Originating in the Latin language, rector is an adjective that refers to the one or that which governs or governs. As a noun, the term allows to name the person who is in charge of the government and command of a college, a university, a hospital or a community, as the case may be.
For example: "Carlos Gurez has been appointed rector of the Universidad Popular San Javier" , "The teacher sent me to speak with the rector because I broke a window with a ball" , "The rector of the hospital asked for greater support from the authorities to do against the epidemic ” .
The election of a university rector varies by country. In some nations, the university community itself is responsible for choosing it through a direct election, with free and secret suffrage. However, the most frequent is that the vote is weighted according to the percentages of representation of the different sectors (teachers, non-teaching staff and students).
In other countries, the rector is chosen directly by the Governing Board of each institution. This means that teachers, employees and students cannot vote in the election, which is left in the hands of few people.
The duration of the rector in office also varies according to each case. Generally, the rector's office spans four years, after which new elections must be held.
The rector is usually a person of recognized academic background, being an eminence in his specialty. Many times, however, their choice is linked to political motives and interests.
* legally represent the school staff;
* preside over any committee that deals with the administration of the teaching, directive and academic budget, and take sides in any meeting that it considers may benefit from its presence;
* analyze current regulations and, based on them, decide what criteria to use to carry out the management of the institution;
* take charge of the planning and organization of curricular activities;
* ensure that there are sufficient channels of communication to meet the needs of all the people in their charge, both students and teachers and the rest of the campus;
* assume the direction and supervision of all activities focused on promoting the welfare and economic and administrative development of the institution;
* ensure that the academic assignment is met, following the regulations in force;
* participate and direct the annual evaluation of the institution and take charge of sending the pertinent report to the corresponding administrative institution;
* delegate their functions to a Coordinator when they must be absent from the center;
* ensure that the teaching staff has the educational resources necessary to fulfill its functions, for which it must also supervise the use made of the budget;
* promote a constant improvement in the quality of the services offered by the establishment;
* maintain close ties with educational authorities, with the centre's sponsoring groups and with their local community;
* Using the help of the Academic Council, take charge of the orientation of the educational process;
* guarantee discipline within the institution, according to the coexistence manual and current regulations;
* update teaching methods and curricular activities according to trends and discoveries that can benefit students and improve the organization of the establishment.