Universidad Francisco Marroquin

Read the Official Description

Universidad Francisco Marroquín, also known by its acronym UFM, is a private and secular university in Guatemala City, Guatemala. It was founded in August 1971 around the philosophy of libertarianism.

According to economist Milton Friedman, it is "one of the leading universities in Latin America."

Our goal was to study and disseminate the ethical, economic and legal principles of the free society. We were convinced that, in the long term, ideas govern; that if our country were to enjoy peaceful prosperity, without pressure from ideological groups, it was necessary that enough influential people clearly understand the organization of the free society, and thus obtain the conviction and courage to defend it.

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Mission

Our mission is to teach and disseminate the ethical, legal and economic principles of a society of free and responsible people.

Values

True

Truth is a necessary and vital means to reach good

Freedom

Only in freedom can one pursue one's happiness, be responsible and act morally.

Justice

Justice is to recognize each person as their own.

Virtues

Academic excellence

Definition

• We understand by "excellence" a superior quality that makes people or things worthy of singular appreciation or esteem. And for "academic excellence," the quality of ideas, principles and actions of those who, as professors or students, habitually place themselves above the mere material and routine fulfillment of their duty, constituting a living example of coherent life for all. Excellence understood in this way is only possible in a framework of freedom, competence and respect.
• Academic excellence must be won and defended in a professional way. By the same token, it can only be conceived as a result of tenacious efforts and sometimes painful renunciations, essential to be able to open new gaps and paths in the field of knowledge.
• An institution that strives for academic excellence is demonstrated and accredited through the emulators and imitators it inspires over the years.
• A person who aspires to excellence can never be realized as such, if in each case he does not continuously demand of himself more than the others.

Professor's Excellence

• The academic excellence of the teacher implies a remote preparation (supported by his credentials) and a close preparation (consisting in the careful and daily preparation of each subject and of each class) to generously put at the service of the students his experience as a scholar and educator, his enthusiasm for the subject he imparts, and his firm, courteous and personalized attention to each of them.
• It also entails clarity and coherence in the ideas that it tries to transmit, knowledge of the concrete situation of the students, discernment to select, assign and prioritize the tasks, discretion to demand and suggest the most pertinent readings.
• The clarity of exposure should not be bargained, but made available to the students in a gesture of chivalry and courtesy.
• What distinguishes the excellent teacher as a brand is his desire for continuous personal improvement in everything he thinks, says, does and teaches.

Excellence of the Students

• The strength and permanence of an educational institution rests on the training of the students that it selects carefully, taking into account, among other factors, its academic aptitude and its capacity of leadership.
• The academic excellence of the students is manifested in their intellectual curiosity, their discipline as it relates to the use of their time of study and their attendance at classes, their ability to renounce tastes, satisfactions and immediate successes, their cultivation of virtues and fundamental values, the richness and selection of its lexicon inside and outside the classroom, its ability to use opportunely the resources placed at its disposal.
• This implies a reasonable balance and adjusted to the reality of the student, between the humanistic studies, internalized during the previous studies, straightened to his good performance as a citizen, and father or mother of the family of tomorrow, and the mastery of the key techniques in the chosen academic branch.
• The academic excellence of the student is the foundation of his success in the professional field and will be reflected in the degree obtained as a result of his efforts. The excellence of the professional results from the ideal combination of the values and principles that guide the life of every well-being person, and their updating in their preferred specialization (assuming that each one performs better in what they most likes).

They must be understood as Vertebrae of the Academic Excellence of the Student:

• His ability to observe, abstract and infer logically, and to express clearly and precisely, in word and in writing, his ideas and convictions.
• Your willingness to continue expanding your knowledge by yourself.
• His serenity of mind at the time of questioning or refuting the positions of others and defending their own.
• His capacity for amazement at everyday events.
• His inclination to read, listen, speak and write with a critical sense, and at the same time aware of the limits of human capacity to make himself understood and to understand others.
• Her determination to imagine reality different from how she was presented and how they have accustomed her to seeing it.
• Their ability to put into practice specialized and technical knowledge, and to develop the skills and abilities required for the exercise of business activity.
• His tenacity in pursuing, doing and spreading the good, knowing that he will have to remain vigilant of his own freedom and face, with prudent courage, the risks involved in any human challenge.
• The end of any educational process is the formation of people who know how to assume commitments and take advantage of opportunities, without allowing or allowing anyone to undermine their dignity.