This Friday, during the session of the Superior Council of the Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS), one of the main topics was the analysis and future direction of the Academic Excellence System (SEA), an institutional strategy that has strengthened student retention and is now beginning to draw the attention of external organizations due to its impact on the university community.
The Academic Vice President, Olga Mercedes Álvarez Ojeda, explained to the Council the scope of this initiative, which since 2014 has integrated different dimensions of student support. She emphasized that the SEA “is a multidimensional institutional strategy that seeks to coordinate various actors within our university to provide support across several dimensions of our students’ development.”
She also highlighted the results achieved by the UIS in terms of student retention: “Student dropout was approximately 9%, and by last semester we were able to reduce it by half. This means that this reduction allows us to prevent around 1,200 students from dropping out”.
She added that student retention “has remained above 90% over the last decade, and it is currently at 95%,” thanks to the academic, biopsychosocial, cognitive, and financial support provided by the system.
One of the key announcements during the session was the interest of the Departmental Secretariat of Education in adapting the SEA to Santander’s educational institutions. According to the Vice President, “this is a very comprehensive program that addresses the different dimensions of a student’s development (…) they wish to establish a cooperation agreement with the University so that we can provide support for the creation of similar programs adapted to their realities.”
The Secretary of Education of Santander, Karina Araujo, who participated in the session, highlighted the importance of this institutional collaboration: “Today we were part of this very important council for higher education… because important agreements are coming to strengthen the 82 non-certified municipalities with a wonderful program that you manage here at the UIS through the Academic Excellence System,” she stated.
She also highlighted the pedagogical value of the model: “I was wonderfully surprised by this program (…) as it includes a neurocognitive component to help all those students who often need support in strengthening their competencies and skills.”
The official reiterated that these advances will help strengthen not only higher education but also basic and secondary education in the department. “We continue moving forward toward an inclusive, innovative, and high-quality education,” she affirmed.
The Superior Council will continue evaluating interinstitutional coordination pathways that will allow the impact of the SEA to expand beyond the university community, consolidating it as a regional benchmark in student retention and comprehensive support.
