What Matters in Accreditation? A Case Study in Chile

The accreditation assessment of a program in higher education institutions is a process that verifies, promotes and guarantees educational quality. In Chile, it is carried out by the National Accreditation Commission, a public autonomous organization, which considers different criteria, ending up into the number of years the program is accredited. This work aims to investigate the most relevant criteria into this assessment, considering the official records of the institution through a statistical model suitable for pattern recognition. Particularly, we analyze on Master programs related to Industrial Engineering. Preliminary results allow us to distinguish the main variables for improving decision-making practices, it is noted that the most prominent one is the criterion associated to the prestige of the institution where the master's program is hosted.