Título II · Capítulo II Sección Quinta. Universidades

The University of San Carlos of Guatemala is an autonomous institution with juridical personality. In its capacity as the sole state university, it is exclusively responsible for directing, organizing and developing the higher education of the State and state university professional education, as well as the dissemination of culture in all its manifestations. It shall promote, by all means at its disposal, research in all spheres of human knowledge and shall cooperate in the study and solution of national problems.

It is governed by its Organic Law and by the statutes and regulations it issues, with the principle of representation of its titular professors, its graduates and its students to be observed in the composition of the governing bodies.

The government of the University of San Carlos of Guatemala corresponds to the Superior University Council, composed of the Rector, who presides over it; the deans of the faculties; one representative of the professional association, a graduate of the University of San Carlos of Guatemala, corresponding to each faculty; one tenured professor and one student for each faculty.

The University of San Carlos of Guatemala is entitled to a privative allocation of not less than five percent of the General Budget of Ordinary Revenues of the State, with an adequate budgetary increase to be sought corresponding to the increase in its student population or the improvement of its academic level.

It corresponds to private universities, which are independent institutions, to organize and develop the private higher education of the Nation, in order to contribute to professional training, to scientific research, to the dissemination of culture and to the study and solution of national problems.

Once the operation of a private university is authorized, it shall have juridical personality and liberty to create its faculties and institutes, to develop its academic and teaching activities, as well as for the development of its plans and study programs.

The Council of Private Higher Education shall have the functions of ensuring that the academic level is maintained in private universities without impairment of their independence and of authorizing the creation of new universities; it is composed of two delegates from the University of San Carlos of Guatemala, two delegates for the private universities and one delegate elected by the presidents of the professional associations who holds no office in any university.

The presidency shall be exercised on a rotating basis. The law shall regulate this matter.

Only degrees, titles and diplomas granted by universities legally authorized and organized to function in the country shall be recognized in Guatemala, except as provided by international treaties.

The University of San Carlos of Guatemala is the sole entity empowered to decide the incorporation of professionals graduated from foreign universities and to establish the prior requirements that must be fulfilled for such purpose, as well as to recognize titles and diplomas of a university nature covered by international treaties. Titles granted by Central American universities shall have full validity in Guatemala upon achieving the basic unification of the study plans.

No legal provisions may be enacted granting privileges to the detriment of those who practice a profession with a title or who have already been legally authorized to practice it.

Universities are exempt from payment of all kinds of taxes, municipal levies and contributions, without any exception.

Donations granted in favor of universities, cultural or scientific entities shall be deductible from net income taxed under the Income Tax.

The State may give economic assistance to private universities for the fulfillment of their own purposes.

The University of San Carlos of Guatemala and private universities shall not be subject to enforcement proceedings nor subject to intervention, except in the case of private universities when the obligation being enforced arises from civil, commercial or labor contracts.

Only legally authorized universities may confer degrees and issue titles and graduation diplomas in higher education.

Membership in a professional association for university professionals is mandatory and shall have as its purposes the moral, scientific, technical and material advancement of the university professions and the control of their practice.

Professional associations, as guild associations with legal personality, shall operate in accordance with the Compulsory Professional Association Membership Law and the statutes of each association shall be approved independently of the universities from which its members graduated.

They shall contribute to the strengthening of the autonomy of the University of San Carlos of Guatemala and to the purposes and objectives of all the universities of the country.

In any matter relating to the improvement of the scientific and technical-cultural level of the university professions, the universities of the country may require the participation of the professional associations.