THE STUDENT ASSISTANCE AS A STRATEGY TO COMBAT EVASION AND RETENTION IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITIES: A CUTOUT OF THE SEMIARID POTIGUAR
higher education; student assistance; public policies; evasion; retention.
Historically, brazilian higher education was built as elitist. But in the recent years the creation of educational policies has granted access to students traditionally excluded of this study degree. In the sphere of this process, comes the National Program of Student Assistance, created to ensure the permanence of students on a socially vulnerable situation, on federal institutions. Considering this new brazilian higher education scenario, this term paper aims to analyze the student assistance as a strategy to combat the evasion and retention in a potiguar federal institution. Specifically, its intended to discuss how the student assistance was implanted in this institution; map actions, programs and the profile of the beneficiary students; identify students' participation in the planning and evaluation of student assistance, in addition to problematizing how student assistance has contributed to fight evasion and retention rates. The study was divided in two parts: documental analysis and semi-structured interview. On the research’s first part, it was developed resolutions analysis, ordinances, activities reports and beneficiary worksheets. On the second part, interviews with pro-rectors, coordinators, psychologists, caseworkers and students. The data was categorized and analyzed using the theoretical assumptions of dialectical historical materialism as an inspiration. In view of the obtained results, some limitations were perceived, the actions are focused and are aimed only at the most needy students. In addition, the resources, the teams and the infrastructure are insufficient to meet all the demands of the students. However, even within the limits, it was found that student assistance has made many advances in recent years, including contributing to and guaranteeing the permanence and completion of some undergraduate students. The program has proved to be an important tool in the construction of possibilities that try to overcome the inequalities of access and permanence in public federal college education.