ACACIA: Centros de cooperación para el fomento, fortalecimiento y transferencia de buenas prácticas que Apoyan, Cultivan, Adaptan, Comunican, Innovan y Acogen a la Comunidad Universitaria

Eradicating all forms of exclusion, discrimination and marginalisation that result from disparities and/or inequalities, as well as reducing the student drop out rate remain key challenges for the higher education (HE) sector in Latin America. Through the design and testing of educational centers for support and development (CADEP), the ACACIA project aims to foster solidarity and cooperation among HE institutional departments and staff in order to develop innovative educational resources and improved strategies to deal with the socio-emotional distress of students at risk of desertion. Thanks to better intra- and inter-institutional cooperation, the project will provide solutions to strengthen HEIs’ staff skills, modernise HEIs’ organizational structures, decrease student drop out rates and ultimately promote respect of the other’s differences. The structure of the educational centers, articulated in mutually supporting modules, has been developed by a team of researchers and administrators from 14 HEIs in 8 countries from Latin America and Europe. It represents an innovative and replicable tool for HEIs to provide students, especially the most vulnerable, with integrated support using a differential approach. Concretely, the project will set-up three pilot centers in Colombia, Peru and Nicaragua to support and monitor students at risk, carry out training sessions for staff at HEIs, explore new strategies for teaching and improve the use of ICTs in educational practices. Thanks to the project, more than 4,000 teachers and 200,000 students from 11 Latin American universities will benefit from an innovative and relevant professional profile, helping to improve academic results and reduce the drop out rate among students.