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Evaluation of mobility programs as a tool for sustainable internationalization: CASE Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana – UEFS

The evaluation of activities related to internationalization, especially those concerning student mobility programs, plays a key role for the universities, according Knight (2012), for whom, more than planning and implementing, it is essential to evaluate the directions of internationalization for the institution, think their methodologies, strategies and justifications, aiming to integrate an international, intercultural and global dimension. This work aims to contribute for the development of higher education internationalization, through the results presentation and comparison of the evaluations with exchange students in 2013, during which it was possible to gather for evaluation purposes, data concerning the student mobility programs under development at the Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana (UEFS), in particular the UEFS Scholarship Exchange Programs, the Santander Universities Ibero-American Scholarship Program and the Science without Borders (CSF). These measurements have been developed through cross-sectional analysis of the final reports of exchange, report card, as well as records during bimonthly lectures and in the University Internationalization Workshop, an annual event promoted by the UEFS Special Advisory for Institutional Relations. In this way, some variables have been considered: the student's academic performance in the exchange period and the activities of former students in these programs. For the first item, it has been evaluated: performance in subjects studied in different countries with the same language (e.g. USA X Australia), student performance on mobility with low percentage of study workload and performance for subjects in groups (practical and theoretical). For the second item, the results obtained, by the students, in academic settings (exams for admission to graduate courses) and professionals (approval in public service exams, selections and enrollment in large companies) have been verified. It is expected that the contributions from this discussion can also be useful to encourage the development of internationalization in other Brazilian institutions, as well as, for the improvement of Academic Mobility Programs.

Author(s):

Rita de Cassia Silva Castro    
UEFS - Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana
Brazil

Eneida Soanne Matos Campos de Oliveira    
UEFS - Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana
Brazil

Washington de Jesus Sant´anna da Franca Rocha    
UEFS - Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana
Brazil

Luciano Penelu Bitencourt Pacheco    
UEFS - Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana
Brazil

Dioene Carneiro Nascimento    
UEFS - Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana
Brazil

Franscisneide Albano    
UEFS - Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana
Brazil