Environmental Engineering

The Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE) initiated, in 2020, the institutional self-assessment process of its Graduate Programs (PPGs), covering activities developed in the year 2019. To this end, strategic points of analysis for UFRPE's PPGs were defined, which began to be periodically monitored by the Institutional Evaluation Committee (CPA - https://www.cpa.ufrpe.br/). This committee is composed of faculty, students, and technical-administrative staff, and is coordinated by the Pro-Rectory of Graduate Studies (PRPG).

The reports prepared within the scope of this evaluation consider the following axes: Institutional Planning and Evaluation and Institutional Development. The methodology adopted is based on the application of an online questionnaire, voluntarily completed, available on the institution's website. The CPA conducts a systematic analysis of the data obtained, and, to date, six self-assessment cycles (2019–2024) of UFRPE's programs have been completed. The reports can be accessed at the following link: http://www.prppg.ufrpe.br/pt-br/ii-relatorio-de-autoavaliacao-da-pos-graduacao.



There are two types of reports prepared by the CPA:

•    Analytical Report: Presents a qualitative analysis of the evaluated items, highlighting those with the highest and lowest averages, as well as the actions implemented by the CPA over the years. These are available on the Internet.
•    Synthetic Report: Contains the complete results without interpretive analysis, organized by campus and by undergraduate and graduate courses. It is essentially quantitative and is forwarded to the coordination offices.

In the case of the Graduate Program in Environmental Engineering (PPEAMB), the Synthetic Report sent to the Coordination is forwarded to the Internal Self-Assessment Committee (CIA). The CIA consists of the following members: I. The coordinator and the alternate of the PPEAMB; II. Two representatives of the faculty; III. One representative of the students; IV. One representative of the technical-administrative staff; V. One representative of the alumni; and VI. One external representative of UFRPE. Currently, Prof. Liliana Andrea dos Santos and Prof. Antonio Celso Dantas Antonino (UFPE) represent, respectively, the alumni and the external representative.

The CIA analyzes the data from the Synthetic Report and returns the results to the Coordination, which presents them in a Seminar open to faculty and students. In this event, held always at the beginning of March, the issues are discussed collectively and guidelines are established democratically.

On its own initiative, the PPEAMB coordination began to apply, at the end of each semester, a self-assessment questionnaire prepared by the Internal Self-Assessment Committee (CIA) and aimed at students enrolled in the program's courses. This measure became necessary because the assessment carried out by the CPA does not include an individualized study of the courses offered by PPEAMB. Thus, the questionnaire allows a more detailed monitoring of the students' satisfaction with the courses and with the professors.

The questionnaire addresses three main dimensions: student self-assessment; course assessment; and professor assessment. Students are invited to reflect on issues such as:

•    Whether they dedicated themselves to the course;
•    Whether the course added new knowledge to their training;
•    Whether the content is aligned with the proposal of the graduate program;
•    Whether the classes were well planned and conducted;
•    Whether the professor demonstrated mastery of the topic.

The answers are processed by the CIA, and the results are forwarded to the PPEAMB coordination. Subsequently, each professor receives "feedback" regarding their course, allowing them to reflect on possible adjustments and improvements. This initiative has strengthened the self-assessment process, contributing to the continuous qualification of teaching and the improvement of academic experiences in PPEAMB.

Finally, PPEAMB organizes an annual Faculty Meeting, held shortly after the Self-Assessment Seminar, preferably in March. This meeting brings together all the program's professors (permanent and collaborators) and has the following main objectives:

•    Present the individual and collective intellectual production of the faculty;
•    Discuss the guidelines of the Self-Assessment Seminar;
•    Analyze the difficulties faced in the previous year;
•    Provide an overview of the PPEAMB's situation;
•    Define strategies for the new academic year.

The holding of this meeting is a consolidated practice, occurring since before the institutional self-assessments. Since the pandemic, it has been held remotely, which has significantly increased faculty participation. Professors understand that this is a moment when the coordination plays a proactive and demanding role, always with the aim of strengthening PPEAMB and improving its academic indicators. In recent editions, data processed by the Stela Experta platform were presented, allowing faculty to compare their academic production more accessibly with that of other colleagues in the program. The platform also made it possible to compare PPEAMB's production with that of other programs in the Engineering I area, providing an overview of graduate programs in this area and situating PPEAMB within this panorama. In addition, the meeting is the occasion used by the coordination to present the average time for the graduation of each professor's advisees (average of the last four years) and the financial resources obtained by each professor.