Diploma Supplement, a milestone for Uruguayan higher education

The National Directorate of Education (DNE) of the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) of Uruguay announced today the launch of the Diploma Supplement, an important step forward in the academic and professional recognition of university degrees in the country.

The conference was attended by the Minister of Education and Culture, Pablo da Silveira, and the National Director of Education, Gonzalo Baroni. Félix García Lausín, coordinator of the Ibero-American Knowledge Space at the Ibero-American General Secretariat (Segib), and José Antonio Quinteiro, programme coordinator at UNESCO-IESALC and responsible for the Supplement proposal for Latin America and the Caribbean, participated virtually. Authorities and representatives of various Uruguayan higher education institutions were also present.

In his speech, Da Silveira highlighted the process ‘based on cooperation and trust’ that led to the document finally being implemented in Uruguay. ‘It is the most laborious and ambitious path, but the one that homogenises the most’.

For his part, Director Baroni recalled that the implementation of the Diploma Supplement opens up the market to new professionals and makes it easier for the Uruguayan education system ‘to be recognised in the world’.

After the round table with authorities, the DNE Higher Education Area team, headed by its head, Carlos Romero, and technical assistant Carla Brufau, presented the fundamental points and technical aspects of the Diploma Supplement.

Until now, some Uruguayan institutions issued similar documents without a common regulatory framework to standardise the minimum information they must contain and give them official status.

About the Diploma Supplement
The Diploma Supplement is an official document that accompanies diplomas with unified and personalised information for each person.

Its legal framework resides in Law No. 20.035, passed in 2022, which incorporated into national legislation the UNESCO Regional Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas and Degrees in Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean, and Decree No. 183/024.

This document, which is voluntary, allows employers and educational institutions to explain to employers what a given qualification or training consists of as it contains information on the studies undertaken, the results obtained, the professional skills acquired and the level of their qualification in the Uruguayan national education system.

The implementation of the Diploma Supplement is another step forward in international transparency and facilitates the academic and professional recognition of qualifications, as a letter of presentation of what a person has studied, in order to facilitate the understanding of their competences and knowledge.

Free version of the article published by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Uruguay