INSTITUTIONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT AND CRITICAL PERFORMATIVITY: ANALYSIS OF UFMG'S INSTITUTIONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT (RAAI) REPORTS (2013–2021)

The creation of the National System for the Evaluation of Higher Education (SINAES), established by Law No. 10,861/2004, consolidated an evaluation model aimed at improving academic quality, valuing the public mission of higher education institutions (HEIs) and inducing processes of institutional self-reflection in a formative perspective. However, two decades after its creation, several studies point to a trend towards the prevalence of a performative logic, with the use of rankings based on indicators established by the Ministry of Education (MEC) itself.  In this research we analyzed the Institutional Self-Assessment Reports (RAAI) of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), one of the best evaluated and prestigious in the country in national rankings, seeking to identify the evaluation conception of its RAAI. The research, of an exploratory and qualitative nature, was based on the complete RAAI documentary analysis, covering three evaluation cycles (2013-2021). The results point to a path of institutional maturation: (1) 2013–2015: performative predominance and beginning of criticism of state indicators; (2) 2016–2018: integration of evaluation results into the new Institutional Development Plan (IDP), built with community participation; (3) 2019–2021: consolidation of criticism of state indicators and proposal of their own indicators, with new dimensions, such as inclusion and mental health