Institutional Resilience in Puerto Rico: A First Look at Efforts by Puerto Rican HSIs

Institutional Management and Sustainability
UPR-Río Piedras’ current efforts in sustainability include
their five-year strategic campus plan, Compromiso 2018-
2023, resulting from ongoing challenges of the hurricanes
in 2017, student strike, and others.
This strategic plan focuses on four key areas: 1) research,
2) updating an innovative academic offering, 3) fostering a
relationship with the community, and, 4) increasing fiscal
efficiency and sustainability.
UPR-Río Piedras leadership shared that in order to implement
the four key areas they need to expand their funding sources
and establish partnerships with external organizations in both
the private and public sectors.
Academic restructuring. As part of their new strategic plan,
UPR-Río Piedras revised curricula, consolidated programs and
departments, combined undergraduate programs, and reduced
the number of credits required to graduate to streamline the
time to degree.
“All this [restructuring] has been done
within a time frame. It took years to
achieve a curricular transformation that
the student could see, improve their
academic progress and earn a degree. The
restructuring had to align with mentoring
processes, and we have different centers
and different services to support the
development of students’ competencies.”
Political/Economic changes. UPR-Río Piedras leaders shared
they faced overarching political and economic challenges in
operating after the establishment of the Financial Oversight
and Management Board, which exacerbated the fiscal crisis and
bankruptcy of Puerto Rico.
Administrative restructuring, budget adjustments, and
securing funding. UPR-Río Piedras is undergoing a change in
presidency for the next academic year (2022-2023), and UPR-
Río Piedras leaders share that it will be a year of significant
fiscal challenges. The campus has experienced a drop in $71
million to their budget over the last five years as designated
by the Financial Oversight Board. As a result of these budget
adjustments, the institution has reduced administrative and staff
positions, and secured external funding to use in other areas
outside of operations.
“The Río Piedras campus maintains its
role as a research-oriented institution.
We have worked very hard to maintain
that classification; we are the only one
in Puerto Rico. For example, [the campus
received] a donation from Banco Popular
last year of $1 million to do a revamping of
the Business College. Natural Sciences has
just received a grant to train high school
teachers in research.”
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, UPR-Río Piedras
used CARES funding to equip the campus with technology
to be able to transition from in-person to virtual learning.
UPR-Río Piedras shifted to online classes relatively quickly using
CARES funds, and created online platforms and mediums for
students to communicate with administrators, faculty, advisors,
and counselors for support. UPR-Río Piedras leaders expressed
how the shift to virtual learning affected professors and
students alike who did not have experience teaching or learning
in a virtual environment.
“In a flagship campus like Río Piedras,
whose strength is precisely to have
in-person interactions, all of a sudden, that
almost disappeared.”
28 INSTITUTIONAL RESILIENCE IN PUERTO RICO: A First Look at Efforts by Puerto Rican HSIs