Institutional Accreditation from the perspective of university actors. A qualitative and quantitative characterization in Chilean private universities (Abstract)

University accreditation systems have been institutionalized internationally transforming the functioning of universities and educational stakeholders observations have on the quality of higher education in the midst of a scenario of increasing social controversies. Empirical research is insufficient to provide an overview still fairly adequate, especially private segment of higher education and its main actors. The article characterized by a representative survey and qualitative interviews and focus groups, opinions and meanings of teachers, students and administrators on relevant dimensions of the process, comparing a set of accredited private universities and non-accredited Santiago Metropolitan area. We conclude that the current system is differentially valued, presenting contrasting positions, detecting deficiencies which make problematic the validity and possible future changes to the accreditation and quality assurance in the country.