University extension

characterization of the offer of extension courses by the University of São Paulo (2004-2020)

Abstract

University extension, together with teaching and research, is considered one of the three pillars that make up the social function of universities. The present work aims to characterize the University Extension at the University of São Paulo, from 2004 to 2020, from 25 selected academic units, located in three university campi, through the offer of extension courses in their many modalities. The data collection was carried out through the access to the USP System of Culture and Extension, called “Apollo System”, which gathers information about activities and extension courses offered, encompassing all units of all campuses of the institution. To compose the scenario regarding the offer of extension courses, basic descriptive statistics techniques were used. The main aggregated results showed, among other aspects, that the courses that presented the greatest offer by the University in the period analyzed were Diffusion (53.5%) and Specialization (35.6%), even though, the majority (68.9%) of the offer consists of paid courses. In the case of Specialization courses, only 0.6% of the total offer is for free. It was also evidenced that 5.2% of the courses were offered in the e-learning format.