Self-Assessment

Since the 1990s, the University of Vale do Itajaí has run a process of institutional self-assessment. From 2004, through its Internal Evaluation Committee (CPA), this process takes place every term.

The Institutional Assessment is carried out by teachers and students to gather indicators about the infrastructure of the Institution and its Courses, performance of the Coordination and the Secretaries, disciplines, and their teachers. These indicators are used to improve the infrastructure and performance of employees and in the strategic planning of the Institution and its Courses.

Always seeking excellence in the training of its student body, constant improvement of its faculty, increase of its scientific production, and its internationalization, the Graduate Program in Legal Science – PPCJ has participated in the process of Institutional self-assessment since its beginning. From 2020 onwards, it has implemented an additional self-assessment system, as proposed by CAPES, to systematically examine its activities and objectives, to identify problems and deficiencies, as well as their causes, with a view to the development of pedagogical awareness, the capacity of the teaching and technical staff and links with society.

"Self-assessment is the process of evaluating oneself, [...]. Its main objective is formation, learning. Once it is planned, conducted, implemented, and analyzed by people who are themselves formulators and agents of the actions to be assessed [...] it allows a reflection on the context and policies adopted, in addition to the systematization of the data that lead to decision making". (Free translation, CAPES, 2019, p. 7)

Currently, each curricular year, based on the Institutional Assessment, the Program captures a picture of its actions, aiming, this way, at establishing parameters for further planning and future actions. With the implementation of the Self-Assessment process proposed by CAPES, the PPCJ will have reports of two self-assessment processes, generating data that, added previous indicators, will strengthen the basis for the Program to have elements to think about its practice, “[...] reflect on practice, to find lessons in practice and derive from it concrete actions, enlightened by theory [...] (Free translation, CAPES, 2019, p. 9-10).

Source: Autoavaliação de Programas de Pós-Graduação. Grupo de Trabalho. Brasília: Ministério da Educação, 2019. Retrieved from https://www.gov.br/capes/pt-br/centrais-de-conteudo/10062019-autoavaliacao-de-programas-de-pos-graduacao-pdf.

The Process of Self-Assessment

Currently, the main source of self-assessment data of the program is the perception survey answered by students and teachers as part of the "Institutional Self-assessment Program - PAIUni". With the implementation of the Self-Assessment proposed by CAPES, the Program will have two self-assessment processes, which will contribute to better qualification. 

Institutional Self-assessment Program - PAIUni

PAIUni is operationalized by the Teaching and Evaluation Management Department of the university, whose tole is collecting, analyzing, and disseminating the results of the perception survey answered by the academic community, where they express their opinion on physical infrastructure and equipment for the quality of teaching

The results of the Institutional Self-assessment Program are seen in actions such as:

• Maintenance and adequacy of study environments (classrooms, laboratories, and libraries)

• Bibliographic collection update

• Systematic maintenance and updating of laboratories

• Teacher Continuing Education

• Continuing Training of Coordinators
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PPCJ self-assessment

The PPCJ self-assessment process, which is in its implementation phase, follows the proposal of the CAPES Working Group on Self-Assessment of Graduate Programs.

The implementation of the PPCJ Self-Assessment, aiming to follow CAPES guidelines, is planned as follows:

1. Creation of self-assessment committee (CAA): the institutional coordinator for graduate programs (PPG) indicates and submits to the approval of the collegiate names of teacher, student, and technical staff members (and eventually graduate and/or job market representative) to make up the committee that will coordinate the self-assessment process.

2. Preparation of pre-proposal of self-assessment plan: the CAA prepares a pre-proposal of the self-assessment plan based on: (2.1) the mission of the PPG and in the institutional development plan (PDI); and (2.2) results from previous assessments.

3. Approval of the self-assessment plan: an assembly and/or a collegiate of the PPG carries out discussions, negotiations for specification of the self-assessment with a view to the approval of a self-assessment plan that must be published on the program website.

4. Implementation of the self-assessment plan:

(a) the CAA specifies the self-assessment - What? Who? How?  When?;

(b) the CAA guides the self-assessment procedures - observation and data collection through focus groups, interviews, questionnaires, meetings, debates, workshops;

(c) the CAA systematizes data through qualitative-quantitative analysis: weaknesses, strengths, opportunities, strategic challenges, improvements, future developments that emerged from the previous stages;

(d) the CAA presents its observations to the PPG assembly (teachers, students, technical staff), stimulates reflection, discussions on the diagnosis made and aspects to be improved, having as reference the assessment of CAPES, adherence to the institutional PPI/PDI and its mission and objectives.

5. Preparation of the partial report: the CAA prepares a partial report of the self-assessment process implemented, highlighting especially strengths and weaknesses found and a list of possible future actions.

6. Integrative seminar.

7. Coordination fills out forms to be sent to Capes.