PPGC Continuous Improvement
Each year, the PPGC has sought the continuous improvement of its activities, directing specific efforts towards self-assessment in four central aspects: Courses offer; Students recruitment; Teaching in the classroom; Publications in high-impact journals.
I - Course offer
The first of the aspects focused on by the search for continuous improvement is the offer of courses and it has been operationalized in two distinct stages. In the first stage, the PPGC defines the list of subjects to be offered in the first and second semesters. In the second stage, the specific offer times for the subjects effectively offered in the two academic semesters are defined
At the end of each academic year, the offer of courses has been subject to self-assessment in terms of the flow of content supply, complementary skills, and the balance of difficulties and challenges faced by enrolled students. The PPGC considers that the offer of subjects is directly linked to the quality of student education. Over the 5 (five) years of its existence, different combinations of subject offerings were tested in search of continuous improvement of its most important training process.
II - Students recruitment
The second aspect intended for continuous improvement refers to the recruitment of new students. The planning of this activity has also been operationalized in two distinct stages. The first stage consists of planning the phases that will make up the selection process, while the second phase addresses the planning of the contents and competencies that will be considered for the evaluation of candidates, both in terms of the instruments for measuring knowledge, and in relation to curriculum assessment.
At the end of each recruitment, the process has been subject to self-assessment considering the effectiveness of the instruments used to assess the candidates' knowledge (tests of knowledge in management accounting and text interpretation in English), as well as their trajectory in terms of training and activities performed (curriculum analysis). The PPGC considers the selection process to be transparent and objective and has carried out reflections aimed at the continuous improvement of its selection process for new students.
III - Classroom teaching
The third aspect that the program has sought to improve is linked to classroom teaching. This activity has decentralized planning. Each professor is responsible for planning the discipline(s) they will teach throughout the academic year, both in terms of the teaching/learning strategies they intend to use, and the support instruments.
Teaching self-assessment approaches have been performed sporadically and without considering standardized procedures for this purpose. The PPGC understands that teaching strategies and instruments tend to assume particularities derived from the training and professional experiences of teachers and that a standardized approach aimed at self-assessment of this activity can inhibit or restrict specific teaching practices appropriate for some subjects compared to too much.
IV - Publications in high impact journals
Another point that has required continuous improvement is associated with the scientific production of Permanent Professors and their graduates. Based on a continuous stimulus for the submission of articles to highly qualified journals, the number of publications in journals belonging to Qualis' strata B1, A2 and A1 has improved every year, but has not yet reached the level desired by the Program.
At the end of each year, the PPGC surveys the publications of its professors and students to monitor the evolution of the profile of its publications. Efforts made to publish articles in international journals have already shown effective results, including in international journals with JCR and Scopus impact factors.
Institutional Self-Assessment at PPGC
From the Mid-Term Seminar Report held in 2019, the PPGC held two internal meetings with the purpose of institutionalizing formal self-assessment processes. Soon after, two PPGC professors participated in a meeting with the Proper Assessment Committee (CPA) of UFRPE in search of support for the operationalization of self-assessment.
Also in 2019, the Pro-Rectory of Research and Graduate Studies (PRPPG) of the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE) constituted a Committee formed by professors and students of the Graduate Studies, as well as members of the Evaluation Committee (CPA) to start the institutional process of Self-Assessment of Graduate Programs, based on the recommendation of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), seeking to provide a first step towards Institutional Planning related to the growth and consolidation of the Graduate -graduation, with academic quality and social responsibility.
This Commission used as a basis an assessment model developed by another higher education institution, which consisted of personalized questionnaires for the categories STUDENTS, TEACHERS and TECHNICIANS IN ADMINISTRATION linked to the PPG. Then, the questionnaires, adapted by the Commission to the particularities of UFRPE, were sent to the Postgraduate Programs (PPG) coordinators for knowledge and suggestions.
After carrying out the suggested adjustments, the PRPPG transformed the questionnaires into electronic forms and sent them to the PPG coordinations, for later forwarding to their students, professors and administrative technicians (EXECUTION PHASE). As a participant in this process, the PPGC used these questionnaires to carry out its first formal institutional self-assessment.
After the period established for execution, the data obtained from each PPG were sent separately to its respective coordination, with the objective of carrying out the analysis and dissemination of the results (ANALYSIS and DISSEMINATION PHASE). Likewise, PRPPG analyzed the data set of all PPGs, which resulted in the preparation of the 1st SELF-EVALUATION REPORT OF UFRPE'S GRADUATE PROGRAMS (www.prppg.ufrpe.br), aiming to improve management graduate studies and research carried out at the institution and consolidate itself as a reference in its different areas of expertise.
At the end of 2020, the PPGC concluded the regulation of the internal institutional self-assessment process through Resolution 05/2020, to be carried out annually, before the beginning of the activities of the first academic semester and operated by a self-assessment committee appointed by the Collegiate of Didactic Coordination Program (CCD) for this purpose.
The self-assessment committee designated for operationalization in early 2021 was composed of professors Antônio André Cunha Callado (Chairman), Tânia Nobre Gonçalves Ferreira Amorim (Member) and Alessandra Carla Ceolin (Member) who prepared the questionnaires to be used in the self-assessment under the terms of Resolution 05/2020, for teachers (Annex I) and students (Annex II), considering questions on the following topics:
• Program management;
• Academic structure;
• Infrastructure;
• Teaching/learning;
• Tutoring;
• Internationalization;
• Impact on society;
• Teacher/student self-assessment.
The specific questionnaires for professors and students were applied remotely through electronic forms generated by GoogleForms. After the period determined for their completion, the data obtained were tabulated to be analyzed by the Commission.
The first block of questions referred to the management of the Program and the following aspects were considered:
- Communication between coordination and teachers
- Service provided by the coordination
- Regularity of CCD meetings
- Transparency of administrative actions
- Transparency of the student selection process
- Transparency in the use of PROAP
- Access to Standards and Resolutions
- Information available on the website
- Encouraging participation in events
- Stimulus for publication in periodicals
The second block of questions referred to the academic structure of the PPGC, and the following aspects were considered:
- Adequacy of the set of subjects for student training
- Course supply flow
- Complementarity of disciplines
- Number of courses offered
- Course hours
- Adequacy of course hours
The third block of questions addressed the infrastructure, exploring the following aspects:
- Physical facilities of classrooms
- Coordination's physical facilities
- Library collection: physical/digital
- Digital access to PPGC dissertations
- Access to UFRPE's remote services
- Multimedia room for video conferencing
- Auditorium
- Teachers' Work Offices
- Accessibility to physical facilities
- Campus Security
The fourth block of questions referred to teaching/learning and the following aspects were considered:
Teaching
- Number of students
- Level of knowledge of students
- Motivation of students
- Student time availability
- Attendance of students in classes
- Punctuality of students in classes
- Punctuality of students in delivering activities
- Relationship between students and teachers
- Quality of activities performed by students
Learning
- Teaching methodologies used
- Course menus/programs
- Evaluation criteria used
- Bibliography used in the disciplines
- Teacher attendance in classes
- Punctuality of teachers in classes
- Communication between professors and students
- Availability of faculty for assistance
- Support from professors for the preparation of articles
- Foreign language teaching activities
The fifth block of questions referred to guidance from the point of view of teachers and students considering the following aspects:
- Tutor x student relationship
- Availability of the mentee to receive guidance
- Encouragement of those who are advised to publish in co-authorship
- Level of commitment of the mentees with the dissertation
- Quality of the dissertation project
- Quality of the final version of the dissertation
- Availability of the advisor to provide guidance
- Adviser encouragement to co-authored publication
- Follow-up received in project preparation
- Advisor's level of commitment to the dissertation
The sixth block of questions addressed internationalization by exploring the following aspects:
- PPGC international partnerships
- Stimulus for involvement with internationalization
- Acting as a reviewer of articles for international journals
- Acting as an article reviewer for international events
- Encouraging participation in international events
- Stimulus for publication in international journals
- Knowledge about PPGC international partnerships
The seventh block of questions addressed the social impact of the Program considering the following aspects:
- Impact of dissertations on society
- Impact of publications on society
- Impact on the professional performance of students and graduates
- Impact of PPGC performance in the region
- Impact of PPGC's performance in the area of knowledge
- Academic cooperation with other PPGs in the area
The eighth block of questions addressed the self-assessment of teachers and students on the following aspects:
teachers
- Satisfaction with PPGC
- Relationship with the coordination
- Relationship with the Faculty
- Relationship with the student body
- Attendance and punctuality to classes
- Attendance to CCD meetings
- Compliance with the academic calendar
- Update of used references
- Time dedicated to the mentees
- Participation in PPGC decisions
- Availability for internationalization
- Availability for social impact actions
students
- Motivation to take the course
- Relationship with the coordination
- Relationship with the Faculty
- Relationship with the student body
- Attendance to classes
- Punctuality to classes
- Dedication to readings suggested by teachers
- Fulfillment of the activities required by the disciplines
- Time dedicated to the course
- Availability for internationalization
- Availability for social impact actions
The 2020 self-assessment report is available on the PPGC website.