Factors Associated with Quality in Colombia’s Top Law Schools

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the factors associated with quality at Colombia’s top law schools, based on the scores obtained in five consecutive state exams to determine the quality of higher education (ECAES). The sample was selected on the basis of three criteria and classified into three groups: professors, students and administrators. Each group was surveyed and individual semi-structured interviews were conducted. A qualitative analysis of the instruments was done, based on frequency and range of response. The key findings indicate that one of the factors most associated with good academic performance in the faculties under study is the outstanding academic and teaching credentials of the faculty members, which are reflected in the way they conduct their classes, most of which involve lectures and analysis of jurisprudence. One of the unrelated factors, among others, is the size of the faculty and the number of student who took the ECAES exam.