METHODOLOGY

1. The style and sections of the graduate follow-up instrument and policy manual will be defined during the first phase of the project, taking into account its potential recipients. The manual’s content will be developed and improved as the project goes on. In the final phase, it will be reviewed and completed, and finally the graphic design, edition and printing will be arranged. This manual will be distributed by mail to Latin-American and European universities.
   
   
2. At the end of the first phase of the project, the “Graduate Site” will be created, which will be housed inside Columbus’ computer platform. The experiences and progress of the different phases of the project will be published on this site. The site will be constantly updated to disseminate the project’s progress, the latest information on this topic, and a selection of the most relevant links. Access to this site will be monitored through electronic indicators to identify the number of users, their place of origin, frequency of visits, the most visited sections, and any other information of interest. Taking advantage of the social projection of university employment and the interest aroused by universities’ internal and external efficiency, the information from this Site will also be disseminated among the general-interest mass media, as well as those specializing in higher education issues.
   
   
3. The survey to find out the state of the art with regard to systematic graduate follow-up will be conducted during the first phase of the project and applied via email or ordinary mail in between the first and second phases. The results will be analyzed before the second phase and presented during the same. The information compiled in this survey will help to discover the status of the issue in question and to generate strategies for disseminating and exploiting the project’s results. On the other hand, in order to measure the project’s impact on its direct and indirect beneficiaries, a survey will be created during the first phase to determine if there has been any progress and improvements in the network member universities, as well as in the universities participating in the Seminar during the intermediate phase, through the dissemination of their experiences. This survey will be answered and then analyzed during the final phase of the project and will measure, among other aspects, the universe of graduates covered by a systematic follow-up in each participating institution at the beginning and at the end of the project, the existence or extension of databases, the improvement to the graduate information analysis instruments, improvement to the employment services, reforms to the curricula, and the nationwide dissemination of the graduate appraisal experience.
   
   
4. The self-diagnosis guide will be designed in accordance with the results obtained from the survey, and during the workshops with directors and technicians, to allow each institution to measure its degree of progress and identify its weaknesses and strengths in relation to this matter: types of follow-up programs conducted, who does it, how often, analysis and use of results, etc. It will be disseminated over the Internet (Graduate Site) and by CD RPM.
   
   
5. The material for university directors and technical personnel will be generated based on the results of the workshops for the same. This material will embrace strategic, technical, and operational aspects related to the organization of graduate follow-up systems. In preparation for said material, a training-action methodology will be recurred to, taking into account the experience of network members in university director training.
   
   
6. In the last phase of the project, taking advantage of the mutual confidence and knowledge arising from the interaction and collaborative work between the network members, the bases for a formal agreement for creating a permanent Latin-American and European network for graduate follow-up will be discussed.
   
   
7. Education and employment-related public offices represent an essential interlocutor, since support for higher education institutions that establish systematic graduate follow-up programs depends on them. For this purpose, a list of the offices in charge of monitoring university employment will be prepared and they will be invited to the intermediate-phase seminars. Afterwards, to reinforce communication with these organizations, an informative dossier will be prepared and the network will keep in permanent touch with these organizations to evaluate any progress made in this field.

The internal assessment and monitoring of the project will be conducted in accordance with the outlines agreed upon in the initial meeting. The project’s success and results will be evaluated with the network members and disseminated in the final reports, which will be assessed according to the European Commission’s usual procedures.