Academic Performance, Students' Background and Affirmative Action at a Brazilian University

This paper describes the results of a detailed study relating the performance of undergraduate students admitted to Brazil’s State University of Campinas (Unicamp) from 1994 through 1997 and their socioeconomic and educational background. The study is based on a hierarchical model for the relevant variables involved. The main result is that students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds, in both educational and socioeconomic aspects, have a higher relative performance than their complementary group. We report on an affirmative action programme established at Unicamp for undergraduate admissions, partially motivated by those findings, and present evidence from an initial evaluation showing the programme’s positive impact. Finally, we comment on the effect this study and the Unicamp programme have had on the present debate about affirmative action access policies in Brazilian higher education institutions. by Renato H.L. Pedrosa, J. Norberto W. Dachs, Rafael P. Maia and Cibele Y. Andrade, Benilton S. Carvalho