SELF-ASSESSMENT REPORT: A CRITICAL-DISCURSIVE STUDY

This article analyzes how the institutional self-assessment reports (RAI), prepared by the Own Evaluation Committees (CPA), subsidize the academic and management activities of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The central issue is to verify whether the reports work as instruments, capable of guiding planning and decision-making. The objective is to identify how HEIs use these results of the self-assessment to promote improvements in the quality of higher education. The relevance of the study lies in evidencing self-assessment as a tool for management and continuous improvement, also pointing out weaknesses in textual organization and critical-reflective analysis. The qualitative research analyzed reports from HEIs selected by criteria, covering different regions, administrative organizations and Sinaes evaluation cycles. The focus fell on the analytical matrix constructed by the researchers (form and content of the reports), considering the rhetorical-argumentative perspective of the discourse. The results indicate that, although most HEIs follow the formal structure foreseen, many reports have technical and descriptive language, with superficial analyses and little relationship with the Institutional Development Plan (PDI). Some institutions stand out for their systematization, critical diagnosis and proposition of concrete actions. Others, however, are limited to the presentation of numbers, without deepening analyses or indicating solutions. It is concluded that, despite advances, there are still limitations in the use of RAI as instruments of self-knowledge, planning and management