Abstract:
The social changes generated by globalization, expansion of higher education and technological development are demanding new shares from universities. In this context, institutional evaluation, which includes the self-assessment and external evaluation, takes extremely important role for higher education institutions. This article reflects on the dimension of university social responsibility addressed in institutional evaluation of higher education institutions created by Law 10.861/2004 (SINAES). The inclusion of the social responsibility dimension into internal and external evaluation instrument may contribute to better knowledge and evolution of the institution, to formulate institutional policies and also contribute to the improvement of institutional development. The document starts from the assumption that the implemented social actions and offered by federal institutions of higher education to the community in its social environment are very important, not only to accomplish legal requirements, but also to be able to initiate a process of increasing its social responsibility, contributing to the improvement aimed at measuring the quality in training people. The theoretical discussion was based on authors such as Boaventura de Souza Santos (2011) and Dias Sobrinho (2008), which allowed reflecting on the importance of emphasis on the social commitment of the university. It is a qualitative research with documental and bibliographic survey. It is understood, therefore, that the University of XXI century needs to break the traditional model of institution, such as a closed system, and fight for its autonomy and legitimacy in order to build its institutional identity and fulfill its social responsibility.
Key words:
University; Social responsibility; Institutional self-evaluation