With the support of more than 50 tutors, this device, launched for the first time last year, seeks to enable more students to complete their university studies.
La Universidad Nacional de Rosario The second edition of the REGRESAR Program formally began, which seeks to accompany students so they can complete their university studies. The event took place at the Faculty of Humanities and Arts, with the presence of the registered students and their designated tutors.
This initiative aims to increase the graduation rate, promote retention and regular advancement in the academic trajectories of UNR students. In this second call, 600 people registered, who will be accompanied by more than 50 tutors.
The rEGRESAR Program pays special attention to those students who have left their academic career and owe 30% of the degree and/or who have yet to complete the final project or thesis to graduate, or who have not regularized/passed any subject in the last few years. ten years of all UNR undergraduate courses.
Rector Franco Bartolacci emphasized the importance that this program has for the University and the relevance of the work of each of those who participate in this process. “I want to thank those who, with their example of life, give us all a message because we know that the decision to return is not easy and that speaks of trust in this institution,” he highlighted and added: “Wonderful things are happening at the University, The expansion of UNR's academic proposal is unprecedented and we are doing it in a truly adverse context. “This would not be possible without the work of the UNR Academic Area and each of the faculties.”
In addition, he reflected on what it means to launch this unprecedented initiative for the second consecutive year. “I think this implies two things: realizing what an institution like ours should be, and which unfortunately many times we are not, but also a true declaration of principles. Many times the same bureaucratic structures are the ones that conspire and make it impossible for the institution's objective to be met, which is why all of these stories should serve as a message for our community and for all those who are still in doubt. In part when we talk about returning legitimacy to the public, we talk about working to stop building institutions without heart or soul. We want the students to stop being numbers of files, but to know that each and every one is a particular life story.”
Finally, he left a message about what is coming in the short term. “We are not going to rest, especially in a country with as many structural problems as Argentina. Always with the horizon set on doing everything within our power to fulfill the mission of the University: public education, which makes us all equal, saves us. “Everything is solved with more and better public education and national scientific and technological development.”
The person in charge of the Academic and Learning Area, Romina Pérez, thanked those who dared to take on this new challenge. “We want to thank those who joined this program, which continues to grow day by day. Some who signed up for 2023 are already graduates, and others are very close. We know it is not easy, but it is never too late to fulfill a dream and it is always worth writing a different ending.”
“The challenge we set ourselves at the beginning of last year was great and the expectations were high, and I think we lived up to it during the first call. The antecedents of this type of policies, in other Universities or educational spaces, had always been smaller. There was no similar initiative that included all the undergraduate courses of a University," he explained and added: "After the first call we received hundreds of calls and messages from people who had not registered previously, that is why we saw that it was necessary to renew this commitment to our community. Dreams are meant to be fulfilled and this University deserves this program.”
Pérez highlighted that the daily accompaniment and listening by the tutors is a key factor for this device to be successful. “The containment and support with the trajectories of the students who return to UNR to graduate means that many today are passing through our classrooms again, and some have even already fulfilled the dream of finishing their studies.”
Finally, he explained that since the inclusion of this program, the Public University is no longer the same. “Thanks to collective commitment, the lives of many people have changed and finishing a university degree is no longer a frustration but once again a possibility. In the face of so much hopelessness and disappointment, we want the University to continue to be a possibility.”
It should be remembered that this device already has its first class of graduates, which continues to increase day by day as it continues to work with all those people who registered in the first call.
First person experiences
The first call for this program was a resounding success, with more than 1300 people from all the University's faculties returning to continue their university studies. This achievement was reflected in the graduation of many students, who finally obtained their long-awaited degrees, marking the end of a long academic career full of effort and dedication.
“I continued to re-register almost every year. One morning listening to 'La Marca de la Almohada', a program that is broadcast on Radio UNR, they talked about a new program that the University was launching: REGRESS. It was a shock, an awakening. They were calling me,” confessed Agustina Foster Ferrer, recent graduate of the Bachelor's Degree in Social Communication.
Agustina Mazza, an Architecture graduate, revealed her motivations for enrolling, expressing: “What prompted me to make this decision was that, in reality, I had nothing to lose. With only one subject pending, I wanted to exhaust all the possibilities at my disposal.” The publication of the launch of the program became a hopeful sign for her, catalyzing the fulfillment of her dream after five years of postponement: “I always left that last subject for later, and it would have been much more difficult for me to make the decision to apply. to perform.”
In the case of Mauro Arias, also graduated as an architect, obtaining the title represented a pending account that he had patiently waited for years. “What motivated me to return to the University was, first of all, to fulfill a debt I had with myself,” Mauro confessed. Despite career changes over the years, his decision to join the program provided the final push to overcome the final academic hurdles.
Hernán Rossi graduated in Social Communication after two decades and did not stop expressing his gratitude towards the University: “If the University had not looked for me, I probably would not have fulfilled my dream.”
Ricardo Peralta, a brand new public accountant graduated at the end of November last year, began his career more than twenty-five years ago and had passed his last subject ten years ago. “I entered the program because my son who is studying Engineering enrolled me. It was a real unfinished business and I am very happy to have been able to graduate after so many years.”
Return to university
The hopes of 600 people are renewed in this second call of the REGRESAR Program, seeking to complete that pending dream that was postponed in time.
“Today I can say again that I am a student of Medical Sciences. On two occasions I left the faculty, for more than twelve years, for personal and work reasons. Today I choose to go back to study because I want to be a doctor,” explained Raquel Finoquetto, 48, and added: “I think it's wonderful because it allows those of us who come with a different study methodology to reintegrate, help and guide ourselves.”
“I left college in 2005, and now I'm trying to get back into the game so I can get my college degree. I never imagined that a program of this style would come out, much less that there would be a second call. I am looking to finish a cycle and give an example to my daughter that no matter her age, she can always go back to school,” commented Federico Majul, a 44-year-old architecture student.
“I started law in 1996, when I was 21 years old. Due to things in life I moved away and for many years I tried to connect again but it became more and more difficult. I had given up but I recently found out about this program and the truth is that I take it as a very important opportunity that is presented to me,” María Alicia Medina recalled.
“I found out from my sister a couple of months ago and I started wanting to go back. I even got in touch with a friend, who also joined,” said Alexis Piva, an International Relations student.
Journalist: Gonzalo J. García / Photographer: Karen Roeschlin