Avaliação do Auxílio Moradia da UFC no campus de Fortaleza no âmbito da Política Nacional de Assistência Estudantil (PNAES)

Abstract

This dissertation evaluates the Housing Assistance Program of the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), at the Fortaleza campus, within the scope of the National Student Assistance Policy (PNAES), aiming to understand its contribution to the retention of students in situations of socioeconomic vulnerability in higher education. The study is based on the understanding that the expansion of access to higher education, especially through the quota policy, has changed the student profile of federal institutions and intensified the relevance of student assistance policies for undergraduate student retention. The research adopts an evaluative perspective inspired by Fourth Generation Evaluation and combines qualitative and quantitative approaches. To this end, documentary and institutional data regarding the beneficiaries of the program were mobilized, in addition to interviews with managers, staff members responsible for implementing the policy, and assisted students, with data processed through content analysis. The results show that the Housing Assistance Program plays a significant role in student retention by impacting material conditions of subsistence, mobility, academic continuity, and expectations of remaining at the university. At the same time, the study identifies tensions related to poverty, budget constraints, targeted assistance, management and operational challenges, partial lack of knowledge about PRAE services, and the increasing complexity of student demands. It is concluded that the program constitutes an important instrument for inclusion and student retention; however, its effectiveness depends on the institutional and budgetary strengthening of PNAES, as well as on information, monitoring, and evaluation strategies capable of reducing exclusions within the inclusion policy itself.