Año 25 / Nº 39 / 2023 /
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36995/j.recyt.2023.39.008
Impacts of governmental and
institutional policies - guaranteeing rights - on the formative
trajectories of Tourism students of the FHyCS - UNaM
Impactos
de las políticas gubernamentales e institucionales - de garantía de derechos - en
las trayectorias formativas de los estudiantes de Turismo de la FHyCS – UnaM
Impactos
das políticas governamentais e institucionais - garantia de direitos - sobre as
trajectórias educacionais dos estudantes de Turismo na FHyCS - UNaM
Claudia,
Wrobel1, *; Miguel, Franco1; Diana, Farías1;
María, Alonso1; Mirta, González1; Esther, Källsten1;
Silvia, Paredes1; Horacio, Ramos1; Emilio, Simón1;
Patricia, Soto1
1-
Departamento de Turismo. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales.
Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Tucumán 1946, Posadas, Misiones.
*
E-mail:clauwrobel@gmail.com
Received: 23/06/2022; Accepted: 31/10/2022
Abstract
In the analysis of the multicausalities that have an
impact on the high levels of university drop-out rates in the Tourism courses
at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, it is considered important to
address the impact of national and institutional programmes and grant projects
that seek to mitigate this situation.
In this way, the set of scholarships provided by the
institution has been analysed, based on a quantitative study of data collection
by means of surveys to admissions of the cohorts 2017 and 2018, which
determined which have been the most demanded scholarships.
Finally, we have described a programme - PATFEs - its
scope and limitations, as a policy designed to address the complex process of
transition between secondary and higher education, which has not been formally
recognised by the teaching staff of Tourism degree courses.
Keywords: Training
courses; Failure; Scholarship system; PROGRESAR; PATFEs.
Resumen
En el
análisis de las multicausalidades que tienen impacto en los elevados niveles de
desgranamiento universitario en las carreras de Turismo de la Facultad de
Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales, se considera importante abordar la incidencia
de los programas y proyectos de subvenciones nacionales e institucionales que
buscan morigerar esta situación. De ese modo se han analizado el conjunto de
becas que provee la institución, a partir de un estudio cuantitativo de
relevamiento de datos por medio de cuestionarios de encuestas a ingresantes de
las cohortes 2017 y 2018, que determinaron cuales han sido las becas más
demandadas. Por otro lado, se intentó - sin éxito - medir el aporte de las
Becas PROGRESAR en el sostenimiento de la matrícula escolar de las carreras, en
función de las exigencias que este programa nacional implementó en el periodo
analizado. Finalmente se ha descripto un programa - PATFEs - sus alcances y
limitaciones, en tanto política pensada para abordar el complejo proceso de
tránsito entre la educación secundaria y superior, que no termina de ser
formalmente reconocida por el cuerpo docente de las carreras de Turismo.
Palabras
clave: Trayectorias
formativas; Desgranamiento; Sistema de becas; PROGRESAR; PATFEs.
Resumo
Na análise das multicausalidades que têm impacto nos
elevados níveis de desagravamento universitário nas carreiras de Turismo da
Faculdade de Humanidades e Ciências Sociais, considera-se importante abordar o
impacto dos programas e projetos de subvenções nacionais e institucionais que
procuram pôr termo a esta situação. Deste modo, analisaram-se o conjunto de
bolsas que provêm da instituição, a partir de um estudo quantitativo de
levantamento de dados por meio de questionários de pesquisas a caloiros das
coortes 2017 e 2018, que determinaram quais foram as bolsas mais procuradas.
Por outro lado, tentou-se - sem sucesso - medir a contribuição das Bolsas
PROGRESAR na sustentação da matrícula escolar das carreiras, em função das
exigências que este programa nacional implementou no período analisado. Finalmente,
descreveu-se um programa - PAFTEs - seus alcances e limitações, como política
pensada para abordar o complexo processo de trânsito entre a educação média e
superior, que não termina de ser formalmente reconhecida pelo corpo docente das
carreiras de Turismo.
Palavras-chave: Trajetórias de
formação; Desagravamento; Sistema de bolsas; PROGRESAR; PATFEs.
Introduction
This article aims to share part of the results of the
research project entitled "The real trajectories of students in the first
two years of the careers of Guide and Bachelor's Degree in Tourism of the
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FHyCS) of the National University of
Misiones (UNaM). (2017-2020)", registered in the Secretariat of Research
and Graduate Studies of the FHyCS under Code 16/H486-Pl.
As part of an exhaustive study that attempts to
explain and determine the variables that make up the educational trajectories
[1] and have an impact on the processes of university enrolment dropout, this
opportunity seeks to respond to one of the specific objectives set out in the
study. This is based on the compilation and analysis of programmes, projects or
lines of action focused on student retention for Tourism degree courses and,
specifically, for those who began their studies in 2017 and 2018.
In the analysis of the various strategies designed to
promote better levels of permanence and retention of university students, as
well as the raising of academic performance standards, the various grants for
higher education studies are postulated as a key factor, whether these
are monetary contributions or concurrent services that improve the objective
and practical conditions of students in shaping an appropriate educational
pathway.
National
policies to guarantee the right to the university system include different
scholarships that involve financial stipends or coverage of essential services
(accommodation, food, transport, complementation of the training process,
etc.), and are a symbol of guaranteeing access to the right
to higher education, and whose target population is university students in
general, although there is an orientation for those who opt for the so-called
priority careers or who are in vacancy in the academic offers in the university
system.
In this
sense, the Programme of Support to Students for Higher Education (PROGRESAR)
was implemented with funds from the Argentinean State and had an impact on the
target population (Tourism students of the FHyCS - UNaM), both in achieving their retention and in promoting
high academic performance in the accreditation of subjects, a topic that will
be addressed more clearly later on.
On the other
hand, UNaM itself offers a wide repertoire of grants, some of them generated
within the framework of national policies and resources, and others that are
its own initiatives that obey objectives and criteria established within the
framework of institutional priorities.
The analysis
took into consideration the scholarship system of the Faculty of Humanities and
Social Sciences, designed to favour better conditions for the retention and
sustainability of students in their professional training process; the
Programme for the Support of Students' Formative Trajectories (PATFEs) and the
Journey of Entry to University Life (JIVU), the latter characterised by
providing a first approach and support in the initial transition of students'
entry into their university studies.
For each case, the degree of
incidence and the social representations [2] that are generated - from the
perspectives of students and teachers - about its instrumentalisation in the
daily life of the institution have been measured.
Materials and methods
According to the characteristics of the
subject matter addressed in this research, methodological triangulation [3] was
used, using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. Within this
framework, both primary and secondary sources of information were used. As
primary sources, surveys were conducted among the population under study, made
up of incoming students (2017 and 2018 cohorts).
Based on the detailed monitoring of their
actual trajectories (taking into account attendance, passing of practical and
partial assignments and their corresponding final status obtained in the first
year of each degree course for each cohort mentioned), those who had dropped
out and those who continued their studies were identified and selected, and for
both cases, semi-structured interviews were applied.
At the same time, in-depth interviews were
conducted with tenured and assistant lecturers in the first and second years of
both degree programmes in order to find out about their perceptions,
experiences and representations of the general research topic. It should be
clarified that this article does not analyse all the empirical information
obtained, but only that related to the programmes or lines of action aimed at
retaining enrolment in the degree courses under study.
As secondary sources, information was
gathered on the actions carried out by the National University of Misiones in
general, as well as by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and the
Department of Tourism itself, with the aim of reducing the drop-out rate in the
first years of professional training:
·
Lists of
students in tourism degree courses who have benefited from some kind of aid or
scholarship (Student Welfare Secretariat of the FHyCS) [4].
·
Report on the
PROGRESAR National Scholarship
·
Report on
activities carried out at the University Life Entry Days (JIVU) [5].
·
Report on
activities carried out by the Programme of Accompaniment to the Educational
Trajectories of Students (PATFEs) that operates in the FHyCS (2016 - 2018).
Results and Discussion
System for guaranteeing Rights
or compensating Inequalities
Grants
acquire particular characteristics in the Faculty of Humanities and Social
Sciences, depending on whether they are financial stipends (scholarships and
financial aid), or access to priority services (accommodation, canteen,
bibliography, among others) and the requirements and conditions of access vary
according to the type of resources involved.
Access
to this plurality of scholarships or financial aid initially establishes no
requirement other than being registered as a student of a specific degree
course, although the support of the grant varies according to the type
requested. The institutional framework within which the financial resources for
all types of financial grants or access to accommodation and canteen services
are administered and distributed, is the Secretariat of Student Welfare of the
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
From the survey carried out and according to the report of the
aforementioned area of the Academic Unit, it can be seen that the scholarships
available to students are those that do not involve a monetary transfer, but
which focus on the provision of a specific service, namely:
a) Canteen grants:
although they imply a significant allocation of the faculty's budget items for
their support, they constitute a lunch and dinner service, within the framework
of the basic and universal right of access to adequate food.
The indispensable financial resources are provided from specific
items in the budgets of the Faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences and the
Faculty of Exact, Chemical and Natural Sciences, as well as the maintenance and
upkeep of the infrastructure of the University Canteen.
Although
the use of the service and infrastructure is shared, the proportion of students
benefiting from this universal service is mostly from the FHySC (65%), which is
proportional to the enrolled and active student population (secretary of
Student Welfare, personal communication, 21/05/2021) [6].
This
service is universal and the only requirement is to be enrolled in one of the
faculty's degree courses. In addition, for organisational and financial
reasons, a scholarship application is required, specifying which service will
be used (lunch/dinner or both).
In the case involving FHyCS Tourism students, 139 students from
the 2018 cohort had access to lunch and dinner service in the university canteen,
while 205 students from the 2019 cohort had access to this service (see Figure
1). In order to show the impact of the university canteen as a facilitator of
student permanence in the faculty, the following is the assessment made by an
advanced student, who said:
"... The canteen is a must nowadays, and we've all got used
to it. Because it's not about those who live far away or anything, it's about
those who are in the faculty and go to the canteen, and it's something that
saves us a lot of money...." (Interview with a student who continued her
studies, 22/02/2020) [7].
b) Grants for study or notes: this
involves a monthly financial subsidy during the academic period, intended to
cover the expenses incurred for the purchase of photocopies, teaching notebooks
or textbooks. Although it establishes a specific procedure for its access,
there is no control and monitoring of the specific use of the grant.
For the 2017 cohort, students surveyed reported "owning"
some kind of scholarship or bursary to support their studies; however, this
information was unreliable due to students' low awareness of these policies,
especially during the first days of university activities.
As a result, in the 2018 survey this question was split in order
to obtain information for each scholarship and/or grant applied for or awarded.
This means that the 2017 and 2018 data are not comparable. In view of this
situation, the information provided by the Student Welfare Secretariat shows
the actual awarding of study grants, as can be seen in Figure 1.
c) Health
scholarships: with universal criteria, basic
medical coverage is offered through SMAUNaM (Medical Assistance Service of the
National University of Misiones) to all students who are not beneficiaries of a
social security scheme. This free service includes access to medical
consultations, clinical studies, dentistry and certain treatments. The
requirements for students to access this service are the condition of
regularity and negative certification from ANSES National Social Security
Administration and IPS (Social Welfare Institute, provincial public sector
social welfare).
In
2017, 15 tourism students received this scholarship, while in 2018 there were
26 students, and in 2019 there were 40 students, according to data provided by
the Secretariat of Student Welfare of the FHyCS.
d) Hostel grants: this is
an accommodation service for students who are residents of localities in the
interior of the province. The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
administers two hostels (one for men and one for women) in the centre of the
city of Posadas with a total accommodation capacity of 39 students, far less
than the number of places required.
Another
infrastructure available is the student hostel at the University Campus in the
Miguel Lanús neighbourhood, which is administered and maintained by the
Rectorate, although its use is available to students from the three academic
units of the Posadas Region of the National University of Misiones.
Considering
the limited number of places available in hostels, which is far from being
proportional to the demand, applications are evaluated according to the
particular economic situation, place of origin and academic performance. There
is no quantitative data on this scholarship in the Tourism degree programmes in
the years analysed.
e) Childcare scholarships:
this is for regular students who have children under five years of age, and
access is through a childcare centre, with which an agreement has been
established for the provision of the service. The scholarships available are
between 20 and 25 for each academic year for all FHyCS degree courses.
Although the procedure is done through the Student Welfare
Secretariat, it is the scholarship that establishes more requirements, (Regular
Student Certificate, Certificate of Passed Subjects, and other documentation
duly legalised and authenticated by the corresponding bodies) [8]. No
information was obtained for the units analysed.
All
applications for financial or service grants, except for canteen grants, are
subject to an evaluation process that prioritises socio-economic conditions,
the origin of the students and their academic performance, given the limited
nature of the grants available, which is inversely proportional to the demand
from active and regular students of the different degree courses of the
Faculty.
Although
they constitute economic subsidies aimed at guaranteeing study, there are
monetary contributions that are of an extraordinary nature and their access
must be fully justified and oriented towards paying for expenses related to
academic activities that are carried out in other scenarios but which are
decisive in academic training, such as participation in relevant scientific
events in the field of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Likewise, it is
proposed to carry out medical studies or treatments that are not covered by the
University's Social Welfare Fund.
Access
to these resources is subject to the budgetary availabilities of the academic
unit, although in the case of participation in relevant scientific events, the
Special Fund for Academic Travel was created in 2019, despite the fact that the
resources destined to finance student participation are not stable and
permanent.
The variation in the requirements set out for each of the grants
and services, and the focus on academic performance visibly established for
access to the Childcare Scholarships, makes it difficult to establish a
relationship between access to certain benefits with the improvement of student
retention and permanence, nor can any consideration be given to the impact on
improving academic performance, considering that there is no system of
monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of the investment.
The
statistical data generated by the Student Welfare Secretariat, from the
administration of resources and the allocation of benefits, is used as a source
to guide specific policies that favour better conditions for the definition of
more consistent and appropriate academic trajectories, as well as the
effectiveness of these actions in reducing dropout rates in the first years.
With special attention to the specificity of the students of the
Bachelor's Degree in Tourism, we have quantitative data regarding the number of
scholarships (canteen, health, studies) that they have accessed during the
period 2017 - 2019 (see figure N° 1). It was not possible to obtain data on the
requirements established for these students to access these subsidies and
services, which would allow us to reconstruct the itineraries followed by these
beneficiaries, as well as to assess the impact that the provision of these
resources has on the permanence in vocational training and the academic
improvement of the trajectories.
Figure 1. Incidence of
scholarships and grants awarded to FHyCS Tourism Guide and Bachelor in Tourism
students, period 2017 - 2019.
Source: data provided
by the Student Welfare Secretariat of the FHyCS, 2017 - 2019.
The total
number of scholarships and grants awarded by the Secretariat of Student Welfare
of the FHyCS for the period 2017 - 2019 to students of tourism careers was 634.
Based on these data, study grants and canteen and dinner grants have the
highest frequencies.
f) Free Student
Ticket: In addition to the scholarships discussed, mention should also be made
of the free student ticket (BEG), which has a significant impact, as it
provides economic relief to university students, users of this service, and is
the financial aid to which students can have access, the one with the greatest
number of beneficiaries among all the aid discussed in this report. https://beg.misiones.gov.ar/ 20/10/2021 15:35 [9]
With regard to the Tourism degree courses, at the time of the University
Life Inclusion Days (JIVU) survey, the 2017 cohort
recorded that 45% of the total number of students in the Guide course had
benefited from the BEG. In the Bachelor's Degree, 37% of the total number of
students received the same benefit. In 2018, there was an increase in both courses,
with 48% of students in the Tourist Guide course and 46% in the Bachelor's
course.
Although it does not correspond to scholarships or financial aid
provided by the national, provincial or university governments, the aid
provided to students by their own family environment has a significant impact,
contributing significantly to the retention of enrolment;
in the 2017 cohort more than 50% of the students of the Tourism Guide
received it, while 65% of the Bachelor's Degree students received it. The 2018
cohort maintains the percentages in the Tourism Guide and decreases them in the
Bachelor's Degree by almost 16% below the previous cohort.
PROGRESAR Scholarship System
The
Programme of Support to Students for Higher Education (PROGRESAR), created by
the Necessity and Urgency Decree of the National Executive Power N° 84/2014
[10], was instituted with the purpose of promoting the education, training and
labour insertion of young people belonging to less favoured or vulnerable
economic sectors.
The key
assumption of the Programme was the inclusion of young people (between 18 and
24 years old - exceptionally up to 30 years old) without completed secondary
education, who did not work, worked informally or had a salary below the
minimum living and mobile wage (with family groups in equal conditions).
It is, in
this sense, that a set of initiatives aimed at the protection and social
promotion of young people appears, based on strategies that stimulate their
permanence in the education system through monetary transfers, which would
concurrently protect the income of educational support and guarantee better
conditions for integration into the future labour market, based on higher
education and the improvement of the professional skills of this segment.
With the
orientation and characteristics described in the previous paragraph, PROGRESAR
was created in 2014 as a specific expression of a policy of educational, labour
and social inclusion. Initially, under the jurisdiction of the National Social
Security Administration (ANSES), it was established that the Ministry of
Labour, Employment and Social Security should carry out actions to support
young benefit holders through a specific programme: Young People with More and
Better Work, which was defined by a set of training and labour market insertion
activities for young people.
Likewise,
the Ministry of Social Development had to create conditions and spaces for the
care of the children, while the training or vocational training lasted.
The
educational institutions involved in the programme as a concrete scope for the
educational counterpart to the transferred financial subsidy were vocational
training centres, tertiary institutes and universities. The resources used to
finance these conditional transfers originated from the National State.
Initially, the conditional transfers were for an amount of 900 pesos per month,
which was excluded from any contribution and its increase would be given by the
progression of living costs. Access to the programme was conditional on being a
beneficiary or not of other social benefits or on the variation of the
socio-economic situation of the young person or his or her family environment.
The transfer
of 80% of the stipulated amount was limited to young students having to prove
attendance at a state-run educational institution or training centre by
presenting certificates, complemented by health checks no less frequently than
three times a year. Attendance should be accompanied by the approval of 20% of
the subjects that make up each study plan, once the third year of access to the
benefit has elapsed.
Failure to
comply with the schooling requirements was an immediate cause for the loss of
the right to receive the reserved 20% and the suspension of the benefit. The
control of effective attendance at educational establishments or training
centres by the benefit holders was part of ANSES's powers in the management of
the programme.
In 2016,
with the change in the national government, the goals were redefined and the
programme was reoriented under the standards of the classic economic subsidies
or scholarships. In this sense, and as a reflection of the mutation produced,
the name changed to "Becas PROGRESAR" (PROGRESAR Scholarships). The
modifications and re-profiling of the programme did not affect so much the
characteristics of the subsidy and its specific orientation, but rather the
reorientation of the social sector of the population to which it was addressed.
This
reorientation was due to the incorporation of requirements and demands, which
contrasted with the broad and unrestricted nature of the proposal at the
beginning. These modifications were materialised through Decree 90/2018 [11]
and complementary resolutions.
The change
of goals also implied a change in the conception of the inclusive policy, which
acquired a
meritocratic bias, given that it established differentiation in transfers,
based on the institutionalisation of economic stimuli as a way of guiding the
performance of young people in their educational and professionalisation process.
The decision
to segment and increase the transfer amounts was associated with the objective
of stimulating efficiency in the transition and exit of young people from the
education system, as well as the multiplication of conditionalities, both in
terms of academic requirements and the development of skills demanded by the
world of employment.
Likewise,
the establishment of incentives that differentiated the amounts to be received
by beneficiaries was added to the type of studies chosen for the educational
consideration. In this sense, priority courses meant a higher amount of
monetary transfers.
With these
definitions and reorientations, there was also a change of jurisdiction in the
administration and management of PROGRESAR, which passed from ANSES to the
Ministry of Education and Sports, with its funding no longer coming from the
resources of the National Treasury but from the Annual Budget of this
educational area. The specific institutional area within the Ministry where the
Progresar scholarships would be administered and managed would be the
Secretariat of University Policies (Resolution 138/2018) [12].
Although the
characteristics of the beneficiary population (young people between 18 and 24
years of age) were maintained, the resolution mentioned in the previous
paragraph modified the conditions of access, namely: effective fulfilment of
the educational objectives of each year; passing 50% of the subjects taken
annually, and this determined access to the transfer in proportion to the
number of subjects passed.
This model,
based on monetary incentives as a strategy to guarantee efficiency and quality
of training, should be added to a prize for academic excellence, which deepened
the inequality of conditions and resources available to young people when they
enter vocational training.
The
Programme's focus on the Scholarship System (Grants or Conditional Cash
Transfers) led to the elimination of complementary actions carried out by the
Ministry of Labour and Social Development, linked to the development of work
experience and other activities described above. This decision was normatively
established by the suspension of the terms and validity of articles of the
Decree of Necessity and Urgency that created the programme in 2014.
The
participation of the Secretariat of University Policies in the administration,
management and awarding of Progresar scholarships was affected by problems and
delays in the submission of information by the universities, especially with
regard to the regularities and accreditation of subjects, which put the
sustainability of the benefit at risk.
In the
specific case of the implementation of the PROGRESAR scholarships, the National
University of Misiones certified the academic performance of the students of
the 6 Faculties, via online, through the institutional page of the programme.
In the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Academic
Direction of Informatics and Communications, they migrated data from the SIU
Guaraní (which contains the history of subjects taken and passed), with the
academic performance of students who accessed the scholarships.
Despite
having the necessary database to establish the relationship between access to
the conditional transfers given in the framework of the Progresar Scholarships
and the academic performance of the beneficiaries found in the SIU Guaraní
System, there are difficulties in establishing an analysis to determine the
incidence of this line in the configuration of the students of the Guiding and
Bachelor's degrees in Tourism.
The
difficulties in accessing information are not attributed to the administration
and management of PROGRESAR, but to the decision to reserve this information
and shield it from any attempt to request it. This reserve is exposed in the
difficulties to establish a reliable and accessible data registry, both in the
administration of ANSES and in the management of the Secretariat of University
Policies.
It also
expresses the peripheral character of the University in the
institutionalisation of programmes that stimulate and favour higher university
education, even as an administrative instance of registration and certification
of trajectories, valuable information not for the sustainability of the
programmes and transfers by the beneficiaries, but to measure how the subsidies
impact and define the trajectory of the students.
As for data obtained first-hand by this team of
researchers with regard to the PROGRESAR grant (which had a set of more
rigorous control devices in terms of performance and average obtained), at the
time of conducting the surveys of 2017 entrants, the grant had not been awarded
and only 2% of entrants - 276 between both degree programmes - stated that they
had applied for it.
Meanwhile, with regard to the 2018 cohort, 10% of the
students had applied, out of a total of 215 enrolled between Guide and Bachelor
in Tourism, a figure that may have increased, taking into account that the
deadlines had not expired.
The
Programme for Supporting Students' Educational Trajectories
The Programme for the Support of Students' Formative
Trajectories - PATFEs - was set up on the initiative of a group of teachers who
proposed the need to establish lasting strategies aimed at configuring
alternative itineraries that would provide students with the tools to access
and remain in university vocational training.
The PATFEs Programme recognises the need to establish
strategies aimed at establishing academic and institutional guidelines that
result in strengthening the educational trajectories of university students in
the different degrees that make up the academic offer of the Faculty of
Humanities and Social Sciences [13].
This programme has as its predecessor the Humanities
Strengthening Programme (2014), which aimed to improve retention rates.
One year later, the PATFEs was created by a working
team made up of teachers who coordinate the accompaniment of new students,
based on the voluntary intervention of those peers who are advanced in the
training process and who voluntarily collaborate in the tutorial actions aimed
at improving academic performance and retention levels in the first years.
The strategy is based on collaborative tutoring, with
the understanding that academic interpellations are involved, with specific
demands, as well as the socio-affective impact that the integration into a new
academic model has on the students in relation to the practices established at
the secondary level.
This accompaniment complements the complexity of the
integration process, which includes knowledge of the particularities of
university institutional life, the socio-educational experiences that students
bring with them and the expectations and aspirations of professional training,
in a context of convergence of the diversity of individual and social
trajectories as a dynamic fabric that defines the academic everyday life.
The communication system both for the dissemination of
activities and for calls to students is oriented towards the use of social
networks (Facebook, WhatsApp, e-mails) and channelling information through the
Departments of the different degrees of the Faculty, in addition to
communication through the Extension, Academic and Student Welfare Secretariats.
Among the various lines of action of the PATFEs
Programme, are:
a)
University Life Inclusion Days.
b)
Peer tutoring system.
c)
Spaces for integration into the cultural life of the
FHyCS.
Although the spirit of the Programme focuses on
achieving a good performance in the course and accreditation of subjects -
studying better, developing one's own study methods, improving intellectual
abilities, enhancing autonomy in the training process, administering and
managing free time, etc., in daily practice peer support is informal, based on
coexistence among students without adequate institutional infrastructure, using
the library reading room or improvising in the corridors as areas to carry out
the academic activities required by the various subjects.
The main line of action recognised institutionally for
the programme is its intervention in the University Life Inclusion Days (JIVU),
mainly activities related to the general admission of students over a period of
two weeks (10 meetings). During these days, work is carried out in the form of
workshops and group work, guidance booklets are provided and students are asked
to complete tasks which are then evaluated qualitatively.
The subjects covered range from reading and writing
(parts of a report, text comprehension) to emerging social issues. In addition
to the classroom course, there are integration activities such as the ‘Peña’,
which takes place in the university canteen, with the participation of students
and teachers. This includes games and various artistic presentations. [5]
However, in the period analysed in the project, there
was a disarticulation between the actions promoted by the Academic Secretariat,
the institutional space where the PATFEs are located and developed, and the
Student Welfare Secretariat, which focuses its actions specifically on
generating better conditions for the support of students in their educational
trajectory.
This disarticulation is evident in the poor
communication with the different departments and areas, the low institutional
support and the disengagement with regard to joint participation in the
University Life Entry Days.
This situation is reflected in the degree of ignorance
about the functioning of the PATFEs, as shown in the interviews conducted with
teachers in the first years of the tourism degree courses, the programme
definitions and especially in the strategies and actions that are deployed,
whose aim is to improve retention indicators.
In this regard, the following are excerpts from
interviews with tenured and assistant professors on the retention policies
implemented in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences:
"I
understand that there are institutional policies, at least at this time, to
accompany the student and during these days, the Peer Tutors continually invite
the children to come" (Interview with tenured
teacher, 26/03/2018) [14].
§ "What I know is the Peer Tutor Programme, but I never visualised it
in my first year subjects. I don't know if I have to implement it as a lecturer
or if the faculty implements it and how it is implemented". (Interview
with tenured lecturer, 22/03/2018) [15].
§ About the peer tutors I think...it was aimed at certain children who
were more advanced, who were like godparents, so to speak, of the new sudents
(...) I don't know what it's like now. (Interview with assistant teacher, 19/03/2021)
[16].
§ "What I know is that the
Faculty, with the Peer Tutors project, was developing a retention policy with
students, guided precisely by more advanced students, I think the Student
Centre was involved in coordinating this, and then I think there is the PATFEs
project" (Interview with assistant lecturer, 04/05/2021) [17].
From these fragments, it is clear that
most of the teachers in the Department of Tourism recognise the institutional
figure of the Peer Tutors as a line of action to avoid drop-out, but not the
global programme that contains them.
Similarly, it is clear that the PATFEs are
not directly linked to the first-year courses in both Tourism degree
programmes, and therefore, no concrete achievements are recognised in this
respect. Finally, it is noted that the programme has a greater presence during
the entrance courses, although its scope throughout the academic year is
unknown.
Conclusions
Based on the analysis carried out on the
impact of policies to guarantee rights and their repercussions on the processes
of dropout and abandonment of university studies in the Tourism degree programmes
of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the UNAM, it is worth
noting that these policies have a relative weight in terms of enrolment
retention.
Depending on the extent of their scope and
the conditions imposed by the institution to access certain benefits (mainly
the scholarship system) and more isolated actions that have not yet become real
policies that take root in the institution.
Thus, of all the grants awarded by the
Faculty, those linked to access to the university canteen were the most
demanded by students of Tourism degrees, followed by grants for notes and
health (shown in Figure 1).
Outside the institutional sphere, parental
support continues to be vital to sustain the university studies of new
students, and access to the ‘free education ticket’ contributes in the same
sense.
With regard to PROGRESAR scholarships, it
has been difficult to measure their real impact on students' educational
trajectories. This situation has been made explicit due to the institutional
shielding that has prevented accurate data on the total number of beneficiaries
and their academic performance in the reporting period, considering that the
amount received was higher due to higher grades.
Finally, the presence of the PATFEs as a
programme aimed at improving the performance of students during the transition
between secondary and higher education is still very much dissociated from the
different existing internal departments (Departments, Areas) of the Faculty.
Meanwhile, the role of the programme is
blurred from the point of view of the teaching staff, who associate it
exclusively with their contribution during the general admissions days and the
existence of "peer tutors" wandering around the institution without
any real clarification of their actions.
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