A evasão no primeiro ciclo do Bacharelado em Ciências Exatas da UFJF

Abstract

This case study investigates the causes of retention and dropout in the Bachelor of Exact Sciences at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF) that have led students to leave the course or fail to complete in the recommended period of 6 periods. From the data collected, it was found, among those entered 2014 to 2018, until the second semester of 2019, 52.32% of cancellation of enrollments, a retention rate of 27.97%, an average annual dropout rate of 14.24% (in the period from 2014 to 2018), a completion rate of 13.29% (incoming 2014 to 2016) and successive failures in the initial subject Calculus I, with students failing up to 8 times. The prolonged stay has negative consequences for the institution, for the student and for society: irregular flow, demotivation, dropout, high occupancy rate and lack of places in the initial disciplines, low occupation in the final disciplines, less number of graduates of the course, reduction or delay in the training of professionals for the labor market, in addition to increasing institutional spending (availability of resources). The guiding question was defined: what reasons have led students of the UFJF Bachelor of Exact Sciences course to evade or not complete the course in the recommended period of 6 periods and what actions can be developed to reduce retention and evasion rates in the course? The general objective was: to investigate the causes of retention and evasion in the course for the development of management strategies and actions, seeking, as specific objectives, to describe the problem of retention and evasion, to verify and analyze the causes of repetitions, retentions and evasions, as well as proposing an Educational Action Plan that minimizes retention and evasion rates in the Bachelor of Exact Sciences. For this purpose, the documentary and bibliographic analysis was used as methodology, which supported the discussions and analysis of the questionnaires applied to 143 dropout students, 29 retained and 11 concluding, semistructured interviews conducted and questionnaires applied to 5 teachers and course managers. The action plan presents 11 proposals, one aimed at improving the registration of cancellations in the UFJF System, to facilitate the collection of data on evasion, and the others focused on actions to reduce the difficulties and problems identified in the analyzes carried out, the in order to assist the permanence with adequate flow of students and the improvement of academic performance.