The National Commission for Higher Education Assessment (Conaes) Between Legitimacy and (In) Definition of Quality: Record in Minutes From 2016 to 2020

Resumen

HAAS, Celia Maria  y  TIAGO, Fernando Mendes. The National Commission for Higher Education Assessment (Conaes) Between Legitimacy and (In) Definition of Quality: Record in Minutes From 2016 to 2020. Rev. Int. Educ. Super. [online]. 2023, vol.9, e023028.  Epub 27-Mar-2025. ISSN 2446-9424.  https://doi.org/10.20396/riesup.v9i0.8665279.

This research analyzes how the National Commission for the Evaluation of Higher Education (Conaes), instituted by Law No. 10.861 / 2004, the coordinating and supervisor agency of the national evaluation system, has understood its role and what is its understanding of Quality in Higher Education. With this aim, 28 recording of the meetings held between November / 2016 and July / 2020 were collected, available in the commission's repository, on the website of the Ministry of Education (MEC). The analysis of the minutes was based on the qualitative analysis software MaxQDA. The analysis results from the understanding that Conaes self-defines itself in action, constantly reviewing its performance, caused by internal discussions and changes in demands and complementary legislation, without, however, recognizing the legitimacy and purpose of its role in the coordination of the National System Higher Education Assessment System (Sinaes). The constant review can be considered beneficial, since its role is improved, however, it reveals at the same time, uncertainty, and irrelevance in relation to its practices, discussing, in many meetings, the lack of recognition of the very existence of Conaes. In the set of minutes analyzed, in-depth discussions on what quality is and its meaning in and for Higher Education were not identified, with implications related to evaluation procedures. For Conaes, quality and indicators are synonymous, with no indication of what can be considered a quality institution or course, leaving the score achieved in the evaluations as a criterion.

Palabras clave : Higher education; Conaes; Quality of education; Sinaes.

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