Dominican Republic

Public & Private Universities: The present university system, both public and private, owes much of its standards and administrative policy to the influence of the Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo (UASD). This university, the oldest in Latin America, was created by Pope Paul II in 1538 by Papal Bull and has a long academic tradition and influence in local politics. Awarded autonomous status in 1961, it remains the largest university system. Admission into the public university is very cheap and admission standards are low.

Private universities began with the 1962 formation of Roman Catholic Universidad Madre y Maestra (UCMM), later Pontificia Universidad Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), following a name change by Pope John Paul II in 1987. Precedent for awarding government subsidy to private universities was established in 1965 when the government awarded UCMM a subsidy of 1.2 million pesos. Following the establishment of UCMM, a multitude of universities were incorporated, including the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Urena (UNPHU, 1966), Universidad Central del Este (UCE, 1971), Instituto Technologico de Santo Domingo (INTEC, 1972), and Universidad Technologica de Santiago (UTESA, 1972).

Certification: The rapid expansion of the university system created problems of certification validity. These came to a head in the early 1980s with the closing of El Centro de Estudios Tecnicos (CETEC) in 1982. Of most concern for certification validity is the position of the English-language medical programs, which accept applications from many international students from such diverse areas as Pakistan, India, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Canada, and the United States.

In response to such concerns, the Dominican Council for Higher Education (CONES) was created through Decreto 1255 in 1983 to legislate, regulate, certify, and give consulting support to universities. In 1998 CONES recognized 29 universities with a combined total enrollment of 213,200. Not all universities, however, meet international agency standards for "full" university status, such as professional training with research-based departments. The Britannica Yearbook of 2000, for example, lists only seven universities and 73,461 students, numbers much lower than other sources. The state of California recognizes six of the medical programs. Much progress, however, was made during the 1990s to update curricula and improve the quality of academic professionals working within the university system. The study of medicine and law have been scrutinized heavily, and both programs have been substantially expanded and updated to meet system standards.

Enrollments & Courses: In 1997, according to the Consejo Nacional de Educacion Superior (National Council on Higher Education), the government department in charge of overseeing universities, there were 176,935 university students in the country. The UASD had 81,753 student. The largest private university, UTESA, had 21,353 students, followed by O&M with 17,504 students. CONES recognized 36 higher education institutions, including 29 universities and 7 institutes. Of the 29 universities recognized by CONES, 17 are located in Santo Domingo.

The 1997 study showed that most students opted to study accounting. From 1992 to 1997, some 10,376 students graduated in accounting, and 22,413 accounting students were enrolled. Education placed second, a turnaround from past years. There were 20,786 students enrolled in education, a marked increase from the 9,777 graduates of the previous five years. Marketing was another popular major, with some 17,672 students enrolled. Some 17,697 students chose computer sciences. Law maintained a steady enrollment of 19,100, but few Dominicans chose medicine, with only 2,224 enrolled.

The director of the CONES, Alejandrina German, said that her department is carrying out a study to determine the real demand for professionals in the country in order to make recommendations to high schools orienting their students in their choice of a university career.