Universidad de Chile: self-assessment and its effects on university’s management

Abstract

This paper presents a brief approach to the results of a case study of a university within the Chilean higher education system, focusing on the effects of self-assessment on the university's management of undergraduate and postgraduate programs from 2011 to 2014. The research hypothesis is that the university's management, as a dependent variable, is impacted by self-assessment. The data gathering process was structured in three methodological steps: Step 1 considered the consistency analysis to evaluate the use of managerial language and visualize any consequences of planning documents after self-assessment. Step 2 involved the elaboration of a semi-structured interview that was applied to a sample of 12 key informants with the objective of encouraging qualitative categorization regarding the self-evaluation process and its effects. Step 3 entailed the construction of a questionnaire that would allow for a quantitative description. Several impacts have been reported analyzing the results from three main perspectives: organizational learning, cultural shift, and university and stakeholders.