In recent decades in Chile, generic skills have been made explicit in the graduation profiles and curricula of all programs of higher education institutions, following global trends that relate to labor market expectations on the employability of graduates. The institutional characteristics, mission, educational model, and institutional seal condition the choice of the generic skills that are developed. There are no current standards for the process of definition of generic skills sets in the various programs for the different universities. The same is true for the modality of implementation for them. The present article has the purpose of contributing to the knowledge of both the definition and implementation of generic skills inside higher education institutions in Chile. This process becomes relevant in the context of the new demands of students and graduates who face additional employment challenges.
Received: 03 March 2020Accepted: 05 March 2021
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine which of the two variables would be a more reliable proxy for quality of university training: graduates’ satisfaction with their degree program, or institutional prestige.
Design/methodology/approach
Graduates of professional psychology and teaching programs from three Chilean universities responded to a questionnaire asking their perception of different aspects of their degree program and experiences in their first employment. The three universities differ significantly in the proportion of applicants admitted, and in their prestige.
Findings
Salary levels are highly related to profession, but unrelated to graduates’ ratings of quality of curriculum or teaching methods. Overall satisfaction with the university experience is not linked to job satisfaction. Job satisfaction, on the other hand, is highly influenced by salary and secondarily by instructional practices and perceived work relevance of the degree program.
Research limitations/implications
This study is based on data from 3 of Chile’s 60 universities, and graduates of two programs. Most employment in the two professions is regulated by labor agreements. Generalizability of results is limited. Graduates may not have been employed enough to demonstrate their capacities.
Practical implications
The findings offer more evidence that prestige ratings are an unreliable indicator of the quality of formation offered by universities. If the government seeks to reduce income inequality, public subsidies of higher education should be based on program quality rather than on institutional prestige.
Originality/value
The findings are directly relevant to the current debate in Chile about what might and what might not help to reduce severe economic inequality.
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