Supporting underprivileged youth to become promoters of economic and social development in Guatemala

• In Event: Roundtable Group 3
  In Refereed Roundtable Session: Building youth-responsive higher education institutions

Proposal

[UNIVERSITY X] is one of the largest private universities in Central America. As a result of qualitative research carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic under the [DONOR]-funded, [ORGANIZATION]-implemented [Program A] (2016-2023), [UNIVERSITY X] recognized the need to adjust its admission instruments to capture the socioeconomic realities of students and anticipate their needs, particularly their needs for academic support. [PRESENTER B], Vice Rector for University Integration, will share the challenges the university has faced and lessons it has learned in expanding access to and delivering inclusive higher education, with programs specifically targeting vulnerable students, including political exiles, youth with disabilities, and youth in precarious living situations. Specifically, the Vice Rector will present the work of its Liaison and Linkages Center, which has the aim of engaging the private sector and university alumni in construction of a more just and fair society through providing education and employment opportunities for underprivileged youth. In addition, the Vice Rector will discuss the [PROGRAM A]-supported improvements the university has made in its student performance monitoring system, and the institutionalization and scaling-up of efforts to improve the retention and graduation of scholarship holders, including orientation, faculty office hours, and peer tutoring activities.

Author

• Jose Antonio Rubio, Universidad Rafael Landivar