Higher Education in dispute: Expansion of Distance Learning, public policies and enrollment in Secretarial Studies

Abstract

The objective of this article is to analyze how public policies for access to higher education influenced the profile of students in Secretarial courses between the years 2010 and 2023. The methodological approach is based on a quantitative, descriptive-exploratory methodology, carried out mainly through descriptive statistics. The data used were extracted from the microdata of the Higher Education Census provided by Inep. The results indicate the predominance of the private sector and the distance learning modality, especially in technological degree courses, and reveal significant advances in the inclusion of students from public schools and belonging to historically underrepresented ethnic-racial groups, especially after the implementation of the Lei de Cotas (Law No. 12,711/2012). The study also highlights the retraction of programs such as FIES and Prouni and the growth of private institutions' own financing schemes. It is concluded that, although there are signs of democratization in access, challenges still persist related to the lack of investment in the public sector and the possible transformation of distance learning into a marketable product in the Secretarial field .