Social service, a quality indicator

Abstract

In Mexico, the Higher Education Assessment is one of the functions of the Interinstitutional Committees for the Evaluation of Higher Education (CIEES for the acronym in Spanish). These evaluation committees have the labor of granting official recognition to academic units or specific programs, in the case that they meet the criteria and conventionally established quality standards. This labor of recognition is carried out by the committees along with other tasks, such as: the diagnostic evaluation of such programs, providing advice to higher education institutions and the timely judgement over the specific programs or projects from these institutions. Evaluating an educational program with level 1 is the public recognition of its quality, that is, it constitutes the guarantee that said program meets a certain set of quality standards. It is therefore important to consider all categories and indicators to achieve and to maintain the accreditation of an educational program. The Social Service is an indicator of quality included in the evaluation processes of educational institutions, so its relevance must be included in the curriculum.