Unifesspa is there: a university extension project

Abstract

This work shows how an extension project can contribute to the university-school interaction in order to make young people aware of the importance of higher education and attracting potential students to the free and quality public university. Through the report of an action developed in the scope of the project “UNIFESSPA is there”, coming from the university campus of Santana do Araguaia of the Federal University of South and Southeast of Pará (UNIFESSPA), we presented how the process of dissemination of this university occurred in this city which is located in the extreme south of the state of Pará and borders other states that contribute to the demographics of that region. Thus, we described the actions that were developed in the form of informative and motivational lectures and we brought data that revealed a slight growth of students entering, through ENEM/SISU/PSS, the university campus of Santana do Araguaia, which offers the licentiate degree in Mathematics and bachelor of Civil Engineering and Architecture and Urbanism, as well as a slight growth of the retention rate of these students in the respective courses, considering the comparison between the number of active students in the first years, since the campus installation in this city, and the number in 2019, showing that UNIFESSPA is gradually achieving its goal of democratizing free and quality public education.