Educational Evaluation of the Federal University of Latin American Integration, Brazil

Purpose: Analyzes satisfaction with the Federal University of Integration of Latin America (UNILA). Focused on the development of a new educational scheme in Latin America, being a university more open to change, multicultural, bilingual and Latin American. Methodology: the institutional evaluation quantitative methodology would be applied by the multidimensional method, being able to contemplate all the specificities of the academic community. Findings: This study answers four hypotheses that are within the four large educational dimensions evaluated. The results show that there are around 62% of satisfaction throughout the university, but they also indicate a concern for international, social and educational cooperation. Research Limitation: The main limitation of the investigation is related to the period of time considered (one year). Therefore, it is recommended to verify the results obtained in this study, carrying out a longitudinal investigation (considering more years). Originality: We generated a model that is oriented towards a generic measurement of satisfaction and it was builted considering the four distinguishing dimensions required by Educational Minister. All results were analyzed in a linear regression econometric model that were show us the level of significance of each question. KEYWORD: multicultural education, evaluation technique, multidimensional analysis, regression econometric model, reliability and validity. Avaliação educacional da Universidade Federal de Integração da América Latina, Brasil


INTRODUCTION
Satisfaction is one of the most important indicators to measure the quality of education within the universities. But this is, intimately, related to the level of general satisfaction of all people involved in the educational process (Jiménez, et al., 2011;Zas, 2002). Besides, in a large part of the countries, there are private and public universities with different market objectives which contributes to the complexity of the subject. Public universities that have different educational systems, do not escape the evaluation of the State and Society, we see it in the case of the Open University of Brazil UAB (Mendonca et al., 2020).
Pérez Zamora et al. (2012) carried out a study in Spain and identified that students from private universities feel more satisfied than those from public institutions. Although, he has highlighted that there are no significant differences between the two groups. Although student satisfaction with private universities scores higher in aspects of professional competencies and administrative service, public institutions score higher in relation to the university environment and the quality of the library. Flores Balboza (2005), argues that student satisfaction reflects the efficiency of various aspects involved in their daily educational experience, such as the level of difficulty of the course, the interaction with teachers and other students, the fairness in which they are evaluated , the facilities and teams that support these interactions.
The Federal University of Latin American Integration (UNILA) was created in 2010 in partnership with the Ministry of Education of Brazil (MEC). The philosophical and methodological principles of UNILA are formulated to guide teaching, research and extension practices, as well as university management in order to, Latin American and Caribbean themes, be explored with consistency. Those principles are interdisciplinarity, interculturality, bilingualism, multilingualism, solidary integration, democratic management, ethics, human rights, ethnic-racial-gender equity, sustainability and well-being.
It is maintained by the Federal State of Brazil and endowed with autonomy in its didactic, scientific, financial-patrimonial management, administrative and disciplinary. Currently, offer 29 undergraduate programs, 8 master, 1 doctorate in International Relations and 3 specialization courses.
The interculturality concept refers to the cultural diversity that manifests in today's society.
If large cities are taken as reference, we will see people from different ethnic origins, languages and cultural traditions. To problematize the meanings and reinterpretations of students' identity, at the Federal University of Latin American Integration and its institutional proposal is to interest students from all over Latin America and the Caribbean to constitute to a multicultural space that promotes and develops devices for Latin American integration in different ways. The university is located in a city where its official media claims to be multicultural (THREE BORDERS).
In the construction of regional integration, UNILA values the dialogue and intercultural communication, the respect to the existing diversities, enable solidarity and legitimate construction, traditional knowledge and experiences, placing them in interaction with the various scientific and technological innovations; and a history of the differences and similarities between the cultures of the Latin American and Caribbean people.
Students identify themselves as "UNILEROS", formed between diachronic and synchronous temporality. The analysis of this process is based on the understanding that the students' paths in these relational spatialities were processed when they activated spaces of experiences and horizons of individual and social expectations, creating a temporal density that we have here as the object of the History of the Present Time.
The statute of UNILA was approved in 2012 and the General Regiment was approved in 2013. Within its Institutional Development Plan (PDI), the objectives of UNILA are to contribute to the solidarity integration of Latin America and Caribbean, through the construction and socialization of knowledge diversity necessary for the consolidation of fairer societies.
The institutional mission is to train human resources capable of contributing to integration, regional development and the cultural, scientific and educational exchange in the Latin America.
The vocation of UNILA is the academic exchange and solidary cooperation with countries that are part of Latin America and Mercosur.
Within the public policies of Ministry of Education and Culture MEC, it is necessary to develop periodic, internal and external, evaluations of higher education institutions. The external one is carried out by a committee pointed by MEC and the National Institute of Permanent Evaluation (INEP). For the internal, a "Institutional Evaluation Commission" (CPA) is formed in each university to generate a mandatory and permanent evaluation.
The results pointed by CPAs should be oriented toward the reality of Institution and be a guiding instrument for planning and management of the university. It also meant questioning the meanings of the set of activities and purposes fulfilled by the institution; identify the causes of your problems and deficiencies; increase the pedagogical awareness and professional capacity of the university and the administrative technician; strengthen cooperative relations between the various institutional actors; make the institution's link with the community more effective; judge the relevance of your scientific / social activities and products; and be accountable to society, as recommended by the National Commission of Avaliação da Educação Superior CONAES (acronym in Portuguese) The two axes evaluated by CPAs are: Academic Policies and Physical Infrastructure.
Among them, the following dimensions: policy for teaching; research; graduation; communication; student assistance policies; physical infrastructure; library; information and communication resources; extension and related operating norms, including procedures to stimulate academic production, research grants, monitoring and other modalities.
From 2010 to 2016, UNILA has carried out 6 institutional evaluation assessment reports with a series of basic descriptive indicators such as; number of students, teachers, administrative technicians in education (EAT), courses, etc. All reports delivered a large amount of information for a better decision making in the institution.
UNILA is the only bilingual university in Brazil and has almost 50% of its students and teachers from 16 different nationalities. Seen that, it is necessary to know if the project of UNILA is satisfactory for the university community from the perspectives of academic policies, communication with society, student care and physical infrastructure. In this sense, we will seek to answer the posed question and propose a standardized evaluation model, through an inferential analysis of the latest survey applied by the 2016 CPA.
In our article, the measurement instruments of the sample that has been applied in 2016 are presented, the data is analyzed and discussed. The conclusions were drawn to propose a model and to see the level of satisfaction of the actors in the university community.

The research Method
The CPA agreed that the methodology of the institutional evaluation assessment would be applied by the multidimensional method, so can be contemplated all specificities of the multicultural and interdisciplinary reality of the academic community, defined as teachers, students Considering that we have longitudinal data for each of the applied surveys, where it will be analyzed the variable "satisfaction" of the interviewees in their different dimensions (where the dependent variable is continuous), we will examine the regression model by ordinary least squares for a base of longitudinal data.
As such we can consider that and y* it represents a censored sample (Novales, 1993, p.552) in a linear function of K explanatory variables (x k where k = 1,2,3,..., k): Where i = 1,…N units and t = 1,…T observations in the period; in matrix notation would be our econometric model: Furthermore, it u is also the error term that represents the effects of all other variables omitted from the model. That is, it is the observed variation of the dependent variable, and cannot get explained by the variation observed in the k independent variables. Expressions (1), (2) and (3) are identical. The letters 0 β 1 β 2 β … k β are the parameters that need to be measured. 0 β is the intercept, the constant term; while the other parameters are the slopes of it * y with respect to each of K independent variables.
For each category, we will apply a survey (summarized in Appendix 1) and generate a reliability analysis of the sample (Cronbach's Alpha) by resignation. Then, a linear regression analysis, by dimension, will be performed to determine the significance that the categories give to each question (see Fig. 1).
Based on Diaz-Villavicencio et al. (2016), that recommends a simple regression for each construct, four constructions (factor analysis) were generated with a regression for each Dimension/ Categories, considering the information of 5,110 surveys (Teachers, Students and EATS).

Model Research and Hypothesis
According to Sanchis et al. (2017), satisfaction is the result of a value process that occurs when a person expresses satisfaction or not with respect to something and makes a value judgment underpinned in the cognitive and affective (Gento & Vivas, 2003). For Zas (2002), comments Sanchis et al. (2017), satisfaction refers to something or someone associated with what is wanted, expected and it is also related to a certain result.
This work aims answering if the UNILA actors are satisfied with the management. For this purpose, we generated a model that is oriented towards a generic measurement of satisfaction and it was builted considering the three categories and the four distinguishing dimensions required by MEC (see table 1). a) Formation of responsible graduate and committed to the search of creative solutions for the equitable development of Latin America and the Caribbean; b) Articulation between all levels of education with the research and extension activities, aiming the integral formation of the student; c) Academic quality presented by the solid disciplinary and interdisciplinary formation; d) Appreciation of linguistic and cultural diversity of Latin America and Caribbean; e) Consideration of student as an active actor of the teaching-learning process; f) Plurality of theoretical and methodological ideas and conceptions; g) Consistency among contents, teaching practices and the evaluation process. (UNILA, 2013: 26) 2. Communication with society General Objective: To contribute to the consolidation of UNILA, its project, ideals and production of knowledge to legitimize them in Latin American and Caribbean society. Specific Objective 1: To disseminate the knowledge produced at the University to objectify its mission. Specific objective 2: To give visibility to the purpose of UNILA and its differential, with the intention of disseminating the proposals for integration at local, national, Latin American and Caribbean levels. Specific objective 3: To promote the exchange of information and dialogue between the different areas of UNILA, to achieve the institutional mission.

Student service policies
Objectives: 1) To expand the promotion of events and other international academic activities in the Institution; 2) To regulate the participation of university community in international events outside UNILA, according to the annual plan; 3) Creation of mechanisms and strategies to facilitate the academic and cultural cooperation, mobility and integration among the universities of Latin American and Caribbean countries, in the different areas of knowledge; 4) Establishment of international agreements with all countries linked to UNILA for the validation of issued diplomas by the university , thus guaranteeing the possibility of professional recognition and functional occupation in the countries of origin of the students; 5) Establishment of institutional guidelines to follow the process of selecting foreign students for undergraduate and graduate courses; 6) Permanent orientation of foreign students, regarding their entry and stay in the country, to the competent authorities. 4. Physical infrastructure General objective: to develop and appropriate the technologies of information, to provide UNILA with access to information, specific facilities and equipment that supply the institutional development.
All results were analyzed in a linear regression econometric model that will show us the level of significance of each question (see Fig. 1), from where a confirmatory factor analysis will be performed to determine the significance of each dimension with its category.

STATISTICAL MODELS: Linear regression model Confirmatory Factor Analysis
According to Sander (2007) educational management is guided by four principles of administration: effectiveness, efficiency, efficacy and relevance. Efficiency is characterized by the capacity of the institution to produce the maximum with the minimum of time, sources and energy, which makes this paradigm a tendency influenced by economic and productivist guidelines.
Students are the direct recipients of services provided by universities (public or private) and are considered the "main clients" of educational services (Crawford 1991;Wallace 1999;Douglas et al., 2006), since they are required to have a minimum of intellectual conditions for entrance or, in some cases, only enrolment fee (private universities). While students are interested in evaluating effectiveness, the university staff focus on both effectiveness and efficiency of services (De la Orden 1988;Bini & Masserini, 2016). Additional research indicates that student satisfaction is a factor that affects student retention in universities, emotional distress and graduation rates are affected (Aitken 1982;Hatcher et al., 1992;Love, 1993). The quality of the university, learning environment, learning activities, tutoring and extracurricular activities influence the individual satisfaction of students and this generates opinions about the experience in the universities (Clark 2004;Jones 2009;Hussein & Bahmani, 2012).
Beyond, the institutional evaluation assessment model imposed by the MEC, we can see that the analysis of "satisfaction" is a possible way to evaluate how a university is being efficient and fulfilling its mission (Ping, 1993). Browne et al. (1998) emphasized that the perception of students about the quality of an academic institution is a precursor to their general satisfaction. To maintain the general satisfaction of students, universities must improve the perceived quality in classrooms (Misanew & Tadesse, 2014). On the other hand, issues related to gender are not important when evaluating the satisfaction of a program in a university institution (Stables & Kimbell, 2001). Therefore, the quality of educational services can be tested by evaluating general satisfaction of students. Assessing the perception of students and their expectations is therefore essential, particularly in a competitive context, since universities are being more oriented towards the needs of students and are expected to be responsible for the public funds received Bini and Masserini (2016).
Our study goes beyond the simple perception of students as object of study. We consider all actors involved in educational management and focus on the analysis of the three categories, which seek a level of efficiency in the services delivered. From the above, we can point out three related hypotheses to see the level of satisfaction in UNILA.

H1: There is a level of satisfaction generated on the average in the three categories.
H2: The result of the questions differs among categories.
H3: There are questions that identify more the three categories.
H4: There is a relationship of significance between categories and dimensions.
To answer those hypotheses, we have generated a descriptive and inferential analysis using a second step, the basic econometric model of multiple linear regression.

Result and discussion
This study involved a generic survey, differentiated for each of the four categories (Appendix 1) as indicated in the model (Fig.1). For the statistical analyzes the SPSS22 software was used.
The sample size is acceptable in all categories (exceeding a general minimum) at 95% confidence level with + -5% sampling error. As the public to be surveyed is well known, a p and q of 0.25 (conservative) is assigned to obtain a minimum of acceptable responses to analyze if the interviewees were not known, a 0.50 in p and q would be required, which would involve a greater number of respondents. If the interviewees were not known, a 0.50 would be required, which would involve a greater number of respondents.
It should be considered that the surveys were conducted at the end of the year (in December 2016) and it was the first massive survey applied in UNILA, for this reason a great effort was necessary to spread the evaluation. The inquiry was conducted via Electronic, through the Integrated Academic Activities Management System (SIGAA), and it was answered by 273 students of 4,218, 97 teachers of 375 and 66 of 517 EATS. The questionnaire had the Likert scale from 1 to 7, where 1. Totally at odds, 2. Quite at odds, 3. Possibly at odds, 4. Neutral, 5. Agree, 6.
Agree quite, 7. Totally agree and N/A. It does not apply. Other authors also use the Likert Scale to make evaluations of educational satisfaction, such as González et al. (2019).
We can see that the surveys, for each category, have a Cronbach's alpha with "high" means as shown by reliability analysis of the sample (Table 2). Considering a Cronbach's Alpha within the parameters of 0.4 -0.6 (moderate) of 0.6-0.8 (good) 0.8-0.10 (high). In this sense, we can generate second degree analysis (inferential). The descriptive analysis of the sample indicates that the level of general satisfaction is 62% (Table 3). This shows that the level of satisfaction is above the average (50%), what reflects that the three categories have a good level of satisfaction with everything that involves UNILA, thus responding to the hypothesis 1.  Dimension 4: P5_Professors: The software installed in the computer labs are sufficient to meet the teaching and research demands of the taught subjects.
P8_Professors and students: The e-mail, institutional website and SIGAA system provide technical assistance in the circulation of information and communication.
P9_Professors and students: The library buys and / or has the required books contained in the pedagogical project of the courses in sufficient quantity. It can be observed on teachers' category, in Table 5, that only dimension 1 is significant.
This indicates that the themes of teaching, research, graduate programs and extension policies have a great influence on satisfaction of professors, but the other three dimensions are not significant to them. Which replaces the hypothesis 4 regarding the existence of a relationship between dimensions and categories with different levels of significance. to the null concern of EATS for academic and formation issues. In a satisfactory way, we can argue that the level of satisfaction with UNILA by the students is highly favorable, since 3 of the 4 dimensions are significant. Only the dimension (student attendance policies) is not significant, therefore, they do not influence the overall satisfaction of the students.

Conclusion
This article aims to detail the satisfaction level of students, professors and EATS with the university. UNILA is the first internationalized Latin American University that participates in an innovative educational project in which its Higher Education programs intent to contemplate exchanges with the Latin America countries and create a cultural cooperation. Being a transnational university, it integrates a larger repertoire of contributions that Brazilian State desires to promote so that Latin America can grow beyond than merely economic.
Therefore, we must consider that UNILA is changing a scientific paradigm in the Latin American studies. When, in eight years, it has produced knowledge about its own categories and actors. Before UNILA foments the regional studies in Latin America, those were restricted to the borders of disciplinary fields in other Latin American countries and their work used to circulate with great difficulty in Brazil. The Americanist centers are based on the idea that the Latin America are not able to produce knowledge about itself because it is at a lower level of development. The project of a University for the Latin American society breaks with this orientalist paradigm and fosters a proposal based on the unique and formative characteristics of Latin America, as one day dreamed Octavio Paz: Will we now be able to think for ourselves? Can we conceive a model of development that is our version of modernity?
With those words, the Mexican writer discusses the necessity that Latin America had to conceive a project of proper modernity from our historical and social experience. This questioning marked the entire generation of literary critics. Writers like Octavio Paz are contemplated in the project to create UNILA, because this University prioritizes the intercultural knowledge. The international and cosmopolitan dimension of UNILA stands out when it receives students from all socioeconomic regions of Latin America, even from ethnic communities. Thus, the encounter of cultural diversity at the University, endorses cultural dialogue as an element to produce knowledge and cooperation capable of generating a solidary integration.
In this scenario the institutional evaluation plays a fundamental role through the CPA and from our analyzes we can say that the institution meets the objectives setting. We also reinforce that UNILA reaches a 62% general acceptance (satisfaction) of the three categories by checking the four raised hypotheses, since that there is a level of satisfaction on the average in the three categories (H1), denoting that the result of the question differs between categories (H2), that there are questions that identify more to the three categories (H3) and that there is a relation of significance between categories and dimensions (H4). All of this reflects the wide range of differences that UNILA has, and which makes it a diverse, pluralist and Latin American university. observe that it has accompanied the University growth in a poorly orderly manner, having a good assistance in the IT configuration of the Information Technology equipment. Therefore, the major challenge is to develop a strategic institutional planning for the own buildings construction, resulting in a master plan of infrastructure. That said, the CPA warns that UNILA has not yet developed any planning actions to solve the institution's imminent lack of physical space, posing a clear risk for the University.
With respect to the institutional mission and the PDI norms for the analyzed dimensions, UNILA is coherent. However, the low enrollment of international students in undergraduate and graduate courses can put the feasibility of integrative mission at risk. To avoid this scenario, the CPA advises UNILA to carry out an institutional research on the conditions of reception, welcoming and adaptation of international students, as well as the reasons for the university dropout of these students. In addition, it is recommended to increase the information flows of notices dissemination about the international selection for undergraduate and graduate courses and to review the selection process of international students and standards for professor selection, as the proportionality between international and Brazilians teachers is also lower than expected in the PDI.

Limitations and future research
The main limitation of the present investigation is related to the time analyzed (a single period). Therefore, it is recommended to verify the results obtained in this study, carrying out a longitudinal investigation considering a longer analysis time.
There is no successful evidence of this type of project in the university, which has made it difficult to make a comparative analysis of whether the evaluation is consistent with other university experiences. What is found in the literature are the splendor of traditional Universities that are internationalized, which is not the case of UNILA, because UNILA is a creation under the parameter of internationalization from the beginning.
Future studies may add social type variables (non-formal relationships) between student and teacher and Education Administrative Technicians EAT and teacher, to see if informal factors influence the general results. In the same way, see the international immigration laws that affect the assessment for UNILA.

Survey by Dimensions -Students (similar survey for teachers and EATS). 2016-2.
Dimension 1: Teaching, research, graduation and extension policies.

P1
Institutional actions for teaching, research and extension contribute to the integration of Latin America.

P2
The activities of tutoring and "monitoring" are adequate for the learning and use of the subjects.

P3
The activities of "monitoring" and tutoring can face the linguistic and cultural difficulties that impede the understanding of the classes.
P4 UNILA, regularly, offers help to carry out the purposes of teaching, research and extension.

P5
The planning and execution of institutional actions (bilingual regulations, institutional and academic documents, among others) meet the specifications of the teachers, and the students and technicians (EATS).

P6
The teaching activities of UNILA are planned to effectively respond to students in a multicultural and bilingual way.

P7
UNILA has research policies (Scientific Initiation, Institutional Research Project) that stimulate and support the development of actions.
P8 The UNILA extension actions are close to the external community.
P9 The common cycle fosters the practice of integration studies in Latin America.

P10
The "Pro-rectory of research and graduate programs" has a policy and academic incentive programs for the "graduate programs".

Dimension 2: Dimension: communication with society
P1 Institutional email is sufficient to meet the needs of students.
P2 Internal information flows correctly.

P3
The dissemination of knowledge for the society that is produced in UNILA is carried out in a satisfactory way.

P4
The channels of communication used by UNILA (website, e-mail, magazines, information boards, social profiles) are effective.
P5 The UNILA website has updated and easily accessible information.

P6
Internal communication tools (e-mail, web page, "Unilera" Week, Service Bulletin) are adequate to meet the needs of students.
P7 Actions that seek the insertion of UNILA in the external community are appropriate and effective.

P8
The communication policy is adequate for the objectives settled in the PDI (Institutional Development Plan).
P9 The defender office works according to clearly established quality standards.
P10 The communication flows between the academic and administrative units are integrated.
Dimension 3: Policies for student assistance.

P1
The student attendance policy allows students to remain in UNILA.
P2 The reception of the first-year students adequately informs about the functioning of UNILA.

P3
The pedagogical / academic support offered by UNILA, through PROGRAD, satisfies the needs of its students.

P4
The Support Service for people with special needs and the Accessibility core plans and implements strategies that ensure access, integration and permanence of students with special needs in the courses.

P5
Housing, food and transportation programs are effective and manage to serve the students who need it (socio-economic vulnerability).

P6
The service provided by PRAE (social, psychological and health) contributes to the permanence of students who need it (socioeconomic vulnerability).

P1
The administrative space is broad and adequate to meet the needs of students.

P2
The infrastructure of the class has the necessary tools (projector, tables, air conditioning, lighting, furniture) for the activities that are developed.

P3
The auditorium and coexistence spaces (bars, cafeteria, courtyards) are sufficient to satisfy the demands of the teaching and the academic community.

P4
Computer labs have sufficient infrastructure (computers, furniture, air conditioning) to meet the demands of teaching and research subjects studied.

P5
The software installed in the computer labs is sufficient to meet the demands of teaching and research of the subjects studied.

P6
The teaching laboratories have the necessary infrastructure for the classes and accommodate the academics.

P7
The research laboratories have the necessary infrastructure for the development of the research together with the guidance teachers.

P8
The electronic mail, institutional website, SIGAA system attends to the circulation of information and communication.

P9
The library counts and provides in sufficient quantity the obligatory bibliography and suggestion that appears in the programs of the subjects.

Satisfaction with UNILA.
PX In general terms, what is your level of satisfaction with UNILA? Note: • The author is an advisory member of the Own Evaluation Committee, Comissão Própria de Avaliação -CPA / UNILA, and has formal authorization to publish the data.
• The author thanks CPA for helping in this Work.
• This paper is part of the research group in Innovation, Efficiency and Environmental Management of Rural Development / Area: Urban and Regional Planning / CNPq Brazil. The paper is considered to be funded by the UNILA Project, PRPPG Nº110.