Política de assistência estudantil no âmbito da Universidade Federal do Amapá - Campus Marco Zero - sob o olhar dos discentes

Abstract

The Student Assistance Policy presents itself as a proposal to equalize access and permanence at higher education levels, so that economic and social conditions are not impediments to entry and permanence at university. Therefore, the present research aims to investigate the perception of students who benefit from the student assistance programs developed by the Federal University of Amapá (UNIFAP) – Marco Zero campus in relation to their contribution to the students' permanence at the university. It presents as a theoretical basis the aspects related to the historicity of higher education in Brazil and the legal aspects that support it, highlighting the different forms and modalities of entry into Higher Education present in each historical moment, as well as presenting public policies aimed at the democratization of access to higher education and experiences obtained in previous studies that addressed the different biases of this topic. The research is of an applied nature, with a qualitative approach, and descriptive character. Regarding data collection procedures, it is characterized as documentary research and case study. To interpret the data, Bardin's Content Analysis (2011) was used. 50 UNIFAP students were investigated, who are participants in Student Aid Programs. The data analyzed showed that the majority (76%) of the students who participated in the research are residents of Macapá, headquarters of UNIFAP, with a number from Santana (20%) and Porto Grande (4%). 80% of students reported difficulties that could be an impediment to remaining on the course, the difficulties cited include: financial, transport, psychological, accessibility and health. Student Aid Programs are recognized by those surveyed as very important (60%) and important (40%), concluding that there is an intrinsic relationship between student assistance programs and the retention of students in their courses, since, by condition of their social vulnerability, such programs are of great relevance to students, although improvements are still necessary, as also highlighted in research.