Resistencia Universidad Tecnologica Nacional

by Kelly Talbert

Plaza 25 de Mayo - Resistencia

Resistencia is the city of sculptures and murals, and it has a gorgeous central plaza. I am staying with Rosana Marchi, a lawyer and judge in the city. Judges and lawyers have early mornings here, as the courts open at 6:30am!

This morning I had a really great conversation at the Universidad Tecnologica Nacional. Maria Elena Ocaño, a Rotarian and English teacher, came to pick me up.

We met with Isabel Ramirez Cantero, Secretaria de Extension Universitaria. Isabel basically is the manager of all extension programs at the university, including many technical programs, an English degree (five year program!), and programs and training for both kids and adults.

I learned some interesting things at this visit, including:

- This university is public and free, and and I learned that there is a course that many high school seniors take, which consists only of language and math skills, and that´s the only thing they have to pass to get into this university. They can take a normal course over three months, or an intensive one in one month.

- Once they get to university, there;s a placement test, and a "filter" course to both point students toward a carrera (major) or gently wash them away if they aren't interested in the programs or willing to do the work

- Tutors offer office hours for students, and professors do too, to a lesser extent -The teacher student relationship has improved over the years, and is more collaborative than it used to be (in this institution, at least).

- Only 25 to 30 percent of students actually complete their degree program. Students either get lost or lose interest, and because it´s free, there´s no big motivation to finish in a given time period.

I was encouraged that the university has made a few targeted efforts to do outreach to high school students. This is recruitment, of course, but with those efforts a student can also deduce what she doesn't want to do, which is sometimes just as important on the path to deciding a career.

Still, if the ultimate goal is to graduate young professionals, the system in Argentina isn't working too well. The persistence rates I mentioned are seen all over the country.

Even though Argentina has fantastic universities with high academic quality, persistence rate is low. I think this isn't as severe a problem in the U.S. because families do a lot of research before going to college, since it's such a huge financial investment.

Both Maria Elena and Isabel noted that Argentines may not realize or value how unique it is to have free higher education. This was a really enlightening visit.