Percepção dos discentes de uma instituição de ensino superior do alto paranaíba acerca da qualidade dos serviços com base em estratégias de inovação e empreendedorismo

Abstract

With the globalization movement and policies to improve quality of life, Brazil has become a modern country with an emerging economy, however, social inequality still plagues the population in several Brazilian regions. Regarding access to higher education, the federal government has made efforts through various government initiatives to expand the supply of places in higher education, thus providing training to the population, regardless of their economic and social situation. The private segment of higher education has increasingly stood out and competitive strategies and quality studies are increasingly present in academic research. Therefore, the research answered the question of how undergraduate students perceive the quality of educational services provided by a private higher education institution in the interior of Minas Gerais, given the process of implementing an innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem? Based on this, the objective was to evaluate the perception of academic clients about the quality of educational services provided in a private higher education institution, with an emphasis on the implementation of an innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, using the SERVPERF scale. To this end, the perceptions of academic clients regarding the implementation and operation of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of Coração do Cerrado – INOVACCER, on the premises of the IES; the relevance perceived by academic clients regarding the innovation and entrepreneurship strategies present in the curricula of the undergraduate courses offered was identified; and the items identified as critical and which should be prioritized to develop suggestions for improving the quality of services were also identified and mapped. The scale used was SERVPERF, a service quality scale, an appropriate tool for carrying out the research. It consisted of a questionnaire designed to measure the user's perception of the service provided, adapted to meet the objectives of the study. The different perceptions according to gender and ethnicity suggest that these factors can influence the evaluation of the services provided, which can be useful to guide strategies for improving and personalizing educational services. It is important to note that the presence of the INOVACCER program has a significant impact on respondents' perceptions, being seen as a differentiator for choosing the institution. Some areas of the program, such as availability and dissemination of entrepreneurship, need to be revised to meet student expectations. The priority analysis highlighted areas of attention. Observation of different groups of perceptions indicated that specific strategies should be implemented to meet the varied needs and expectations of students. Ultimately, the survey results provided a comprehensive overview of student satisfaction with the institution and the INOVACCER program. The results guide future actions to improve services, to strengthen hard points and to approach priority areas, keeping the institution competitive and aligned with student expectations. It was observed that another point to be improved is attention to the equipment of the computer laboratories and the institutional library collection, which were highlighted as deficient by the research participants.