Focus on Self-Assessment and Process Management by the Program (2021-2024)
Self-assessment in the UFGD Graduate Program in Literature was conducted systematically, with the aim of continuously improving academic, administrative and social practices. The process was structured in the second half of the four-year period in accordance with CAPES guidelines, linked to the local reality, and based on Resolution No. 232/2019, which establishes institutional guidelines for self-assessment at the university.
This structured and participatory self-assessment process aims not only to meet CAPES’ assessment requirements, but, above all, to contribute to the consolidation of the Program as an academic space of excellence and social commitment.
1. Structuring the Self-Assessment Process:
Regarding the program’s internal initiatives implemented, the following can be listed::
- Holding periodic pedagogical meetings with teachers and biannual assemblies with students. Between March 2021 and December 2024, five assemblies with students and four pedagogical meetings with teachers were held, with the aim of discussing didactic aspects and issues related to students.
- The first Self-Assessment Seminar was held on November 17, 2023, with the participation of faculty, students, and external evaluators Elizabete Aparecida Marques and Frederico Leite, who carried out a thorough analysis of all aspects of the PPGL. During the event, the Program’s strengths were highlighted, such as faculty cohesion and border identity, and weaknesses were identified, such as the need to monitor the intellectual production of students and graduates, update scholarship holders’ resumes, and maintain ties with graduates. The evaluators suggested adjustments to the report, including the explanation of funding and the equalization of academic productions. Attachment 1.
- Application, at the end of the four-year period, of specific questionnaires for different audiences: students, teachers, graduates, secretariat and institutional managers. The questionnaires were prepared in accordance with the self-assessment guidelines established by UFGD, covering qualitative and quantitative aspects of the Program.
Regarding joint action with the Vice-Rectory of Research:
- Holding a meeting of the PPGL coordination with the Pro-Rector of Research, Professor Seila Rojas, and the Coordinator of the Pro-Rectory of Research, Professor Rafael Goes, plus the Faculty Management, on September 2, 2024, to present an analysis carried out by the pro-rectory of the performance of PPG-Letras in the local community and in relation to other programs in Mato Grosso do Sul. Attachment 2a and Attachment 2b
2. Methodology adopted:
- Organization of an internal seminar, with the participation of external experts, for critical analysis of the results obtained in previous reports and in the questionnaires applied. Attachment 1
- Collective discussion of data collected in pedagogical meetings and assemblies, aiming to identify weaknesses, strengths and opportunities for improvement.
- Systematization of results and preparation of an action plan to guide actions in the following four years.
- Construction of a permanent evaluation committee for the next four years.
3. Assessment Tools and Strategies 2021-2024:
- Records of discussions that took place at meetings and assemblies, allowing for monitoring of deliberations and comparative analysis over time.
- Analysis of the feedback from reports sent to the Sucupira Platform, using CAPES notes as a reference for identifying and correcting weaknesses.
- Questionnaires based on institutional guidelines.
Teachers Search Results: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1a51W_3dfJtF6GTJBwnscIUcJ-WPw0CfolSpxogV17pk/viewanalytics?usp=forms_home&ths=true
Student Survey Results:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Mge1BHJnjYYzc7PV9u3TCq_1UzkQ_x4DVvikV3nkh08/viewanalytics
Graduates Survey Results: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1EaIt4KWHxpQKgz62gMdvROL78c8bwXpxkF0yNSDofoI/viewanalytics?usp=forms_home&ths=true
Coordination:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfTvESiYG95D0A2u-eoQcFvwYXG-CMPHdrN38Bprxdupra-gA/viewform?usp=sharing
Search result Coordination:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/11Ci5yjuFoH5tK5uIAabDyULHn-0xOqVaZIWn_6u52bg/viewanalytics
4. Integration with the Academic and External Community:
- The participation of graduates, especially those who remain in research groups and in extension activities, was encouraged in the self-assessment stages.
- The Program sought to listen to the external community in projects and events, especially in initiatives linked to teaching and extension, such as Caring Project and the Project for a Multilingual Ecology in Schools. The extension projects, in addition to their social impact, also functioned as an important communication channel with the community.
5. Challenges faced:
- The main difficulty identified was the systematic monitoring of graduates, which motivated the creation of a Graduates’ Commission, to operate over the next four years, to structure this monitoring.
- The departure of two secretaries from the PPGL, during the four-year period, and the lack of an exclusive secretariat, from April 2024 to mid-January 2025, culminated in excessive work for the Coordination and administrative technicians, who needed to change their work routine in other sectors to dedicate themselves to serving teachers, students and all the bureaucratic demands of the PPGL.
- Replacement of the technical-administrative team, including a new Coordination (holder and deputy), starting in April 2024 and January, required adaptations to the previously planned self-assessment process, with greater involvement of coordination and teachers in bureaucratic activities.
6. Commitment to Continuous Improvement:
- The Program aims to maintain and expand self-assessment practices, with the inclusion of biannual reports that analyze the results obtained in teaching, research and extension activities.
- Self-assessment will continue to be guided by the principles of participation, transparency and social relevance, ensuring that actions and decisions are aligned with the needs of the academic community and CAPES guidelines.
7. Action plan prepared by the Coordination:
|
Nº |
Proposed Action |
|
1 |
Establish a bond with graduates, allowing you to follow their progress after graduation. |
|
2 |
Create a tab on the PPGL page for graduates to monitor them. |
|
3 |
Check the production in terms of quantity and quality of the teaching staff and students and establish goals so that, at the end of the four-year period, the program can raise its score to 5. |
|
4 |
Think about action policies for the implementation of the recently approved doctoral program. |
|
5 |
Promote the dissemination of results so that the university’s internal and external community can follow the reflection process promoted by the program and the action plans for its consolidation. |
|
6 |
Create a tab on the PPGL page in another language, in this case, Spanish. |
|
7 |
To make research developed within the University available to the community outside UFGD, for example, each researcher makes a 3-minute video talking about their research. |
|
8 |
Establish rules for accreditation and de-accreditation of teachers. |
|
9 |
Evaluate the quality of teaching and student production. |
|
10 |
Articulate the proposal of 25% of the disciplines offered in the online modality with the strategic planning (PDI). |
|
11 |
Encourage two-way internationalization, promoting organization and writing with foreign professors, exchanges, co-supervision and publications in other countries. |
|
12 |
Value inter and transcultural relations, in the most diverse forms of language, which call for studies that motivate countless local research projects and attract researchers from other parts of the country and the world. |
|
13 |
Create an effective space for interdisciplinary reflection, meeting the scientific demands of the present time. |
Attachment 1 – Summary of the first self-assessment seminar
Attachment 2B – Interpretation of graphs