Cursos de graduação no Sinaes: a prática institucional entre parâmetros nacionais e internacionais de avaliação e acreditação da qualidade

Abstract

This paper aims to understand the official quality parameters present in the evaluation of undergraduate courses. It presents a theoretical approach to evaluation, a discussion on national and international parameters for evaluation and accreditation of quality, an analysis of official documents and a case study involving Administration, Nursing, Engineering and Pedagogy undergraduate courses, examining institutional documents, results of evaluations and interviews. Based on the documentary analysis, it was concluded that Sinaes (Brazilian National System for Evaluation of Higher Education) established variable quality standards: a) pedagogical/formative conception existing in institutional selfevaluation; b) compliance with legal requirements set forth in the instrument for undergraduate courses evaluation; and c) students’ performance as a basis for calculating indicators for courses and Higher Education Institutions. The case studies led to two groups. In the first group, the presence of elements valued by in loco evaluation instruments was observed in the institutional practice: academic community participation, coherence between pedagogical and institutional projects, connection between undergraduate and graduate courses, socioeconomic profile of graduates and connection between professional training and society. In the second group, Higher Education Institutions demonstrate to follow the logic of regulation, taking Enade (National Examination of Student Performance) and other evaluation instruments as a reference for course quality and adapting its institutional project for them.