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Promoting Inclusiveness in Higher Education in Latin America: A Policy Response

In a recent issue of the Institute of International Education's publication IIE Networker, Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program Executive Director Joan Dassin writes about the challenges still at large for higher education in Latin America. She writes that historic patterns of exclusion can be corrected through a strategic use of fellowships. Since 2001, IFP has selected nearly 900 fellows from indigenous and Afro-descendent communities in Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Chile and Brazil.

Published in IIE Networker: Fall 2009
By Joan Dassin

IFP's success in Latin America and other developing regions is the result of careful program planning and coordination at the global level. Locally-based "partner organizations" play a critical role in carrying out day-to-day program operations, which include proactive recruitment strategies and competitive selections consistent with the highest international standards. Through experience, IFP has learned that selection is only the first step in building a long-term relationship with Fellows, who receive educational advising, placement services, and up to a year of in-country preparatory training (and in some cases, up to six months of host university training) before beginning their formal studies. This relationship continues as the local partner actively monitors each Fellow's academic performance during the fellowship period, arranges repatriation if the Fellow studied abroad and continues to assist with "re-insertion" pressures and alumni activities. Although difficult to qualify, IFP's "hands-on" approach appears to be a crucial factor in the Fellows' success—especially when combined with their own talent and determination to advance their education and serve their communities.

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