The Impact of a Support Program for Inter-Level Transitions on the Educational Trajectories of Students from Two Universities in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.

The transition between secondary and university education represents a challenge for many students, particularly those who come from vulnerable sectors. Therefore, it acquires a strategic character in the processes of expansion and democratization of higher education systems. In this context, different policies have been developed to accompany such transitions. In this presentation, we aim to analyze one of these policies, implemented in Argentina between 2021 and 2024: the “SIgamos Estudiando (Let's Continue Studying)” Program, promoted and financed by the Secretariat of University Policies of that country. This program aimed to strengthen both the completion of the secondary level and the educational trajectories in the first years of university, through inter-level articulation projects designed by state universities.

In this presentation we seek to compare the projects carried out by two universities in Buenos Aires Province (the largest and most populated in Argentina), located in very diverse territories: one of them, in the Greater Buenos Aires and the other, in the interior of the province. On the one hand, we will examine the lines of action proposed by each institution and the inter-institutional networks built to implement them. On the other hand, we will analyze the impact of these actions on the educational trajectories of students who are performing their transition between secondary school and university.

The research uses a qualitative methodology: the reconstruction of each university’s project was based on documentary analysis and interviews with key informants responsible for its implementation. The students’ educational trajectories, their experiences in the inter-level transition and the impact of “Sigamos estudiando” Program were adressed through biographical interviews with students.