Access and Quality in Higher Education Project - PACES

The development objective of the Access and Quality in Higher Education Project for Colombia is to improve the quality of tertiary education in participating institutions and to increase the enrollment of students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds in quality programs. The project comprises of three components. The first component, undergraduate student loans and creditos condonables for graduate education objective is to increase student enrollment and graduation in high-quality programs. It consists of following sub-components: (i) undergraduate student loans; and (ii) creditos condonables for postgraduate education. The second component, quality enhancement of tertiary education institutions and programs objectives are to improve the quality of Tertiary Education Institutions (TEIs) by strengthening their research and innovation capabilities, and enhancing their collaboration with the productive sectors in the regions. The third component, institutional strengthening objective is to improve Colombian Institute for Educational Credit and Technical Studies Abroad (ICETEX’s) management practices and capacity, strengthen its long-term sustainability, and promote evidence-based decision-making. It consists of following sub-components: (i) project management and monitoring; and (ii) capacity and sustainability strengthening.