Self-Assessment

The UNIFRAN Graduate Program in Linguistics adopts a comprehensive and continuous approach to the self-assessment of its internal processes, involving faculty, students, alumni, and internal and institutional committees. 

Faculty Evaluation: Faculty performance is evaluated in two complementary ways: Student Feedback: Students have a direct communication channel with the program coordinator, via email and in-person meetings, where they can express their perceptions about the quality of teaching, faculty availability, and the support received. This feedback is used to identify areas for improvement and promote the continuous enhancement of pedagogical practices. Analysis of Intellectual Production: The internal self-assessment committee conducts an annual ranking of faculty, based on the number and quality of their publications (evaluated according to Qualis CAPES and the number of citations), as well as the scientific and social impact of their research. This ranking is used to recognize and value faculty intellectual production, in addition to identifying areas of excellence and opportunities for development. 

Course Evaluation: The program’s curriculum is evaluated annually by the Program Board, in conjunction with the internal self-assessment committee. This process analyzes the relevance and up-to-dateness of the courses, the adequacy of basic and supplementary bibliography, and the need to create, maintain, or discontinue courses. The evaluation considers the program’s mission, trends in the Linguistics field, and the demands of ongoing research projects. Suggestions for curriculum changes are implemented through a vote by the board. 

Student Monitoring: Student monitoring is carried out continuously through semi-annual reports produced by the students themselves and reviewed by the internal self-assessment committee. These reports allow for monitoring student progress, identifying difficulties, and offering individualized support for the development of their research. 

Alumni Monitoring: The program annually monitors, via email, the job placement of students who have completed the program. The Program coordination annually sends an email to alumni requesting information about their current professional situation, the activities they perform, and the impact of the Linguistics Program training on their lives, in terms of financial improvement and/or personal transformation. 

Committees: The Institutional Committee for Self-Assessment of Stricto Sensu Graduate Programs at the University of Franca (CIA-PG) was created in 2019, with the objective of monitoring the execution of the self-assessment process of UNIFRAN’s Stricto Sensu Graduate Programs, as well as evaluating the results of the process in accordance with the HEI’s mission and the specific objectives and vocation of each Graduate program at the institution. The CIA-PG is composed of the Vice-Rector for Extension, Research, and Graduate Studies, in addition to representatives from the coordination and vice-coordination of the aforementioned Graduate programs. 

Strengths 

The formal self-assessment of UNIFRAN’s Graduate Program in Linguistics for the 2021-2024 quadrennium, conducted by the Internal Self-Assessment Committee to identify strengths and areas for improvement, and validated by the Institutional Committees, shows positive results in various dimensions of the program, corroborated by alumni feedback through the annual questionnaire. 

Quality of Faculty and Faculty Intellectual Production: The Program stands out for the quality and qualification of its permanent faculty, composed of experienced and productive researchers with relevant work in the field of Linguistics. Evidence from the Institutional Committee: UNIFRAN’s Institutional Committees, in their regular analyses of the program, have consistently praised the high level of qualification and engagement of the faculty, evidenced by qualified intellectual production and dedication to student advising. Evidence from the Internal Committee: The Internal Self-Assessment Committee, in its annual reports, reinforces the excellence of the faculty as one of the program’s main pillars, highlighting bibliographic production, participation in scientific events, and leadership in research projects. Evidence from the Alumni Questionnaire: Alumni, through the annual questionnaire, attest to the high quality of the faculty, expressing satisfaction with the professors’ expertise, the quality of classes, and the guidance received, elements considered fundamental for their education. 

Relevance and Updating of the Curriculum Matrix: The program’s curriculum matrix is considered relevant, up-to-date, and comprehensive, providing solid and in-depth training in Text and Discourse Theories, with flexibility to meet students’ interests. Evidence from the Institutional Committee: The Institutional Committees demonstrate the adherence and updating of the program’s curriculum matrix to the institutional objectives and mission, as well as to the demands of the Linguistics field, considering the offering of mandatory and elective courses aligned with the research areas. Evidence from the Internal Committee: The Internal Committee highlights the curricular structure as a strong point, emphasizing the organization of courses into thematic axes and the constant updating of syllabi to incorporate new developments in the area. Evidence from the Alumni Questionnaire: Alumni who responded to the annual questionnaire confirm the relevance of the curriculum matrix, positively evaluating the variety of courses offered, the up-to-dateness of the topics covered, and the contribution of the training to their professional and academic performance. 

Stimulating and Productive Research Environment: The Program offers a stimulating and productive research environment, fostering quality scientific investigation and student intellectual production, with strong articulation between research areas and research groups. Evidence from the Institutional Committee: The Institutional Committees recognize the program’s research environment as a positive differentiator, observing the expressive number of ongoing research projects, student participation in projects, and the resulting intellectual production. Evidence from the Internal Committee: The Internal Committee confirms the stimulating nature of the research environment, highlighting the integration between faculty and students in projects, the realization of internal scientific events (research seminars), and support for student participation in external events. Evidence from the Alumni Questionnaire: Alumni, in their responses to the annual questionnaire, highlight the research environment as a positive factor, mentioning the encouragement of research, qualified guidance, and opportunities for participation in projects and events as elements that boosted their intellectual production. 

Social Engagement and Program Impact: The Program demonstrates strong social engagement and seeks to generate a positive impact on society, through outreach activities, scientific dissemination projects, and concern for relevant topics such as training for basic education and the promotion of equality. Evidence from the Institutional Committee: The Institutional Committees value the program’s social engagement, recognizing outreach initiatives, participation in programs such as PIBID and Pedagogical Residency, and involvement in the Municipal Education Council. Evidence from the Internal Committee: The Internal Committee highlights the social impact of the program, emphasizing the relevance of research for solving social problems, the contribution to improving basic education, and participation in scientific dissemination activities. Evidence from the Alumni Questionnaire: Alumni, in their responses to the annual questionnaire, demonstrate recognition of the program’s social engagement, mentioning the importance of the training for their professional performance with impact on society and the valuing of socially relevant themes in research. 

The formal self-assessment of UNIFRAN’s Graduate Program in Linguistics for the 2021-2024 quadrennium, validated by different bodies and corroborated by alumni perception, reveals a consolidated program with well-defined strengths regarding faculty, curriculum matrix, research environment, and social engagement. These positive results demonstrate the program’s quality and its potential to continue advancing in the training of excellent researchers and professionals in the field of Linguistics, with relevant impact on society. The program will use the results of this self-assessment to further strengthen its strengths and implement improvement actions in identified areas. 

The results of the 2021-2024 quadrennium self-assessment highlight the program’s strengths, such as the high quality of the education offered, the relevance of the research developed, and the satisfaction of students and alumni. However, the self-assessment also points to areas that need improvement, such as student scientific production and alumni monitoring. 

Alumni Profile: The program annually monitors, via email, the job placement of students who have completed the program. Data collected in the 2021-2024 quadrennium reveals that 90% of alumni work in educational institutions, from basic education to higher education, including ETECs, FATECs, Federal Institutes, and private Universities. The remaining 10% of alumni work in other areas of knowledge, such as law, architecture, psychology, and journalism. Alumni working in other areas of knowledge report that the program’s training helped them bring a broader understanding of the complexity of languages in their professional specialties to their respective fields. 

The professional performance of the program’s alumni, with 90% working in educational institutions, from basic education to higher education, confirms the program’s commitment to training qualified professionals for teaching, one of the pillars of its mission. Furthermore, the performance of alumni in other areas of knowledge, with reports on the contribution of the training to understanding the complexity of languages, demonstrates the program’s relevance for training professionals with a broad and critical view of language. 

The program reaffirms its commitment to alumni monitoring and the use of collected data for continuous program improvement, recognizing the importance of alumni professional performance for evaluating the program’s impact on society. 

To complement the alumni profile evaluation, the program conducted a satisfaction survey with alumni in 2022, seeking to collect feedback on the quality of the training offered and its relevance to professional performance. The results of the 2018-2022 survey, presented in the following graphs, show a high rate of alumni satisfaction with various aspects of the program. The next surveys are scheduled for 2025, respectively, to monitor the evolution of the next quadrennium. 

• Employability: The majority of alumni are employed, either in academia or related fields, throughout the years 2018 to 2022. 

• Relevance of Courses: The majority of alumni are satisfied with the contribution of the courses to their formative process, with a 100% satisfaction rate in the years 2019 to 2022. 

• Relevant Information: Alumni consider information about events and research dissemination opportunities relevant to their training and professional performance. 

• Relevance of Events: Alumni consider events and scientific activities promoted by the program relevant to their training and professional development. 

• Relevance of Groups: Alumni consider research and study groups relevant to their training and professional development. 

• Information about Scholarships: The majority of alumni are satisfied with the information about scholarships offered by the program, with a 100% satisfaction rate in the years 2019 and 2020. 

• Meeting Expectations: The program has met the initial expectations of alumni regarding their academic training. 

• Effective Support: The program offers effective support to students during the research and writing process of their final papers. 

• High-Quality Guidance: The program offers high-quality support to students during the research and writing process of their final papers. 

• Clear Information: The program has provided clear and complete information about the procedures for qualifying and defending dissertations/theses. 

• Product Generation: There is a variation in the rate of academic product generation (articles, books, book chapters, etc.) from dissertations/theses over the years. 

• Pursuit of Improvement: Alumni continuously seek professional improvement through other academic courses. 

• Career Impact: There is a variation in alumni’s perception of improved career advancement with a Stricto Sensu Graduate degree over the years. 

• Professional Development: Alumni consider the training offered by the program relevant for the improvement of their professional practice. 

• Seeking Contact: Alumni seek to maintain contact with the HEI to continue their academic and professional trajectory. 

Action Plan for Improvements: 

Based on the self-assessment results, alumni monitoring, and satisfaction survey, the program has developed an action plan to further enhance student training and intellectual production. The following actions will be implemented in the coming years: 

Enhancement of Student Intellectual Production: 

• Increase the number and quality of student scientific publications in qualified journals. 

• Encourage student participation in national and international scientific events with paper presentations. 

• Strengthen the culture of scientific writing among students through workshops and support groups. 

• Expand individualized support to students in the production of articles and other academic works. 

Improved Student Monitoring: 

• Implement a more individualized and close monitoring system for students, with periodic meetings with advisors and the internal self-assessment committee. 

• Offer workshops on topics relevant to research and academic life, such as research methodology, scientific writing, and time management. 

• Create an online space for exchanging information and experiences among students. 

Strengthening Alumni Monitoring: 

• Expand the reach of alumni monitoring, using different communication channels (e.g., social media, events). 

• Conduct more detailed follow-up surveys, focusing on evaluating the impact of the training on alumni professional trajectories. 

• Create an alumni network to promote networking and experience exchange. 

Infrastructure and Resources Improvement: 

• Invest in modernizing the program’s facilities and equipment, focusing on creating more adequate research and study spaces. 

• Increase the availability of bibliographic and technological resources for students. 

• Strengthen the technical and administrative support offered to students. 

The program will monitor the progress of implemented actions through periodic meetings of the self-assessment committee and the board, and will conduct satisfaction surveys with students and alumni to evaluate the impact of the actions. The results of monitoring and evaluation will be used to make adjustments to the action plan, if necessary, ensuring the continuous improvement of the program’s quality. 

The analysis of self-assessment data, including the results of the alumni satisfaction survey, reveals that UNIFRAN’s Graduate Program in Linguistics has achieved positive results in various aspects, such as the quality of the training offered, the relevance of the research developed, and the satisfaction of students and alumni. However, the self-assessment also points to areas that need improvement, such as student scientific production, alumni monitoring, and program infrastructure. For these improvements to be implemented effectively, it is essential that the program receives adequate institutional investments. Increasing student scientific production, for example, requires access to updated bibliographic and technological resources, as well as support for scientific events and publications. Strengthening alumni monitoring demands the creation of a contact network and the conduction of more detailed follow-up surveys. Improving program infrastructure, in turn, requires investments in modernizing facilities and equipment, expanding research and study spaces, and strengthening technical and administrative support. It is important to emphasize that the program does not have autonomy to make these investments, depending on the institution’s support to ensure the quality of the training offered and the relevance of the research developed.