The REUNI and its reflections in the organizational structure of the institutions of teaching: an analysis of the Federal University of Pelotas

Abstract

The present study aims to analyze the changes that occurred in the organizational structure of the Federal University of Pelotas, after the implementation of REUNI in 2008. Starting from a predominantly qualitative approach, primerily, secondary data were collected as a way to contextualize and compare the primary data. For these, it was decided to conduct semi-structured interviews, with subjects selected by trial. After the data collection and taking the structural dimensions (complexity, coordination and centralization) as a theoretical lens, the analysis was performed, comparing the period before and after the implementation of REUNI in UFPel. In this process, it was evident that the expansion provided by REUNI directly affected all dimensions mentioned. The considerable growth that the UFPel witnessed had impacts on its organizational structure, that is, on how labor and power were distributed. From then on, with the more robust and complex university, in a way, the power turns out to be a little more decentralized among decision makers, in order to obtain more agile decisions. Moreover, with all these transformations, it became necessary to revise the norms that govern the institution, increasing the complexity and the necessary decentralization to be accompanied by the increasing formalization of the activities.