From access to academic success: the importance of financial aid policy in higher education

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the contribution of financial aid from the National Student Assistance Program (PNAES) for low-income students from a new federal university and the interior of the southern region of Brazil. Theoretical model for the permanence of students in higher education is presented, proposed by Breier (2010), which foresees the role of financial aid for the permanence of students. The empirical exercise used secondary data analysis of three sets of academic information from the institution: i) the profile of enrolled students; ii) the evolution of resources and students benefiting from PNAES; and, iii) indicators of academic performance of beneficiary and non-beneficiary students of PNAES. The results indicated that students benefiting from PNAES had better academic performance compared to students not benefiting from grants, indicating evidence of the positive effect of this policy for this federal university profile.