SELECTION PROCESS DEPARTMENT: CHOOSNG THE BRIGHTEST AND BEST

Intelligence is the main attribute required of candidates in the selection process for FAAP's degree courses. This is a priority requirement and more important than specific knowledge, since intelligence shows the ability to add new knowledge to what has already been mastered and stored. FAAP has a unit working exclusively on selecting the best and most highly qualified students: Selection Process Department. The creative approach (seen in all work done at the Institution) leads to different ways of assessing candidates for admission to the Schools.

The new Education Law promulgated in 1996 was a watershed for the selection department in that it encouraged flexibility and creativity in admission procedures, so FAAP innovated in this respect too. Several new types of selection were introduced to broaden the range of options for candidates:

TRADITIONAL EVALUATION

Traditional examinations followed the same lines and methods used in other institutions of higher education in Brazil. This method is designed for candidates currently concluding - or who have already completed - their secondary schooling. Competitions for places are held in June and December and courses begin in August and February, respectively.

PROGRAMMED EVALUATION

Programmed evaluation is offered to candidates who sit examinations in June to start their course in February the following year; or take exams in December to start school in August of the following year.

SPECIAL AND TRANSFER EVALUATIONS

Special and transfer evaluations are held in January and July to test knowledge of Portuguese language, mathematics, a foreign language, and current affairs. Special evaluation is used to fill any remaining places in the first years of courses offered at FAAP. Transfer evaluations are for students from other higher education institutions wishing to move to FAAP; those returning to FAAP after a pause in their studies, or current FAAP students wishing to switch to a different course or school.

CONTINUOUS EVALUATION

The greatest innovation introduced by the Selection Process Department was continuous evaluation. This alternative option is based on effective integration with the secondary education system aimed at early continuous selection of students endowed with specific abilities and skills for courses offered by FAAP's Schools. Over a three-year period of secondary education, the candidate is evaluated in a cumulative manner, with specific criteria and objectives in relation to programmatic content during the period assessed. FAAP allocates 50 percent of places on courses offered by the different Schools to candidates from this procedure (all these examinations are held in October). One of the aims is to valorize secondary schooling, encourage improvements in this field, and give students a taste of the world of higher education in advance.

DIFFERENTIAL

In all the different types of evaluation, the Selection Process Department hopes to get more from candidates than the aspects normally included in a simple entrance exam. The qualities of intelligence, reasoning, and ability to analyze, reflect, create, learn, and develop on a continuous basis are sought in all future students. These attributes make a difference to the body of students found on FAAP's courses. This is the differential that FAAP offers organizations, institutions, and Brazilian society as a whole every year, when hundreds of students conclude their courses and enter the labor market.