The welfare units in private higher education institutions: approach from the reform to the organic Law of Higher Education

Abstract

The Private Higher Education Institutions of Ecuador must have a Welfare Unit designed to guarantee constitutional rights, including health and its promotion. However, its scope and attributions have undergone modifications from the Organic Law of Higher Education of 2010 to the reform of 2018. This implies a new conception of its approach and operation, both of the governing bodies of health and higher education, as well as of the own HEIs that contain them. The research was qualitative and was approached on the basis of open interviews carried out in the Welfare Units of three private HEIs, which share a similar territorial context and have nearby health and higher education regulatory bodies, which were also interviewed. Policies and guidelines, comprehensive health promotion, scope of functions, inclusion in the new attributions, linkage and inter-institutional support were explored, which allow revealing the conception and scope of the new focus of the welfare units. The welfare units show differentiated progress in the implementation of the scope and attributions designated in the law. It is suggested to promote the formation of interuniversity nodes.