Estudio de factibilidad para la oferta de educación superior en el municipio de Calarcá, Quindío

Abstract

To provide university, college and technological education services in the towns where there are not any universities is a chance to improve people’s life conditions, by offering development opportunities with relevant programs for the local and regional characteristics and needs. This way, firstly, it is necessary to carry out feasibility studies that determine the region’s technical conditions in economic, social, and educational terms, under a descriptive investigation, with a mixed approach, and investigation units as the research population. Secondly, this project suggests the use of diverse research techniques and instruments so as to triangulate the information obtained from the calculated samples. In the data analysis, it was possible to identify that the educational community, industrial and commercial sectors, and the economic traits of the region fit the requirements of higher education institutions. Likewise, it was possible to notice that 96.7% of students want to undertake higher education majors in areas, such as languages, psychology, business administration, tourism, gastronomy, commerce, and computing science, through an onsite methodology and at a professional level. Analysis units 1 and 2 are in agreement with the fact that these majors’ fees should not surpass the minimum Colombian wage, not even lower prices; equally, there are other expected benefits to be highlighted from the community comments, such as low enrollment fees, transport costs decrease, and the relevance of the academic programs. All in all, this study shows that there is a great opportunity for higher education institutions, mayoral services, and local governments to establish higher education services in the places that fulfill the economic, social, and educational requirements, so that they contribute to the improvement of these people’s life conditions