Percepciones y experiencias de estudiantes beneficiarios de política de cuotas sobre el acceso y la permanencia en las universidades de la ciudad de Cuenca

Abstract

Entrance and dropout rates in universities are multifactorial phenomena, which can be caused by individual student abilities, demographic characteristics, factors related to the quality and support of study centers, previous academic backgrounds, specialization, aspirations, among others. As a constitutive part of the educational and formative quality criteria of educational systems, success levels on indices such as attendance or dropping out of studies are also found. For this reason, it is important to recognize the processes and experiences that university students face both to enter and to stay in their studies. Therefore, the objective of this research was to understand the perceptions and experiences of the quota policy beneficiaries regarding access and persistence in public and private universities in the city of Cuenca. Based on a phenomenological qualitative design, and through thematic analysis, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 former quota policy beneficiaries. The results allowed us to know the perceptions and experiences of the beneficiary students regarding access, permanence and desertion in each of the private and public universities. It was also found that the entrance exam is a milestone in the students' perception, and that scholarships, above concepts such as quota policy, stood out as the most representative concept in the students' imaginaries.