The world-system of academic capitalism: Process of consolidation of the entrepeneurial university

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the system of the faculty evaluation by their students at the Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez (UACJ). The study was conducted following an interpretative and ethnographic methodology; empirical data was obtained based on participative observation. My presence on a daily basis allows me to register the processes in detail. In this methodology, the subjectivity, ideology and political stand of the researcher are made explicit. Results from the study indicate that for the perspective of the university administration, the faculty evaluation validates the teaching quality, and it is a referent to justify the professor exclusion from the university's incentive program. The faculty views the student evaluation as a control of their labor and as a revenge mechanism from those students who felt that will fail the course. The student perceives the evaluation as a mandatory and unimportant task, because its results do not modify the faculty pedagogic practice. Although there is an agreement between the administration and the faculty to maintain the student evaluation process for merit incentive purpose, faculty questions if this type of evaluation is appropriate for all the disciplines; the validity of peer evaluations; and, the student's judgment to leave them without labor economic incentives. As a result of the found divergence, it is proposed a dialogue among the professors; University's administration, and the students to generate an opinion poll in agreement to the context.