Graduate competencias and qualifications framework for Paraguayan higher education: exploratory evidence from national validation processes

Abstract

This article analyses the relevance of graduate competencies validated within the Erasmus+ project Modernization of Higher Education in Paraguay (ModESPar) as an exploratory basis for developing qualification descriptors for undergraduate programmes. The study follows a descriptive-exploratory, non-experimental and cross-sectional design, with a predominantly quantitative approach and complementary documentary analysis of de project methodology. The evidence comes from two digital consultation processes: a first survey conducted between 21 October 2024 and 21 February 2025, with 1128 valid responses, and a second validation conducted between 30 March and 30 June 2026, with 407 valid responses. Results show a high positive assessment of transversal graduate competencies (98,1%) and a lower perception of their curricular integration (70,9%), suggesting a gap between competency consensus and perceived curricular implementation. The second validation confirms high levels of relevance across four conceptual blocks of graduate competencies: professional, complementary, emerging, and citizenship. The article concludes that ModESPar does not yet constitute a national qualification framework, but provides a replicable methodological pathway for construction, harmonization, consultation, and validation, useful for strengthening the transition from graduate profiles to learning outcomes and qualification descriptors in Paraguayan higher education.