Educators Hope New Accreditation Standards Will Improve Higher Education in Central America's Poorest Countries

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But a decade of forums, fund raising, debate, and hard work, led by leaders at Central America's 18 public universities, may soon pay off. A regional organization called the Central American System for the Evaluation and Accreditation of Higher Education, which has been in the works for nearly a decade, now oversees a number of new, specialized regional accreditation groups.

In addition, the Central American System is responsible for monitoring national accreditation agencies in Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Panama to ensure that they keep to the same high standards as the new regional agencies. The organization is also working with countries like Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua to help them set up their own national accreditation programs.

Independent observers are encouraged by the push toward regional accreditation and hope it will benefit Central America's more than 700,000 university students as they seek advanced degrees and work beyond their home country.