Social relevance of a public university in Mexico from the view of students, teachers and employers

Abstract

The social relevance of a public university in the state of Sonora, northwestern Mexico is analyzed from the perception of students, employers and academics. A questionnaire on university functions (Order, 2007) and another on importance and achievement of generic competences of the Tuning project was applied (Beneitone, et al., 2007) at the De la Sierra University, Mexico. The function that this university has served the most is “to prepare for the professional world" whereas the least served is "social commitment". Generic skills are highly valued by the stakeholders. However, not all competences manage to be developed during university education, such as communication in a second language and the ability to work in an international context.