Director: Daniel C. Levy

Chilean Congress Considers New Funding and Accreditation Bills
(submission by Andres Bernasconi)

            In May 2003 the Chilean Congress began the discussion of two higher education bills, which, if approved, would have important effects upon the development of private higher education in Chile-which holds 7 in ten of the country's enrolments.
            The first bill provides for a new system of financial assistance to students of public and private institutions of higher education, both at the university and the non-university tertiary levels. Currently, students at private institutions of higher education are not eligible for subsidized loans to defray the burden of tuition payments. The proposed bill would encourage private financial institutions to lend tuition money to students by guaranteeing future repayment of the loan through the collateral of the higher education institution itself, or the government's. If the student who has received a loan drops out from the higher education system, the higher education institution he deserted would be responsible for repaying the loan if the former student does not. But non-payment of graduates would require the government to repay the loan. It is expected that the new funding system will greatly expand access to private higher education, to-date severely curtailed by the lack of financial assistance.
            The second proposed piece of legislation would strengthen and unify quality assurance mechanisms for all institutions of higher education, public and private, through program and institutional accreditation. This proposal represents a change in policy after 20 years in which governmental quality assurance has been applied only to private institutions.
            Both projects suggest a policy shift in Chile from differentiated (and, many argue, discriminatory) regulation of the private sector towards a greater set of common, general rules for public and private institutions. Such a shift could once again make Chile a leader in crucial aspects of higher education privatization, just as it has been to date in both the privatizing of major features of public higher education and in the growth of private institutions.