Universidad Industrial de Santander has approved a minimum 10% tuition discount for graduates enrolling in self-funded postgraduate programs and has delegated decisions regarding field trips to the schools, during the meeting of the Superior Council held in recent hours at the UIS Bucarica campus.
The meeting of the Superior Council was chaired by the Governor of Santander, Gen. Juvenal Díaz Mateus, and attended by Rector Hernán Porras and the other members of this governing body. The new representative of the National Government, attorney Wilson Caballero Ariza, participated remotely. He has voice and vote in deliberations on the University’s strategic, academic, financial and budgetary decisions and serves as a liaison between the National Government and the institution. Caballero Ariza is also the new Superintendent of Surveillance and Security.
The measure aimed at graduates was presented by Mario Andrés Betancurt Pinzón, the representative of this constituency on the Superior Council, who stated that the decision is the result of several months of joint work with the University administration.
The benefit establishes a minimum 10% discount on UIS self-funded postgraduate programs for undergraduate and postgraduate graduates. Its implementation begins on the date of approval and is subject to the decision of each school or academic-administrative unit responsible for the respective program. “What we want is for graduates to remain connected with the University and, in this way, feel that we can continue to be part of it, now also as postgraduate students,” explained Mario Andrés Betancurt Pinzón.
The decision provides an option for those who, after completing their undergraduate studies, wish to continue their education at UIS. The graduates’ representative invited interested individuals to contact directly the academic-administrative units offering the programs to learn how the discount will be applied. “This is an invitation to our fellow graduates who are interested in pursuing postgraduate studies. They should contact the academic-administrative units that offer these programs so that they can receive this type of discount,” he added.
During the same meeting, the Superior Council addressed the management of students’ field trips and field practices. According to Nectalí Ariza Ariza, the faculty representative on this governing body, it was agreed to delegate decision-making related to these activities to the schools, within their budgets, academic plans and the current institutional regulations.
The measure seeks to ensure that decisions respond more precisely to the needs of each program. Ariza gave as an example the academic activities of areas such as the Schools of Geology and Petroleum Engineering, whose students need to travel to different locations to carry out practical fieldwork.
“Higher-level bodies can hardly regulate matters that fall within the responsibility of the schools. Therefore, decision-making is delegated exclusively to the schools and their councils so that they can determine the field practices their students will undertake,” explained the faculty representative.
The delegation does not modify the existing institutional support for these activities. According to Ariza Ariza, the University has resources available for teaching practices, and the decision adopted places responsibility for determining field trips with the schools, always within budgetary possibilities and the applicable regulatory framework.
The meeting also marked the end of Nectalí Ariza Ariza’s term as the faculty representative on the Superior Council. In reviewing his tenure, he highlighted the learning gained about university governance and the progress made during his representation on matters related to resources, access, tuition-free education, infrastructure and student well-being.
Ariza thanked the community for the support he received during his term and expressed his willingness to remain attentive to matters concerning university life. The faculty representation will now be assumed by Edga Mireya Uribe Salamanca, whom Ariza recognized and expressed confidence in as she takes on this responsibility.
