Abstract:

In recent years, university education has witnessed rapid growth. Universities have made a visible effort to adapt to a changing environment that demands new technical skills, for example in administrative, financial or economic degrees. Most economists are forced to analyse and build economic models based on quantitative models that will require a prior training.

Institutions tend to introduce technological tools in early stages of education to support theoretical knowledge with practical and useful elements. Universities are among the organizations with the biggest budgets for these technological issues. However, a balance cannot always be found between operational continuity and the payment of license extensions. This situation influences the evolution of the students’ needs and even the viability of the organization that may not be guaranteed. As a result, certain institutions carry out activities with fewer or cheaper resources.

The work presented explores this viability in quantitative subjects to answer the question about whether the use of free-use programs could decrease quality in comparison to licensed software. The case study introduces two groups of students working in these two scenarios. Results will be determined from a typical evaluation tool: tests with similar characteristics and their marks. The objective will be to achieve maximum effectiveness / minimum cost without diminishing the abovementioned quality. This way, the incorporation of these supporting techniques to the subject can be feasible regardless of any budget.

Keywords:

Free use software, licensed software, exams, quantitative methods, quality in university education.