Distance induction programs for Higher Education Institutions: support for entry or link with the institution?

Abstract

This article is a review of a sample of programs that open, and distance higher education institutions implement to receive and support their new students. Reviews public and accessible information through Internet pages about the programs of three public Mexican universities (SUAyED-UNAM, UnADM y UdG) and three international programs of Higher Education institutions ( UNED-España, CEDERI-Brasil y Universidad Abierta y a Distancia de Colombia). The analysis proposes a first classification that needs verification with subsequent studies. Two main groups of programs organize and conduct the induction of first-year students to distance education programs. One type of programs that are specifically for newcomers and focus on to the student’s profile, offering a leveling and propaedeutic program. A second kind of programs consider the integral trajectory of students, focusing on the interaction among peers, and on the construction of links among students and the institution. The importance of this first classification is to have criteria to allow critical analysis of programs to understand the institutional policies for students’ continuity to complete a full program and to have a clearer criterion for the students’ profile who choose different educational models and their academic performance.

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