various ways, among them, bringing knowledge to our country. This results especially relevant considering that Chile requires clarity regarding the different paths for development that it must follow in the next decades for the education field.
“The current context of Higher Education calls for a detailed debate and these are topics that matter (…) To think ahead is not trivial in an institution such as ours, that requires that we continue to have leadership and presence in the higher education system. In addition, looking at the experience of others allows us to address the complexity in teaching, research, innovation, community relations, impact in public policy and others. Tracing a path of excellence obligates us to think of the future and bring it to the present”, he indicated.
Vicerector of Administration and Finances, Alex Paz, delved into some aspects of the book, highlighting the relationship between financial health and the strategic position of institutions.
"It offers a comprehensive vision and is one of the works that contributes to the topic of higher education in relation to the different areas that are developed within universities. It recognizes the existence of different markets where higher education operates and how the training of undergraduate and graduate students is affected. It also addresses the field of research, the acquisition of resources in the public and private sectors, the relationship with relevant actors, alumni, employers, and others", he added
The impact of having fewer young people
Former rector of our University, Juan Enrique Froemel, had the opportunity to work directly with two of the authors of the book in the early 2000s and took on the complex task of reviewing the book for its spanish adaptation, in addition to writing the prologue for this new version.
In regard to his contribution, he pointed out that “those of us who read the book are aware that the subject is a novelty for higher education in the Latin American context and responds to a very North American tradition of the Rand Foundation. It contains evidence from 26 higher education institutions, that made certain decisions about the guidelines presented in the book and that are interesting to look at”.
One of the authors, Charles Goldman, also shared his vision about the recent changes of the university system in the United States, highlighting the lessons that can be extracted and applied to the chilean case.
“One of the main challenges for higher education in the United States is that the young population has reached a peak growth rate and is now beginning to decline. This leads to a decrease in the traditional clientele of higher education, which in turn increases competition among schools and universities for students. Furthermore, this results in fewer resources being allocated to higher education and has an impact on the cost of tuition”, he explained.
Goldman added that institutions are seeking to expand its markets by incorporating adult people that did not have access to higher education when they were young or that are looking to pursue a graduate degree. “We have seen that working with students over the age of 25 requires a different approach. Many of them are working, so they need online classes and greater flexibility in their training. Deep down, they want a more practical education that they can use short-term”.
By Juan Paulo Roldán
Strategic Communications Department
