A good stretch of an exciting journey still lies ahead. At the University of Cauca, we are fully immersed in our journey toward the Renewal of Institutional Accreditation, a process where every step counts, and your voice is essential. If you’d like to know where we currently stand on this path and how we’ll continue moving forward together in this collective experience, we invite you to dive into this article.

In 2024, we began our journey toward the Renewal of Institutional Accreditation, a path filled with deeply meaningful moments, marked by the emotion and commitment that not only define this type of process but also reflect the warmth of our people, proudly #OrgullosaMENTEUnicaucano. And since a considerable stretch has already been traveled, what better moment than now to look back at how we’re writing this important chapter of our story, will you join us?

The adventure began with the formation of the Accreditation Committee, made up of representatives from all sectors of our university, who were selected with a clear mission: to unite efforts and become the drivers of the reaccreditation bus, while inspiring others to hop on board.

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Little by little, we moved forward on this journey, discovering key aspects of the process and its significance, calling upon the entire university community to take an active role. That’s why, during the first semester of 2025, we took a special route, Route 2027, which led us to visit our faculties and several administrative departments on the central campus in Popayán. During these visits, students, faculty, and staff became the central focus of activities designed to share, in a close and educational way, the key elements that support our distinction as a high-quality institution.

But beyond the information shared, these moments of connection and in-person encounters became a direct invitation to feel like a fundamental part of a shared goal: securing reaccreditation in 2027! Thanks to Route 2027, students, professors, and administrative staff completed the institutional self-evaluation survey, a key instrument for identifying our strengths, recognizing opportunities for improvement, and moving forward confidently toward the achievement of our institutional goals.

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In parallel, alumni, employers, and administrators also joined this initiative, contributing their perspectives and enriching the process even further. In total, more than 3,300 members of the Unicaucan community participated in the surveys, a 13.30% increase compared to the 2018 process. This growth reflects a stronger sense of institutional ownership and belonging within the university community, which proudly carries our iconic blue and red.

This commitment was also supported by the active collaboration of various academic and administrative departments, which worked closely with the Center for Quality Management and Institutional Accreditation to strengthen this crucial stage, where mass participation was key. The Alumni Office, for example, facilitated survey collection during the “First Alumni Day, Bicentennial Cup,” which included employers and, of course, graduates who proudly hold degrees from our University. Meanwhile, the University’s Publishing House launched a campaign featuring book giveaways to encourage participation. In addition, several academic programs currently undergoing their own accreditation processes actively joined the institutional effort, contributing their experience and dedication to quality.

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And so, kilometer by kilometer, the accreditation bus is approaching its final stretch. The next stops will focus on strengthening the essential elements needed to reach our destination, including advancing the Institutional Improvement Plan (which is currently 86% complete), drafting and designing the final self-evaluation report, and hosting peer reviewers for the accreditation of programs necessary to achieve our target: having 60% of eligible programs accredited.

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From this institution that is #HeritageForAll and especially from the Center for Quality Management and Institutional Accreditation, we sincerely thank every Unicaucano and Unicaucana, in each of your roles, for the way you’ve supported this stage of the journey. Your participation has been essential every step of the way, and we are thrilled to see how this shared dream continues to gain strength. Now, we are preparing for a new phase in which we’ll move from being just passengers to becoming the protagonists of institutional reaccreditation.

Because together we make history, and once reaccredited we are even better!

 

Written by: Communications Management Center