RESTYLING THE HIGHER EDUCATION LANDSCAPE: REGIONAL (A)SYMMETRIES ACROSS PORTUGAL

This work studies the disparities found in higher education institutions across Portugal - in terms of geographical location, being polytechnics institutes or universities, and operating in the private or public sector - in relation to their offering of 1st, 2nd and 3rd cycle study programmes and scientific areas. Bearing in mind that, on the one hand, any education institution must adapt to the surrounding population, and that, on the other hand, the population also ends up adapting to the existing educational offer, there is always some synergy between the characteristics of higher education institutions and local population/social context. Therefore, it is of surmount importance to characterize the educational system and verify the presence of asymmetries, by evaluation of the way it relates and is related to the physical and social setting. In Portugal, every study programme (newly submitted or running) is subject to evaluation by the Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education - A3ES. At the initial stage of the evaluation process, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) submit a proposal to A3ES. The analysis of the characteristics associated with both the study programme and HEI submitting it, held by A3ES, allow an indirect characterization of the national HE landscape. Based on a descriptive analysis of the data associated with all the study programmes submitted to A3ES from 2009 to 2014 (N = 2961), it was possible to cross-tabulate several variables and to do a thorough discussion, highlighting the influence of different internal aspects of the Portuguese Higher Education System. This data-based reflection is a contribute for future works aiming to understand the underlying dynamics behind such asymmetries. Knowing the regional asymmetries may provide opportunities to find innovative solutions that foster education on disadvantaged regions.