Mendive. Revista de Educación, April-june 2020; 18(2):379-393

Translated from the original in Spanish

Premises regarding the management of university extension from the teaching department

Análisis de las tendencias de la gestión de la extensión universitaria desde el departamento docente

Análise das tendências em gestão de extensão universitária a partir do departamento de docência

Osmani Álvarez Bencomo¹, Taymi Breijo Worosz¹, Mercedes González Fernández-Larrea²

¹ Universidad de Pinar del Río "Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca". Cuba. ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9458-2755, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9424-3278. Correo electrónico: bencomo@upr.edu.cu, taimi.breijo@upr.edu.cu
² Universidad de La Habana. Cuba. ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1914-6002. Correo electrónico: mglez@mes.gob.cu

Received: February 22^nd, 2020
Approved: April 29^th, 2020

ABSTRACT

The university extension and its management at different levels and organizational structures are a topic widely debated today. The article starts from a study of the theoretical and contextual framework of the university extension and its management from the Teaching Department, in the context of the University of Pinar del Río that allow the development of premises for its development. The objective was to determine the main trends of extension management in the Teaching Department. The main materials and methods conceived the use of the dialectic-materialist method as rector, which served as a starting point for the use of others as theorists such as the Historical-Logic, the Documentary Review, the Systematization and the System Approach, as well as a set of empirical methods among which the interview, the survey and the experiential were found. As main results, a series of trends and essential premises are assumed from a systemic, integrative and dynamic perspective that contribute to the improvement of extension management in the teaching department and its essential influence on the professional profile formation.

Keywords: teaching department; university extension; training, management.

RESUMEN

La gestión de la extensión universitaria en los diferentes niveles y estructuras organizativas constituyen un tema ampliamente debatido en la actualidad. El artículo parte de un estudio del marco teórico y contextual de este proceso en el departamento docente, en el contexto de la Universidad de Pinar del Río "Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca". Como objetivo tuvo, determinar las principales tendencias de la gestión de la extensión universitaria en el departamento docente. El método dialectico-materialista sirvió como punto de partida para el empleo de otros métodos teóricos como el histórico-lógico, la revisión documental, la sistematización y el enfoque de sistema, así como un conjunto de métodos empíricos entre los que se encontraron la entrevista, la encuesta y el vivencial. Como principales resultados se asumen una serie de tendencias y premisas esenciales desde una perspectiva sistémica, integradora y dinamizadora que contribuyen al perfeccionamiento de la gestión extensionista en el departamento docente y su influencia esencial en la formación de perfil del profesional.

Palabras clave: departamento docente; extensión universitaria; formación y gestión.

RESUMO

A gestão da extensão universitária em diferentes níveis e estruturas organizacionais é hoje um tema amplamente discutido. O artigo parte de um estudo do enquadramento teórico e contextual deste processo no departamento de ensino, no contexto da Universidade de Pinar del Río "Hermanos Saiz Montes de Oca". O objetivo foi determinar as principais tendências da gestão da extensão universitária no departamento de ensino. O método dialético-materialista serviu como ponto de partida para a utilização de outros métodos teóricos como o histórico-lógico, a revisão documental, a sistematização e a abordagem sistêmica, bem como um conjunto de métodos empíricos entre os quais foram encontrados a entrevista, o inquérito e o experiencial. Os principais resultados assumem uma série de tendências e premissas essenciais a partir de uma perspectiva sistêmica, integradora e dinâmica que contribuem para a melhoria da gestão extensionista no departamento de ensino e sua influência essencial na formação do perfil profissional.

Palavras-chave: departamento de ensino; extensão universitária; treinamento e gestão.

INTRODUCTION

The contemporary world, distinguished by globalization and mediated by imposing economic and cultural models, requires the development of research that can improve the management of the substantive processes that are carried out in universities, essentially university extension, as it is the process that allows It is closely linked to the environment in which it develops, in addition to its dynamic function, content and forms, it energizes the rest of the two substantive processes that take place in the university.

"The development of the extension work in university students is considered an ideal way, through which the professional training process can be perfected for efficient performance in any sphere of action." (Rojas, 2018) p.3.

In Cuban higher education, great efforts are made to achieve the relevance of university processes, from raising their quality to strengthening the links between university-society. This concept is assumed as the dialectical unity of two elements: academic excellence and relevance. Academic excellence integrates the quality of human resources, in particular, the faculty and students, the optimal use of the material base and adequate pedagogical and didactic management.

Pertinence, according to Alarcón (2016), is the concept that characterizes the relationships established between the university and its environment and manifests itself when it really responds to the interests and needs of its society, not only to do what it is told to do. It requests, but also to fulfill its preventive role, of global anticipation, that allows higher education to play an active role within society, helping it to design the future and to own its destiny.

In this regard, Saborido, J.R (2020), at the opening Conference of the 12th International University 2020 Congress, proposes ... "the university exists in society, for society and for society"

In this sense, the process of university extension plays an essential role. At the present time his actions are directed to perfecting from the scientific research, the theory and the practice of his management; seen from different edges and interpretations according to the educational model adopted or taking into account its conceptualization, assumed as: cultural extension, cultural diffusion, extension of culture and services or social projection.

"The progress of university extension management, as part of the classic mission triptych, calls for the socialization of a set of theoretical and methodological references, as a guarantee that the essential actors in this process are prepared to face the challenges that are faced pose in the current context. González (2004)

Currently, Cuban higher education is engaged in achieving the high challenge of maintaining its model of a modern, humanistic, universalized, scientific, technological, innovative university, integrated into society and deeply committed to building a prosperous and sustainable socialism.

A university characterized by the formation of values and by the quality assurance of its substantive processes, in order to achieve a graduate who has personal qualities, culture and professional skills that allow him to perform with social responsibility, and that fosters his education for all life. Ministerio de Educación Superior (2016)

"... Comprehensive vocational training will constitute a process where man recreates culture from all or almost all its dimensions, will nurture him with the values, attitudes and skills necessary to express himself individually and collectively." (Maldonado and Ramón, 2015).

The management of the university extension contributes to the achievement of this end.

The results obtained in investigations carried out in Cuba allowed establishing the double character of the university extension, referring to ... "the conscious and efficient management of the university extension is only possible when the function-process relationship is expressed and its management is organized. González (2003).

The effective and efficient management and the leading participation of all levels in management, have allowed an integration with the other university processes and will enhance the role and place of the university extension as a training process and "motor of the rest of the other processes that are developed in the university "González (2004).

Most of the researchers on the subject raise the need to improve the management of this process based on proposals for programs, strategies and policies for planning university extension, lacking the necessary integration with the rest of the substantive processes for the achieving a greater impact on the training of the future professional.

However, today's scenario is not the same, the application of the Management Model of the University Extension, at the "Hermanos Saiz Montes de Oca" University in Pinar del Río, has shown that management must continue to be improved in other levels, emphasizing those that, according to the Objectives Evaluation Report, "must coincide in a coherent integration with the rest of the substantive processes, in the teaching department that will have an essential influence at the last level of its management: over the years and in the disciplines ".

In this way, this work presents the main objective of determining the main trends in extension management in the teaching department.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In order to obtain the results of this research, in which different methods were used, a comprehensive materialistic dialectical approach is started, which allowed us to highlight the contradictory and developing nature of the relationships of the components of university extension management in the teaching department, channeling the research to the search for new regularities, functions and structures in the management of said process.

A diagnostic study was carried out for which theoretical level and historical-logical methods were applied to determine the antecedents and trends of the university extension management process, as well as to understand the links and interrelationships that have existed throughout its process of genesis and development.

The documentary analysis was applied to analyze the official documents issued by the Ministry of Higher Education on the process of university extension and its management in universities, as well as those issued at the UPR, faculty and department level at the "Hermanos Saiz Montes de Goose".

The systematization was used to discover or organize the internal logic of the university extension process and its management, delimiting its interrelationships, milestones and the main factors that have intervened in them.

For empirical inquiries, the following methods were used:

Surveys were applied to professors and specialists from the Pinar del Río University "Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca", with the aim of delimiting the level of knowledge and mastery they possess to manage the process in the teaching department; as well as to inquire about the means and ways in which they receive the guidelines aimed at strengthening the extension process.

The interview with heads of departments was applied to know their opinions, criteria and judgments about the role of teaching departments to enhance the management of university extension at this level of leadership; as well as the knowledge that they possess about the theoretical references, the organizational forms and the indicators that must be used for the evaluation of their management.

The observation applied to the different extension activities was designed with the aim of knowing the degree of planning, organization and involvement that the teaching departments have in their development, as well as the impact caused in the university community.

The experiential method allowed the author, through the experience accumulated during 20 years in the direction and advice of the extension process, to know about the manifestations, behaviors, evolution and development of the object of study in the historical evolution, in the same way it has had its implication the experience of some department heads who have advised the management of this process from different job positions.

All the heads of the teaching departments of the UPR were considered as population, (38) and the sample was made up of (25) representing 64.0% of the total, it also includes 19 tables of the faculties of a total of 28, This represents 67.8% and 590 full-time professors from the "Hermanos Saiz Montes de Oca" University were surveyed, out of a total of 996, which represents 61.0%.

RESULTS

The management of university extension, currently is one of the most debated and controversial topics in many universities in the world, there are several authors who approach the topic from different perspectives and trends, depending on the regions where they come from.

Various authors have dealt in various works with the historical perspective of the development of the university extension and its management. Based on the approaches made by them and other sources consulted by the author of this article, the main milestones in pursuing this activity are outlined below.

As it is known, the process of evolution of the management of the university extension in the countries of Eastern Europe and Russia, is aimed at strengthening the cultural and aesthetic training of university students in the field of comprehensive training, in highly developed countries such as Germany, the United States and Japan, the relations between university-society-company are framed in the demands of the markets, where their social function is restricted, which means that the university has a business character, where the university-industry bond prevails. . Copyright and intellectual property limit the open exchange of ideas and information and more importance is given to the transfer and commercialization of technology, according to the author Cano (2016), responding to an economic model.

We can highlight that the main trend of the management of university extension in these universities is aimed at promoting an extension model, which links the university to the productive sector, part of the supply and demand of university services and to obtain benefits economic.

In the author's opinion, it can be seen that the university-society relationship is resolved through services with mercantile interests and not through social needs and demands, which limits the scope of the process in these countries. The university extension is managed centrally through the structures created by the universities, where a weak participation and leading role of the teaching department in the management of the process is manifested.

In Latin America, the influence of neoliberalism, the concepts of "extension of services" and "university-company" have also been manifested, as suggested by González (2003):

…. "Have been penetrating the Latin American university, as a result of cultural penetration from the north, which is why it is necessary to survive and seek new ways of self-sustainability in an environment that is very hostile, which attempts at globalization-regionalization contradiction against national values, historical roots and cultural and national identity".

Coinciding with what Menéndez (2000) stated:

… "Extension, having neither achieved its definition in the institution nor its link with the other functions, and having reduced the extension work to the holding of events without a clear intention, is perceived as an accessory function, which can be suppressed or minimized without affecting the work of the institution, a situation that characterizes the current state of the function in most of our countries".

It agrees with González, GR & González, M. (2003), when he explains that in most cases, in the context of Latin American universities, the trends manifested by the extension process and that generally have a significant impact on its management are the following:

 "(...) a conceptual distortion, lack of systematization and sporadic programs and projects, which do not go beyond utopias that generally do not materialize due to the real situation in these countries."

This XXI century in Latin America, although there are integrationist attempts, especially in public universities, do not go beyond the fact of extending actions to the communities, without taking into account the needs and realities of these territories, assuming as general characteristics: the existence of a neoliberal model of extension, with prevalence of socioeconomic discourse and with the establishment of requirements such as: suppressing the autonomy of universities, periodically reducing the budget allocated by the state to higher education, strengthening private universities over public higher studies, eliminating free admission to university classrooms and designing study plans with the requirements of the globalized market.

In contrast to this conception, a model emerges that marks the way to visualize and project the university extension in its relationship with teaching and research, with a deep academic background, was embodied by Freire (1973), who defended the need for interaction between the According to Cedeño (2012), both university and society, both parties being beneficiaries, this relationship occurs so that:

"(...) the first promotes and promotes culture in its broadest sense, the critical thinking of the time, and contributes to the formation of man both in the university community and in society in general".

Regarding the models that Latin American universities use in their extension management, the author González (2004), analyzing the practices of these universities, proposes three extension models, with which the author of this work agrees, since they are more comprehensive and integrators:

1. Traditional: which conceives the university as a source of knowledge and knowledge, and establishes an institutionalized relationship of knowledge with those who do not possess it, with a rather giver-to-recipient nature and in a particularly unidirectional way. (Generally used by Latin American universities).

2. Economicist: who considers the university as one more company that interacts in the market, which adopts the role of scientific and technical support for the productive sector, and where knowledge is organized according to economic profitability. (The universities of developed countries are reflected).

3. Integral development: where the university manages the concept of democratization of knowledge and assumes the social function of contributing to improve the quality of life in society. It develops the extension from a democratic, critical and creative university, from an interactive and multidirectional dialogue with the different actors involved in the relationship. The extension from a university that not only contributes to cultural growth, but also to the social and economic transformation of peoples, starting from their felt needs and thus contributing to prosperous and sustainable development. (This model is reflected in Cuban universities and in some Latin American countries where political will is a function of solving the social needs of their peoples).

The stages through which the extension process in Cuba has gone through are described below.

Colonial and neocolonial stage (1728-1959)

In Cuba during the colonial and semi-colonial period, the same trends prevailed that characterized Latin American universities in general. The University of Havana included in the mission of said institution the need to strengthen its social function, influenced by the Reform of Córdoba, Argentina, where University Extension was discussed for the first time.

Corresponds to this stage, the intention to raise the need for the university to participate in solving social, economic and political problems, also to publicize the particular sciences and culture, especially among the marginalized social sectors of university education. However, it is worth clarifying that, although there were isolated attempts at extension activity, most of them were frustrated by the socio-political situation in the country.

Of particular importance at this stage are the ideas of the Cordoba Reform, which influenced the student and faculty vanguard of the University of Havana. Outstanding as part of this vanguard, the indisputable student leader Julio Antonio Mella, who is also recognized among the founders of the Communist Party of Cuba and the University Student Federation (FEU), while being recognized as the creator of the Popular University "José Martí".

With regard to the creation of the Popular University "José Martí" in 1923, what could be called the beginning of the most autochthonous stage of university extension in Cuba must be identified, which ranges from literacy to higher level courses academic, while promoting, the interaction and cultural integration of the intelligentsia, the students and the popular masses. Although it marks a significant moment in the history of Cuban Higher Education, the development of the university extension at this stage fails to stabilize. Weighed on it, being the Popular University privilege of a part of society in need of culture. These are the times when Mella saw that a social revolution was necessary in order to achieve a true university reform. That is why in the following years political, social and cultural movements, including university struggles, to bring the university closer to the people intensify. Already in the 1940s, actions of an artistic-cultural nature were carried out at the University of Havana, led by important figures in the arts and letters and that left a positive, although insufficient, effect on the university's social recognition as cultural institution. Later, the Universidad de Oriente and the Universidad Central de Las Villas were added, when they were founded in 1947 and 1952, respectively; which allowed a greater influence of this teaching in other parts of the country. This is the stage in which the cultural movement that develops in the universities recovers, although limited, with a strong inspiration in the actions of the FEU. In 1950, by Rectoral Resolution at the University of Havana, the University Extension Commission was constituted which, at least theoretically, set out as its objective to create an environment conducive to the development of the desire for spiritual improvement that would redound to the cultural level of the people. This commission, on the one hand, gave a more institutional character to the cultural activity channeled by the university, but on the other, it could not have, remotely, the necessary social scope.

In 1952 the political and social situation of the country worsened and, therefore, the activities of cultural extension were diminishing until disappearing with the closure of the University of Havana in 1956. So, at the end of this first stage, the university manifests the Cuban social crisis of the time.

At this stage there is no evidence that the management of the university extension was developed through the teaching departments, it was managed through the structures centrally created by the universities.

Revolutionary Stage (1959-to the present day)

To characterize the management of university extension in the teaching department in Cuba and at the UPR, the one carried out by González (2003) was taken into account.

In this period, the management of the university extension is carried out through the mechanisms and structures created by the MES for these purposes, the University of Pina del Río being a reflection of what happens in the management of the process in the country.

There is an advance in its conceptualization assuming the interaction between the Higher Education Institution and society, based on the commitment to participate in the process of creating culture and radical transformation of the community, where a new meaning of the concept of university extension emerges Based on its function, achieving a direct relationship between the IES and society, the scope of the process continues to be limited in its management at the teaching department level, only making the Department of Cultural Activities responsible for this action.

With the creation in 1976 of the Ministry of Higher Education (MES), the improvement of the plans and programs for five years was implemented, starting with Study Plan A in the academic year 1977-1978. In their functions the teaching departments only limited to methodological teaching work.

This same year the Ministry of Culture was created, with its ten basic institutions, with a great influence on the IES, the same institutions began to be created in the universities, for the cultural preparation and organization of the Movement of Amateur Artists, a step from advance in the management of university extension. Responsibility for the development of the third substantive process was continued by the Cultural Activities department, without any involvement from the rest of the teaching departments.

The Ministerial Resolution (hereinafter R / M) 172/83 was issued in 1983, which regulates the activities of the MAA and the sports movement. Complementary activities conceived from the artistic-sports aspects are used as routes, without recognizing their integration with the academic, labor and research processes, for which the teaching departments continued without involvement. (Ministerio de Educación Superior, 1983)

With the implementation of Study Plan B, in the 1982-1983 academic year, objectives were established by subject, academic content decreased, the theory-practice relationship, increased work practice, the participation of production and service organizations, optimization, scientific and pedagogical rationalization of the teaching-educational process. In the Program of the Third Party Congress, regarding the training of university students, it was stated that "... their cultural development is not satisfactory." As can be seen at this stage, the development of the management of the university extension process in the teaching departments was limited by functions and orientations to the academic, investigative and labor training of the students. (p.5.)

In 1986 R / M 187 defines the work direction of the MES for comprehensive preparation through massive cultural activities, its involvement in community activities, insertion of Artistic Appreciation as a discipline of Study Plan B and the incorporation of aesthetic principles and assessments in subjects, it meant a step forward in the cultural development of students and therefore the process of managing university extension. The relationship between the academic and extension process enriched the content, ways and forms for management. (Ministerio de Educación Superior, 1986)

With the appearance of the Program of Development of the University Extension in Higher Education, in 1988, and the "Program for the Integral Cultural Development of University Students", the teaching departments had a better defined instrument for their management, however the actions carried out by them were spontaneous and sporadic, continuing to fall on artistic training and on courses and optional subjects for the comprehensive training of students, in the Department of Cultural Activities.

In this same year the First Scientific Day of Cultural Work in higher education takes place. The agreements made marked a revitalization of the university extension, by emphasizing the role of the universities in the promotion and cultural extension. The University Extension Development Program is instituted, which projected changes in the conception of extension; The Program for the integral cultural development of university students continued. According to González, (2002) the Cultural Activities departments become University Extension departments, the Regulation for artistic education activities is issued and extension commissions are created that would respond to new conceptions and projections of cultural work in the territories. . The institutional activities into which the different careers were inserted were centrally planned and oriented, such as sports games, amateur artist festivals, visits to historical places, meeting with artists and writers, without the direct involvement of the teaching departments, these did not count with a methodology that manages the university extension, so the activities were spontaneous or at the initiative of the University Student Federation.

In this context, the year group appears as a management level and new contexts are involved, such as the student residence and the production and service companies, the teaching department had new tools for the management of its three processes, but still the management of the University extension manifests itself centrally. The art instructors of the Houses of Culture are incorporated into the artistic training of the students, thus contributing to satisfy their artistic, literary and cultural needs.

The inclusion of the university extension as one of the aspects of the educational project, the cell of the Integral Approach for Educational Work and Political Ideology in the universities, is an opportunity that must be taken advantage of in this new endeavor, especially in the teaching department since it constitutes the most important link in the structure of higher education.

In the course of 1992-93 transformations take place in the Study Plans, in order to conceive the student as the protagonist of their own development, Study Plan C emerges and with the new ways and way of managing the extension. The R / M 178/92 was issued for the creation of the Honorary Chairs in the universities, to stimulate research and ideological political work through academic, cultural and political improvement, it is also introduced from the 1993-1994 academic year on education Superior strategic planning and management by objectives, where one of the key result areas was the university extension, which favored the management at the teaching department level of this process and begins planning to respond to needs that students have to raise their cultural level and the relationship between university and society increases.

The emergence of the educational project with the curricular, political-ideological and university extension dimensions, represents a qualitative leap as it becomes an essential instrument for management, which favors the integral formation of the student. In this way, the department, as a basic management cell in the universities, together with the year group, is protagonically involved in the planning, organization, execution and control of extension actions in its strategic and annual planning, in the operation of the honorary chairs and in educational projects. The management of the university extension was approached to the particularities of the races, significant aspect, but little systematized from the theory.

In the improvement of the Central State Administration in 1994, the extension function was made explicit among the fundamental objectives of higher education. This year the Extension Directorate is created in the MES, a methodological body that directs, coordinates and evaluates the development of extension in universities and its impact on the territory, an important leap in the management of this process.

At this stage there is a qualitative leap in the process of managing university extension; the first national investigations appear, offering the teaching department the theoretical concepts for managing the process at this level. However, according to said author, conscious planning of extension activities, adequate evaluation, and coordination with teaching and research are insufficient in the departments.

In 1998, with the emergence of the modified Plan C, the extension content was enriched, cultural promotion and community social work associated with projects increased, and with it the actions of the teaching department.

At the department level, the ways and means of managing university extension are consolidated and diversified: strategic planning emerges with a key result area of university extension, the educational project in the year group and the honorary chairs; whose potentials are exploited by the different educational settings, although without a methodology that articulates them for the integral formation of the student.

In this stage there is an improvement in the economic situation of the country, the spiritual needs of the university community and its surroundings grow, the level of activity of its substantive processes increases with emphasis on that of university extension, the Movement of Amateur Artists is revitalized of the FEU and with it the level of cultural activities in the universities and their interaction with society.

Universities play a leading role in the Battle of Ideas, with an emphasis on comprehensive cultural training. The university chairs of the elderly were created in 2000, assumed as content, way and form of the management of the university extension from involving other social sectors to the extension work and with them a group of professors from the teaching departments for development of this task.

Community projects arise, the involvement of teachers in different contexts is encouraged, which gives a less spontaneous and more participatory character to the management of university extension.

In the 2001-2002 academic year, the universalization of higher education, politics and essentially extensionist expression began, with the aim of bringing the university closer to the population, the work diversified by incorporating new branches, which constituted a qualitative leap in the stage.

The strategic projection 2000-2003, in the vision of the university, proposes that the university extension is transformed, introduces its conception in the training process, and assumes it as one of the dimensions for educational and political-ideological work, with a wide repercussion in the strategic planning of teaching departments

In this context, an investigation is carried out at the Pinar del Río University "Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca" where a management model for the university extension is proposed and which specifies the different levels for the management of the university extension declaring itself as its third level: The teaching department.

In 2004, the National University Extension Program appeared, a very important and valuable element for managing the process at its third level (the teaching department), since it constituted a methodological instrument to develop the process at all levels, based on the particularities of each teaching department.

In 2006, based on R / M 128, which regulates the Application of Higher Education Teaching Categories, it does not define what professors in university extension must comply with, which affects the management of activities. One year later, in 2007 the Regulation for Teaching and Methodological Work was approved, the organizational structures for educational work and their functions are institutionalized, within them the academic year group, which articulates the instructional and educational objectives from the strategy educational. (Ministerio de Educación Superior, 2006)

In the 2007-2008 academic year, Plan D began, characterized by the reduction of teaching hours, the increase in the independent work of the students and their leading role in the teaching-learning process, linking to tasks of social impact from a political-ideological perspective to raise their training, tasks that respond to the essence of extension.

The R / M 227/08 of the Work of the University Extension Councils is issued, which favored management at the national, provincial and municipal levels. The evaluation of the objectives of the Ministry of Higher Education, in the academic year 2009-2010, the university extension is restructured and disappears as an area of key results, an aspect that in the researcher's opinion affected the management of the process in the university and with greater impact on the teaching department.

The Ministry of Higher Education guides that extension activities should pay tribute to community, cultural, sports and honorary chairs. The management of the university extension from the year group is strengthened, autonomy is given to the careers to project their more contextualized activities, the guide professor designs the educational projects, organizes the extension activities in the university, which do not always attend the particularities of the Professional Model, the link with social and community impact projects is insufficient.

In the 2016-2017 academic year, Study Plan E and the improvement system for higher education began; training is reduced to 4 years; Independent learning is increased, the use of technologies to support student self-management, the use of communication platforms, the investigative and problem-solving style, the professionalization of disciplines. No mention is made of the role of university extension in achieving educational objectives. Furthermore, the optional subjects, extension courses and other avenues that favor the integral formation of the students are depressed to their maximum expression.

DISCUSSION

The aforementioned criteria on the trends and periods of the management of the university extension in the teaching department, took into account the periodization carried out by Dr. Mercedes González, as they constitute very useful references for research and researchers in extension issues. It is considered to emphasize above all the mechanisms and instruments created by the Ministry of Higher Education and the "Hermanos Saiz Montes de Oca" University, to guarantee the management of this process, since they constituted important milestones for the management of sociocultural work. university in the third level (the teaching department). The author, based on this analysis, considers designating two fundamental stages, based on the criterion of the level of involvement that the teaching department had in the management of the university extension, which are described below: Centralization of the management of the university extension and Decentralization of the management of the university extension.

Centralization of the management of the university extension (1972-1991)

At this stage of centralization of the management of university extension in teaching departments, a more complete conceptualization of extension as a process and some mechanisms and instruments for its management appears, but it still continues to be centralized through the structures created at the level of university and country.

Decentralization of the Management of the University Extension (1992-present)

In this period it is characterized by a greater involvement in the management of university extension at the teaching department level, based on the structures and mechanisms created by the Ministry of Higher Education MES and the University "Hermanos Saiz Montes de Oca". As a characteristic of this moment it stands out: a more protagonistic participation of the management of the teaching department begins from the implementation of structures and mechanisms created, such as the Creation of the Honorary Chairs, the implementation of strategic planning and the direction by objectives in the universities, the development of community and extension projects, the educational projects of the brigades, the Management Model of the University Extension for the UPR and the creation of the University Extension Program; that constituted mechanisms that contribute to the management of the process in the teaching department. By way of summary, significant steps are taken in the management of university extension in the teaching departments of the University of Pinar del Río, which allowed us to take a qualitative leap in leading participation in management and a better understanding of the need to develop this process of systemic, integrating and dynamic way that contributes to the integral formation of the professional future. The systematization of theoretical references and the application of the methods used, allowed the author to arrive at the following premises:

The management of the extension process has been nuanced by the diversity of definitions and conceptualizations, which influence the lack of clarity that still exists today of its functions, the carrying out of random actions, sometimes without planning and organization, with indeterminacies of the activities that it is made up of, the lack of a particular structure and regulations that regulate and define it, and the evaluation is also ignored, which has led to inefficient management of the university extension process, especially in the teaching department.

The management of university extension is not a process limited only to a few managers, as is sometimes interpreted. Although Higher Education, in the structural and administrative order, establishes a University Extension Directorate for its general management, it does not mean the exclusivity of its members in this task, on the contrary, it means expanding their participation in decision-making. of what you want to achieve.

The management of the university extension cannot be understood only in relation to the fulfillment of the set of projected activities that promote culture in and outside the university, as long as there is no correspondence between this action and the satisfaction of the expectations of the population to which are directed by such activities.

The management of the university extension is dynamic and implies sensitivity, concern and commitment of the managers who develop it.

The management of the university extension reaches greater efficiency when it is professionalized, it is systemic and contextualized.

The management of the university extension requires considering: the sustainability of the extension actions is inherent to good practice processes, which favors their possibilities of replication at the various levels of sociocultural and educational training and intervention inside and outside the university. It is necessary to recognize that every process or action implies an improvement as its application proceeds, with the perception of affirming good practices and discovering new opportunities and capacities.

The university extension is managed from the teaching department through a system of tasks, rules and functions, which in an integrated way favor the quality, relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of the extension process that is carried out in it.

The management of the university extension in the teaching department is energized through the subordination, hierarchization and coordination relationships between the management levels (faculty and academic year).

To say of Santos (2019):

"… Extension is always an integrating process. Through this condition, the remaining university processes are united in order to meet institutional objectives. To be able to evaluate the extension is to a certain extent, to form a totalizing evaluation of the performance of the universities".

The effective and efficient management of the university extension and the leading participation of all those involved in the management of this process, mainly in the teaching department, can allow an integration with the other university processes and enhance the role and place it occupies as a training process. , which is vital in the training of a professional prepared to take on the different scenarios and live up to the current era.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

Alarcón, R. (2016). Universidad innovadora por un desarrollo humano sostenible: mirando al 2030". Conferencia inaugural, 10mo Congreso Internacional de Educación Superior. Universidad 2016. Ministerio de Educación Superior de Cuba: La Habana. Cuba. p 4.

Cano, T. (2016). Modelos de extensión universitaria en las universidades latinoamericanas en el siglo XXI: tendencias y controversias. Núm. 67, p.7.

Cedeño, J. (2012). Tendencias del proceso de gestión de la Extensión Universitaria y su impacto cultural. Rev. Humanidades Médicas, 12(3), 499-514.

Freire, P. (1973). ¿Extensión o Comunicación? La concientización en el medio rural. Siglo XXI. Colecciones. S. A.: Buenos Aires. p.15

González, G. R. & González, M. (2003). Extensión universitaria: principales tendencias en su evolución y desarrollo. Revista Cubana de Educación Superior, 23(1): 15-26.

González, G. R. & González, M. (2004). Libro Extensión opción viable en el contexto educativo contemporáneo. Editorial Colección autores Serie Formación: Colombia, p. 23,43

Maldonado, A.V. y Ramón, S.E. (2015). Una perspectiva de evaluación de la calidad de la extensión universitaria. Rev. Universidad y Sociedad. 7(1), 51-56.

Menéndez, G. (2000). Desarrollo y conceptualización de la extensión universitaria. Monografía. Universidad Nacional del Litoral: Argentina, p.56.

Ministerio de Educación Superior (1983). Resolución Ministerial 172. La Habana, Cuba: MES

Ministerio de Educación Superior (1986). Resolución Ministerial 187. La Habana, Cuba: MES

Ministerio de Educación Superior (2006). Reglamento para la aplicación de las categorías docentes de la Educación Superior . La Habana, Cuba: MES

Ministerio de Educación Superior (2016). Documento base para el diseño de los planes de estudio E. La Habana, Cuba: MES

Rojas, A. (2018). Concepción pedagógica del proceso de formación del estudiante universitario para la labor extensionista. Universidad y Sociedad, 10(3), 3

Saborido, J. R. (2020). Universidad y desarrollo sostenible. Visión desde Cuba. Conferencia inaugural. 12 Congreso Internacional Universidad 2020. Ministerio de Educación Superior de Cuba. Ediciones MES: La Habana. Cuba, p.8.

Santos R, (2019). Indicadores para la autoevaluación de la calidad del proceso de extensión universitaria. Rev Hum Med., 19(3).

Conflict of interest:

Authors declare not to have any conflict of interest.

Authors´ Contribution:

Authors participated in the writting process of this article and in the analysis of documents.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) Osmani Álvarez Bencomo, Taymi Breijo Worosz, Mercedes González Fernández-Larrea