Cibele Yahn de Andrade

Acesso à educação por faixas etárias segundo renda e raça/cor

Sao analisadas as contribuicoes da situacao economica e da raca/cor da pele no acesso a escola, ate o ensino superior, considerando as principais transicoes escolares e grupos etarios, usando dados da Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicilios - PNAD 2003. As variaveis renda e raca/cor afetam com intensidades diferentes as diversas faixas etarias e transicoes escolares. As restricoes que levam ao reduzido percentual de jovens com acesso ao ensino superior dependem do numero de vagas neste nivel de ensino, mas parecem ser mais determinadas pelo pequeno contingente de jovens brasileiros que consegue completar o ensino medio, atingindo a qualificacao formal necessaria para o acesso ao ensino superior. Somente 40% dos jovens de 18 a 24 anos possuem o ensino medio completo, sendo que 13% tiveram acesso ao ensino superior. A situacao economica e um determinante mais importante do que a variavel raca/cor, embora essa ultima variavel apresente influencia em todas as faixas de renda. Finalmente, estuda-se a distribuicao dos alunos de ensino superior nesta faixa etaria nos estabelecimentos publicos e privados.

Access to higher education in Brazil

This article presents an overview of the recent expansion of higher education [HE] in Brazil, with a focus on access and equity issues. [The authors] analyze affirmative action policies and legislation, and the impact of those policies on the equity of access. Research shows that affirmative action policies have had a positive impact on reducing inequalities in HE in Brazil, but secondary education is still the main bottleneck for further progress, both in terms of expanding higher education and of making access more equitable. [The authors] then analyze how expansion has been occurring differently by sector (public versus private), and show some structural changes that are emerging in the private sector, in particular regarding the split between non-profit/for-profit private higher education and the recent growth in distance learning.

ProFIS: A New Paradigm for Higher Education in Brazil

Public universities represent nowadays a relatively small part of the Brazilian higher education system, both in terms of number of institutions and in terms of enrolment. Approximately 3/4 of all undergraduate students in Brazil attend private institutions. Public institutions are, on average, much more selective than those in the private system. This profile has two basic causes: the higher prestige of public universities and the fact that they do not charge any tuition fees. However, many of the students who are accepted at public universities come from wealthy families, and relatively fewer are from poor families or from minority groups, such as afro-descendents. The higher selectivity has a clear effect of inhibiting them from applying to a public Higher Education Institution (HEI), as we will see in the case of the University of Campinas (Unicamp), one of the most selective universities in Brazil.

Interdisciplinary Higher Education Program (ProFIS): Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract The objective of this paper is to present the Interdisciplinary Higher Education Program (ProFIS) of the University of Campinas – UNICAMP – and discuss the main challenges related to the implementation of the program and the impact on the educational and professional trajectory of students. ProFIS was set up with a distinctive approach towards social inclusion and curricular innovation, seeking to attract the best students from public high schools to offer them a general education program as a first step in higher education. Another novelty is the inclusion of an ongoing evaluation of the program from its implementation. It merges monitoring and impact evaluation instruments to monitor and improve the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of the interventions. Preliminary results will be discussed in relation to retention and social inclusion.

Strategic Management of Brazilian Universities

In order to respond quickly and effectively to the urgency of increasing participation and improving overall quality, strategic planning is key to improvements in Brazilian higher education. Aiming to stimulate the development of a planning culture, in 2001 the federal government began to require that all higher education institutions prepare an Institutional Development Plan (PDI) in order to get approval for their courses and credentials. Yet there is no single formula applicable to Brazil given the diversity of the sector and the different goals and challenges of public and private institutions.