Globalization has prompted institutions of higher learning to implement innovations designed to bring their functions and services in line with current needs for professional training which result from new social, cultural and economic conditions on the local, national and international levels.

The emigration of Mexicans, in particular from Jalisco, to the United States of America has been constant over the past few decades. Of the 28 million people of Mexican origin now living in the United States, 10.8 million live in California and approximately 1.6 million of them have origins in the Mexican state of Jalisco.

In spite of their demographic impact on the region, young Mexican immigrants have the lowest percentage of high school graduates among the Hispanic population and even fewer have university degrees. This situation demands urgent attention.

Such a state of affairs limits opportunities for professional development, socioeconomic mobility and hence quality of life. It also cuts into remittances sent to families in Mexico. Weak educational foundations and a lack of credentials from institutions of higher education lead young Mexicans into a vicious cycle of underpaid work and stifled hopes for a better future.

The complex nature of this problem has prompted the government and several teaching institutions in the central-western region of Mexico to design policies and strategies that will generate alternative solutions for our fellow Mexicans living abroad. Benefits from such efforts will be reciprocal, since emigrated Mexicans maintain close bonds of communication with their communities of origin and contribute significantly to their well-being.