Titulaciones conjuntas, dobles grados y sus implicancias en los registros y procedimientos académicos en la PUCP

This investigation comes out from the need to adapt the academic records and to have clear procedures of admission, registration, accreditation and titles and degrees of students who want to obtain dual and joint degrees and titles at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru. A dual degree or title is a study modality which allows students to obtain two university degrees or two professional titles following just one curriculum due to the fact that the study plans of both universities have been made compatible. This is possible because common subjects have been validated. On the other hand a joint degree is a modality in which two or more universities offer a shared study plan, each one offers its own courses and in the end only one title is handed. That’s why, the peculiarities of these joint and dual degrees of the PUCP with other Peruvian and foreign universities are necessary to be described. A proposal of registration data (admission, registration, degrees and titles) has to be designed as well, and included in the current informatics systems of the PUCP. This will let identify and detect that such joint and dual degrees have been taken and which universities are involved in the process. Finally, to prepare a proposal of procedures, considering the current agreements which allow standardize the admission, registration and degrees and titles of those students which follow these dual and joint degrees and titles require. As part of the methodology, several interviews were carried out with internal and, external agents from academic and administrative areas from PUCP, who are directly involved within the admission processes, registration, accreditation and degrees and titles. Also the main organizational agents with influence in the implementation of changes for the improvement were considered to be interviewed. It was found as a result that the definition of concepts of joint titles and dual degrees and titles are not clearly specified in the available literature about that matter. Another finding was that the data base of PUCP and the regulation of “Registro Nacional de Grados Academicos y Titulos Profesionales of Superintendencia Nacional de Educacion Superior (SUNEDU), do not recognize the possibility to register those students who have a joint degree or dual degree. It is also important to mention, that there are not clear defined protocols to register the academic situation of those students who follow a program of dual accreditation abroad. The same situation occurs in the case of those students who come from abroad to follow those study modalities. The university does not have an international office which regulates the legislations, procedures and registration of such modalities, which promotes the exchange of information in this matter, which provides technical-legal counselling to the offices involved, that brings solutions to the discrepancies and which encourages the use of information technologies and internet, as tools to register, access and usage of the information regarding joint and dual degrees and titles. The success of this proposal demands the joint and coordinated work of the units mentioned along this research: La Direccion Academica de Relaciones Institucionales (DARI), la Secretaria General (SG), la Oficina de Convenios (OC), la Oficina Central de Registro (OCR), La Direccion de Tecnologias de la Informacion (DTI) y las Unidades Academicas (UA).