Weightings of graduates about qualification and the labor market: evaluating a higher technology course

Abstract

The evaluation of courses and the consequent improvement of the quality of high education are consolidated topics in Brazil. However, there is little literature that deals with course evaluation from the perspective of graduates, considering the qualification and requirements of the job market. Given this shortcoming, this article is an evaluation of a higher technology course in the area of information and communication of a federal public institution in the southern region of Brazil from the reports of 18 graduates. The graduates did not know the skills listed in the pedagogical project of the course, revealing the distance between what was prescribed and what was evidenced during the graduation. The results indicate that the graduates interviewed lived the reality of obtaining an undergraduate degree, but not the job they expected from the qualification. Therefore, it is suggested that the voice of graduates should be considered for evaluations of undergraduate courses.