ACESAD

Name

ACESAD

Legal name

Asociación Colombiana de Instituciones de Educación Superior con Programas a Distancia y Virtuales

Website

https://acesad.org.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDADACAJ

Accreditation Standards, Benchmarking & Framework Organizations

Education/Education Administration, Accreditation & Policy/Accreditation Bodies (Institutional & Programmatic)

SECONDARYEDADACAB

National/Institutional Accreditors (Career, Faith-Based, Distance, etc.)

Education/Education Administration, Accreditation & Policy/Accreditation Bodies (Institutional & Programmatic)

Keywords

• Distance higher education
• Virtual learning association
• Educational quality assurance
• Higher education membership
• Education policy advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Bogotá

HQ country

Colombia

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Institutions pay an affiliation fee of 2 minimum monthly legal salaries (SMMLV) and an annual ordinary fee of 3 minimum monthly legal salaries (SMMLV) to maintain membership in ACESAD.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ACESAD is a non-profit civil association that aggregates Colombian higher education institutions offering distance and virtual programs, providing them with sectoral representation, quality assurance frameworks, regulatory advocacy before the Ministry of Education and CESU, and recurrent academic programming. It directly sells membership affiliations and recurring annual membership fees, and delivers programming through the CONVED virtual conversation series, annual general assemblies, international forums, and policy advisory work. Its customers are Colombian universities, foundations, and technological institutions that run or plan to run distance or virtual higher education programs.

Product overview

ACESAD does not operate as a product company but rather as a non-profit association that coordinates academic events, forums, and virtual conferences for its member institutions. Its primary offerings are organized as event series and collaborative spaces, including the Conversatorios Virtuales de Educación a Distancia (CONVED) — a virtual conference platform — and PQRS, a complaints and petitions management system. The CONVED platform aggregates virtual conversations on topics such as educational quality, innovation, AI in education, and distance learning, while the PQRS system handles member complaints and requests.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CONVED: Conversatorios Virtuales de Educación a Distancia - Virtual discussion forums on distance education topics organized by ACESAD and AIESAD
• AIESAD

Products and services

• CONVED Virtual Conversation Series (Conversatorios Virtuales de Educación a Distancia) Recurring virtual conversation series organized by ACESAD covering emerging topics in distance and virtual higher education such as AI in education, virtual labs, scientific marketing, student wellbeing, data analytics, and remote learning, featuring international expert panelists and hybrid participation; offered to member institutions and the broader academic community.
• Annual General Assembly and International Forums (e.g., XXXII Asamblea General Ordinaria, IV Simposio Regional e Internacional) Annual general assemblies and international forums that bring together member institutions to ratify leadership, present management and financial reports, vote on action plans, and engage on policy and quality topics; the XXXII Asamblea General Ordinaria was held in March 2025.
• Institutional Membership (Affiliation and Annual Membership Fees) Formal institutional membership in ACESAD's association for Colombian higher education institutions with distance and/or virtual programs, requiring a legal representative ID, Ministry of Education certification, formal affiliation letter, and payment of an initial affiliation fee (2 SMMLV) plus an annual ordinary fee (3 SMMLV).
• PQRS Complaints and Petitions Service Member-facing administrative service system for handling complaints, claims, suggestions, and petitions (Peticiones, Quejas, Reclamos y Sugerencias) from member institutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Web traffic grew from 4,000 to 18,000 annual sessions (350% increase) in 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers23 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• UNESCO IESALC (UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025In alliance with UNESCO IESALC and UNAD, ACESAD announced the creation of the Centro de Pedagogías Universitarias (CPU) for the Southern Cone, a landmark initiative for faculty development in Latin America. This partnership positions ACESAD at the highest levels of international educational policy.
• AIESAD (Asociación Iberoamericana de Educación Superior a Distancia)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1980AIESAD is a pan-Iberoamerican organization created in 1980 to promote and integrate distance higher education across 14 nations and 35+ member institutions. ACESAD co-organizes the CONVED virtual conversation series with AIESAD and participates in AIESAD's regional encounters, publications (including the RIED journal), and the Premio Lorenzo García Aretio initiative. The relationship is mutual and foundational to ACESAD's international positioning.
• AIEDADcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAIEDAD (Asociación Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia) co-organized with ACESAD and UNAD the CONVED 2024 international conversation on virtual labs and hybrid education, featuring experts from across Iberoamerica.
• Ministry of Education National (Ministerio de Educación Nacional de Colombia)flagshipOthersACESAD collaborates with the Colombian Ministry of Education on quality assurance frameworks, norm implementation (Decree 1330/2019, Decree 1174/2023), accreditation processes, and educational policy reform. The association participates in joint workshops and forums and serves as an advisory body in policy discussions with the Minister of Education.
• UNAD (Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNAD is ACESAD's largest member institution; its rector, Dr. Jaime Alberto Leal Afanador, has served as ACESAD president since at least 2023. UNAD serves as the host venue for ACESAD's annual assemblies and major events (Sede Nacional José Celestino Mutis, Calle 14 Sur No. 14-23, Bogotá).
• RIACES (Red Iberoamericana para el Aseguramiento de la Calidad en la Educación Superior)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRIACES, led by Dr. Iván Enrique Ramos Calderón, participates in ACESAD's annual assemblies and policy conversations, bringing international quality assurance expertise to the Colombian context. RIACES contributed to the March 2024 conversatorio on educational quality.
• ICDE (International Council for Open and Distance Education)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACESAD promotes and supports participation in ICDE's global conferences, including the 29th ICDE World Conference 2023 co-organized with UNED Costa Rica. ICDE events provide a global platform for ACESAD's member institutions.
• CNA (Consejo Nacional de Acreditación de Colombia)coreOthersACESAD collaborates with Colombia's National Accreditation Council on regional workshops and quality assurance encounters, contributing to the development and implementation of accreditation standards for distance and virtual higher education programs.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Asociación Iberoamericana de Educación Superior a Distancia (AIESAD): Regional Ibero-American association dedicated to distance higher education; ACESAD's core international partner and co-organizer of the CONVED series. Highly comparable in mission, membership model, and scope, but operating at Ibero-American rather than national level.
• Red Iberoamericana para el Aseguramiento de la Calidad en la Educación Superior (RIACES): Latin American network for quality assurance in higher education. Directly comparable focus on accreditation standards and policy advocacy; partner of ACESAD at assemblies and quality assurance forums.

Broad incumbents

• Asociación Colombiana de Universidades (ASCUN): National Colombian university association covering the broader higher education sector. Compares to ACESAD as a competing/complementary membership association for Colombian universities, but without ACESAD's specialization in distance/virtual modality.
• International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE): Global umbrella for open and distance education, with which ACESAD partners for international conferences. Comparable in distance-education focus but at global scale and as an advocacy council rather than a fee-based national association.
• Asociación de Universidades de América Latina y el Caribe (UDUAL): Regional university association covering Latin America and the Caribbean. Comparable in representing higher education institutions and engaging with policy bodies, but at a broader regional level without ACESAD's modality-specific focus.

Others

• UNESCO IESALC (International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean): UNESCO institute for higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean. Flagship partner of ACESAD on the CPU initiative; comparable as a higher-education policy and capacity-building actor, but as an intergovernmental body rather than a member association.
• Consejo Nacional de Acreditación de Colombia (CNA): Colombia's official national accreditation body. ACESAD collaborates closely with CNA on quality assurance for distance programs, but CNA operates as a regulatory body rather than a member association.

Regional players

• Associação Brasileira de Educação a Distância (ABED): Brazil's leading distance education association. Directly comparable mission and member-based association structure for distance learning, but serving the Brazilian rather than Colombian market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/acesadCol
• Facebookfacebook.com/acesadcol
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/acesadcol
• Instagraminstagram.com/acesadcol

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ACESAD