A implantação da Universidade Aberta do Brasil em Alagoas: a interiorização do ensino superior através do curso piloto em Administração a Distância

Abstract

The Open University of Brazil (UAB), a system integrated by public higher education institutions (IPES) to offer higher education courses through the use of distance education (EaD) was established in 2006 with the offering of the Bachelor's Pilot Course in Administration at a Distance. This study investigated the implementation and internalization of the UAB at the Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL) through this Course, offered at the centers of Maceio, Santana do Ipanema and Porto Calvo. The problem sought to answer: What are the contributions of UAB to the internalization of higher education in Alagoas? To what extent did EaD's actions bring about changes in Alagoas society? What social reading can we make of the UAB Pilot Course? The objectives of the study were: to recover the historical process of the implementation and internalization of the UAB in Alagoas; analyze the narratives of UFAL managers who were part of the Pilot Course implementation process, analyze the implementation of regional centers and the training of distance learning subjects to offer the Course. The theoretical framework explores EaD, as a policy aimed at training administrators and teachers; the democratization of distance learning through the internalization of higher education by UAB at UFAL, analyzing the specificities of the Pilot Course. The methodology involved a case study with bibliographic and documentary research and analysis of narrative interviews with managers involved in the implementation of the UAB and the Pilot Course, available in the interview bank of the EaD Memory Project at UFAL. The categories used in the data were: importance of distance learning for society as a Strategic Policy at UFAL; the democratization of access to higher education; social inclusion, strengthening the internalization of distance learning; the process of planning and implementing the Pilot Course; and the impact of training on it. The narrative interviews allowed for in-depth exploration of managers' perceptions and reflections on the challenges, successes and learnings during the Pilot Course implementation process, in addition to the multifaceted perspective on the processes, challenges and advances of distance learning at UFAL, enriching the understanding of the phenomenon studied and its influence in the educational and institutional context.