REPUTACIÓN DE PROGRAMAS DE POSGRADO EN ECUADOR: CASO DE UNA UNIVERSIDAD EN ECUADOR.

Abstract

Currently, people interested in taking postgraduate studies have an array of masters’ programs being offered, national as well as international. The strong competition to become the best option for the increasingly demanding masters candidates, forces the Ecuadorian universities to use resources that allow them to constantly improve the services they provide. Reputation is an intangible resource that, monitored in a timely and appropriate manner, can bring benefits and competitive advantages; however, locally there are missing instruments that can assess it. The main objective of the present work is to show a scale that can measure the reputation of postgraduate programs, from the perspective of its masters candidates, adapting the model proposed by Arpan, Raney, & Zivnuska (2003) and Yang, Alessandri, & Kinsey (2008), and applying it to an Ecuadorian university, through the analysis of five dimensions: emotional attractiveness; the program; support services; leadership and the vision of the future, as well as the social connection. The study shows a robust tool that allows universities to have an effective mechanism to use and manage in a transparent and periodic manner.