Knowledge of the characteristics of students and their training paths is essential for the promotion of educational practices of higher quality and forms of academic life that are suitable for the full development of students, as well as for the design of support measures that address their specific needs in an improved manner.
The Observatory of Academic Paths of Students of the University of Minho (ObservatoriUM) systematically collects and processes data on the academic paths of students from the University of Minho and has as its main objectives:
- identifying the profiles of the students who join UMinho and their expectations on entry, particularly valuing the heterogeneity of their characteristics;
- characterising the paths taken by undergraduate and postgraduate students at UMinho, considering the activities more directly linked to the course they attend and more broadly psychosocial and cultural development activities;
- analysing the impact of personal, academic and contextual variables on students’ trajectories, assessing their impact on academic success, permanence, course satisfaction and the Institution, and employability skills;
- providing the pedagogic coordination bodies with relevant information on the determinants of student academic and professional success;
- systematising information to support the definition of University and Organic Unit policies on teaching and learning.
The ObservatoriUM carries out its work within the Office for Promoting Academic Success at the University (GPS-UMinho), in close cooperation with the Academic Senate, the pedagogic councils of the Organic Units, the Student Ombudsperson, the services units and the student representative structures.
Contacts:
Phone: (+351) 253 601 191
