Entre o acesso e a permanência : a Política de Assistência Estudantil e a evasão no ensino superior na Universidade Federal de Sergipe (UFS)

Abstract

This undergraduate thesis analyzes the relationship between student assistance policies and student dropout in Brazilian public higher education, using the Federal University of Sergipe (UFS) as its empirical field of study. The main objective is to identify the factors contributing to student dropout at UFS, with emphasis on the insufficiency of student assistance policies and their impact on student retention. The study adopts a critical-dialectical approach and is characterized as an exploratory and descriptive research. It is based on bibliographical and documentary research, including the analysis of legislation, institutional documents, public calls, and studies on the subject, as well as quantitative data collected from the UFS Institutional Performance Indicators System (SIDI-Graduação), covering the period from 2017 to 2025. The theoretical framework is grounded in studies from the fields of Education and Social Work, enabling the understanding of student dropout as an expression of social inequalities and the contradictions surrounding the democratization of higher education. The findings indicate that the insufficiency of student assistance is a significant factor associated with student dropout at UFS, particularly when combined with socioeconomic difficulties, academic demands, and institutional barriers identified throughout the research. The study also shows that the chronic underfunding of student assistance policies, together with the limited number of available benefits and the bureaucratic procedures required to access them, undermines the conditions necessary for the retention of socially vulnerable students. It concludes that student assistance should be understood as a social right that is essential to ensuring the right to higher education. Therefore, strengthening funding, expanding student support policies, and improving institutional mechanisms for access to assistance programs are fundamental measures to reduce student dropout.