Políticas de assistência estudantil e permanência universitária: Um estudo com discentes da FELCS/UFRN no Seridó Oriental Potiguar.

Abstract

This article aims to understand how student aid programs offered by the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), through the Dean of Student Affairs (PROAE), influence the academic retention of students at the Faculty of Engineering, Letters, and Social Sciences of Seridó (FELCS). The study is situated within the field of public policy and social management and adopts a qualitative approach, using semistructured interviews with students who had their aid requests approved or denied. The results show that the aid programs particularly those related to food, housing, and transportation play a decisive role in ensuring the continuity of studies, especially among socially vulnerable students. Challenges such as limited availability, outdated benefit values, and criticisms of the selection criteria were also identified. The study concludes that student assistance is essential to guarantee access, retention, and equity in public higher education, especially in regions marked by social inequality, such as Eastern Seridó in Rio Grande do Norte.