Historical Outline
Since its creation in 1983, the IGLU Course has trained 1,727 university executives. It was created at the request of the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education founding members, with the aim of improving the management knowledge and skills of executives of IOHE member universities.
The first two years, the Course was given in Brazil, for both Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking university executives. Since 1985, IGLU Centres have been created in other Latin American regions to offer the Course in Spanish: Andean Countries (Santiago de Chile, 1987), Mexico/Central America and the Southern Cone (Cuernavaca, Mexico, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1993), Caribbean (Caracas, Venezuela, 1997), Central America (Managua, Nicaragua, 2001).
During its first fifteen years of operation, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) granted IGLU decisive financing for its inception and development. The Course evaluation, organized under their auspices in 1999, confirmed the high level of IOHE member satisfaction about the Course and other activities of the Institute.
Program Objectives
The Program objectives are the same as the "Objectives of the Institute". To these general objectives, it is necessary to add a number of specific goals:
- Support executives and managers in defining new frameworks for the modernization and development of their institutions
- Support the exchange of information, experiences, and opinions among participants about the mission, organizational structure, and management of their respective institutions
- Offer tools, concepts and techniques promoting efficacy and efficiency in their institutions
- Foster a comparative study of management approaches in the universities, taking into account their legal status, their roles, their size, and their national context
- Provide participants with the results of studies and research carried out in the field of university management in the Americas and in OECD member countries
General Content of the Program
In order to reach its objectives, the IGLU Program is divided in three parts:
- Basic Course
- Professional Work or Intervention Project
- Field Session
Basic Course
Each IGLU Centre develops a program around three main aspects:
- Strategic management (planning, institutional assessment, management of change, leadership)
- Academic management (teaching, research, extension program, quality assessment, accreditation)
- Financial management (including support services)
Professional Work or Intervention Project
The Professional project proposes a solution to management issues faced by participants in their universities. They must then:
- Tackle the university's present issue
- Take advantage of the opportunity to apply conceptual tools or skills acquired during the Course
- Propose concrete and operational solutions that incorporate both the most recent scientific knowledge of management and the framework of both the university's and country's legal, structural and financial limitations
The Field Session
The field session is an observation activity in practice abroad, in the field of university management. It can be carried out in any country (or city) with sufficient number of universities whose profile, size and infrastructures justify and enable such observation activity.
The field session is offered for a one-week period and includes visits to universities, discussions with managers, presentation of national models of systemic coordination for higher education institutions, and observation synthesis sessions to enable the comparison of management models and to consider whether they can be transferred or adapted.
Participants
The IGLU Course was implemented for IOHE member universities' managers and executives. Executives from non-member universities can also participate, with the prior approval of the relevant IGLU Centre.
Selection of Course Locations: the Principle of Territoriality
The candidates usually enroll at the IGLU Centre in their geographical areas:
- Andean Countries (Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru)
- Brazil
- Caribbean (Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Venezuela)
- Colombia
- Central America (all countries in Central America)
- Mexico
- Southern Cone (Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay)
However, in order to promote the "Inter-Americanity" of the Course, as well as to diversify and enhance exchanges among participants, it is suggested that each year some participants take the Course outside their own IGLU Region.
Benefits to Institutions
- Improvement in the understanding of their role with regard to knowledge, students, and the environment
- Enhancement of their community leadership
- Consolidation of their ties with other university associations
- Enhancement of the quality of their management and performance
Benefits to Participants
- Enhancement of their understanding of the University’s role
- Improvement of their management knowledge and skills
- Increase in contacts with colleagues from other universities
Admission and Selection Criteria
- Occupy a management position in an IOHE member university in good standing
- Undertake to complete the Course in three parts: theoretical components, professional work, field session
- Have the Rector's formal agreement
- Work in a priority management area, in accordance with the institution’s strategic plan
- Not be at the end of term of office
Note: The IOHE fosters a greater participation of women in its activities by reserving at least one third of the places for them.
How to participate?
IGLU makes a two-step registration announcement:
- During the last week of November each year, the IGLU General Coordination sends a general announcement to rectors, specifying for each IGLU Region the location and date of the Course for the following year.
- In February or March, depending on the summer holiday period, each IGLU Regional Centre invites member university rectors to present a candidate for the Course, specifying the registration methods and conditions. Subsequently, the Regional Centres regularly send "newsletters" to candidates containing complementary information both on academic matters (detailed Course program, work methodology during the Course, bibliographies, professional work, etc.) and on logistical matters (accommodation, related activities, etc).
For further information, consult IGLU: General Coordination and Regional Centres.