An increase in regional university networks indicates that higher education institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean are becoming more open to working together beyond national boundaries. But one major obstacle still stands in the way: there are no financial rewards or regional initiatives to support collaboration in higher education, especially in training and research.
The lack of significant regional research funding programs, the development of degree programs and curricula that institutions across national borders share, and the lack of a coordinated student mobility program all contribute to the worsening of this scenario.
Considering these obstacles, the Buenos Aires Convention, a regional convention on the recognition of studies, diplomas, and degrees in higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean that was ratified by 23 nations in 2019, aims to strengthen academic mobility and address these fundamental problems.
It was ratified by Grenada, Cuba, Uruguay, Peru, and the Holy See, which represents the Catholic Church, before it came into effect at the end of 2022.
Promoting The Mobility Of Students
Facilitating student mobility and ensuring that qualifications are now recognized as a sign of state parties’ commitment to the universal right to education rather than just as an individual issue are the main policy objectives of the Buenos Aires Convention.
Just 0.8% of students in higher education in the region are currently receiving some mobility, and most of them are going to places in Europe or North America.
The goal of the convention is to change this perspective by highlighting the value of standard tools, like the diploma supplement, and fair timelines for degree recognition. By restructuring the recognition process and guaranteeing transparency and efficiency, the convention attempts to protect the rights of students.
Furthermore, the convention seeks to safeguard students’ rights to the acknowledgment of their acquired learning, even in the absence of evidence, while also acknowledging the unique difficulties experienced by refugees or other forcibly displaced students. Because so few of the 27 million migrants globally have higher education degrees, this provision is critical.
Promoting Reciprocal Trust
Increasing mutual trust amongst the higher education systems in the region is one of the Buenos Aires Convention’s other main policy objectives. Only when quality standards are viewed as being equal across national boundaries can trust be built. In order to do this, the convention acknowledges the crucial role that quality assurance agencies play and seeks to foster collaboration between them via networks like SIACES and RIACES.
These organizations can guarantee that an institution or program authorized in one nation is recognized equally in any other nation by working together on accrediting principles and criteria, promoting reciprocity and confidence. The convention offers a chance to improve collaboration and harmonize quality standards because almost every nation in the region has one or more quality assurance organizations.
Encouraging Convergence
The encouragement of convergence across the higher education institutions in the area is one of the Buenos Aires Convention’s less evident but no less critical policy objectives. Although there are currently several joint programs involving institutions in other nations, their reach is still quite restricted. The convention defines common goals, skills, and assessment procedures in an effort to make comparability easier.
The convention promotes the convergence of degrees and study programs by laying out explicit principles, ensuring that they respect the various academic traditions and structures of each country while meeting regional norms. The convention also emphasizes how crucial regional collaboration is across national credentials frameworks in order to find commonalities and overlaps in academic and professional profiles among various nations.
Through these activities, the convention develops the regional higher education area and promotes collaboration.
Diversifying Mobile Populations
The goal of the Buenos Aires Convention is to diversify the mobile populations of students, instructors, and researchers, acknowledging that physical mobility is sometimes limited to wealthy individuals. It aims to provide more inclusive routes and broaden the definition of regional mobility.
The convention encourages virtual mobility as an alternative to physical mobility, enabling people to access opportunities for higher education without being restricted by geography.
The convention seeks to promote an inclusive higher education environment by providing equal opportunities and promoting varied mobility pathways, hence increasing participation.
Accepting Technological Progress
Recognizing and taking advantage of the benefits that technology brings to higher education is the ultimate policy goal of the Buenos Aires Convention. The convention recognizes the increasing prevalence of virtual and distance learning programs, as well as the introduction of alternative credentials like micro-credentials. These developments put conventional academic models to the test and call for further global cooperation in regulatory affairs.
By accepting these developments, the convention promotes cooperation and reciprocal qualification recognition, guaranteeing that students gain from global educational opportunities and offering avenues for professional and lifetime learning.
Finally, to remove obstacles to collaboration and movement between Latin America and the Caribbean, the Buenos Aires Convention on the Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications was established.
The treaty aims to maintain equitable recognition processes and improve international collaboration by promoting convergence, diversifying mobile populations, fostering mutual trust amongst higher education systems, easing student mobility, and embracing technology innovations.
The convention hopes to establish opportunities for students, researchers, and institutions alike by building a more cooperative and integrated regional higher education sector through these policy goals.
Latin American and Caribbean nations can cooperate to improve the quality, reachability, and recognition of their higher education institutions by adopting the Buenos Aires Convention’s guiding principles and objectives.
Final Thought
The Global Standards for Accreditation and Assessment Authority (GSAAA) also supports the Buenos Aires Convention and the initiatives to improve academic mobility in Latin America and the Caribbean. It ultimately strengthens the regional higher education scene and fosters cooperation across nations and institutions by promoting convergence, encouraging trust, and embracing technological advancements.
