Education in Argentina & Uruguay
Historically, most Latin American societies prioritized the public university system in the development and certification of higher education. The work of these public university systems as the main producers of knowledge for national development has been considered equally as important as their role as vehicles for upward social mobility through the universal and, in some contexts, free admission of students. In this context, education is seen as a strategic tool for the democratization of “underdeveloped” countries with high degrees of social inequality.
The values embodied in the public education system are “structure, autonomy, and responsibility.” In this system, students pursue a degree according to publicly accepted rules. They are often expected to work independently within a massive bureaucratic 
system that does not always work perfectly. That said, program staff have developed good working relationships with faculty and staff at our partner institutions that facilitate successful academic experiences and get our students off to a good start at the beginning of the semester. Students are responsible for keeping up with all the “official” information (often transmitted orally in class), such as dates for various registrations, exams, course options, course schedules, etc., as well as with “unofficial” data, such as the best/worst instructors, the ideological orientation of professors that offer similar courses, the course or schedule options taken by their friends, available alternatives in case of sudden student strikes, where to find the required course material, or the right café in which to discuss philosophy or politics.
The challenges within public institutions are numerous, including inadequate budgets and an underpaid faculty, insufficient office and classroom space, inadequate infrastructure, and shortages of technological amenities for research and development. The relative decline of the public system and the rise of private universities since the 1980s is also linked to these realities. On the other hand, one of the greatest assets of these public institutions is the diversity of the student body. The presence of students from different social backgrounds creates an invaluable mix of different types of knowledge and previous experience.
Private universities, both lay and confessional, have only been allowed to award degrees in recent decades. Parallel to the decline of the state systems, over the past decade or so, private schools of varied size, orientation, and quality have multiplied; today they constitute a highly heterogeneous group that enrolls a sizable portion of the student population. These institutions are typically smaller, have fewer students, and have the resources to pay closer attention to student needs and concerns. Classroom organization tends to keep cohorts of students together for their entire academic career, while the administrative organization is similar to that of a U.S. college. Classes tend to be more focused on professional areas.
Most students attend university and work in their city of origin. Some university faculty only teach part-time, while also working in their field of expertise. This creates a close relationship between professional/everyday issues and in-class activity, as well as influences faculty’s research agendas.
Unlike liberal arts institutions in the U.S., Latin American universities usually organize their carreras (degree programs) around a higher number of required courses, which are more focused on career-specific subjects. Professors make many references to information particular to a given academic field that a U.S. student may not possess. For this reason, students are encouraged to take classes within their major and to not take classes in more than one or two degree programs.
At the classroom level, public universities typically have more in-class hours per week and more extensive reading requirements, but this varies across institutions. Courses are often taught in two sections: a theoretical section, or teórico, where the professors offer lectures about specific or general issues with little or no teacher/student interaction, and a discussion section, referred to as an ayudantía, where smaller groups of students analyze specific issues under the guidance of assistant professors or student teaching assistants, with very active student participation. Private institutions do not always replicate this system, instead offering classes that combine lecture and discussion. You should take courses with at least 2.5 contact hours per week for each one (1) credit earned on your Middlebury transcript.
International students should feel comfortable in local classrooms as they tend to foster a friendly atmosphere, particularly at the
level of the more interactive ayundantías. While students are more passive in the teóricos, they can take advantage of the opportunity to find their voices and get answers to remaining questions from lectures in the more informal setting of ayundantías.
Students should also get involved outside the classroom. As usual, the most valuable information is in the corridors. For example, students have to take the initiative to locate the required readings in advance, which may not be an easy task, in order to be prepared for exams. Likewise, students should make every effort to find and participate in student study groups, which are a very common form of academic support. Group contact and group study is highly encouraged, for it not only constitutes an excellent avenue for social integration, it is an ideal means to learn what instructors expect in class discussions or exams. Professors often assign large reading loads with the expectation that the students will divide the material and create summaries to be shared with the other members of their study groups.
