GROWTH OR RETRACTION: WHAT TENDENCIES DO INDICES FOR VACANCY OFFER, REGISTRATIONS AND NUMBER OF GRADUATES IN BRAZILIAN ACCOUNTING SCIENCE PROGRAMS EXPOSE?

Resumo

This study aims to identify possible tendencies from offered vacancy indices, registrations and number of graduates in the field of Accounting Science, both in presential and distance education, from 1995 to 2012. Expansion policies and the increasing access of the Brazilian Higher Education System (“Sistema de Educação Superior”) (SES), institutionalized by the government, are considered as a context to understand these tendencies. The main data sources used were micro data from the Higher Education Census (“Censo de Educação Superior”) (CES) from 1995 to 2012. This study carried out descriptive and analytical procedures in a trending movement for these indices from 1995 to 2012. The results suggest that the growth in the offer of vacancies was expressive throughout the period. This movement was not followed in the same rate by the number of interested candidates to compete for a position in the Accounting Science program. There is an oversupply on offers for vacancies with a rising tendency in private institutions. The evolution in the registration rate in distant education courses (“Cursos de Educação à Distância”) (EAD) is inconstant. There is a concentration of enrolled students at a lower number in Higher Education Institutions (“Instituições de Ensino Superior”) (IES) of a public nature, in contrast with the pulverized distribution on registrations among a higher number of private IES. The completion rate in Accounting Science presents high and low alternate periods for the presential modality. However, there is evidence on high evasion and/or retention index. The course assessment tools indicate possible problems in the offering of the education service and deficiencies regarding the under graduation of students in Accounting Science.