ProUni and Capital Returns to Private Higher Education Institutions - A Reading Beyond Direct Benefits of Public Funding

Sep 7, 2026

Affirmative action policy theory converges on the value of such policies for students from underrepresented groups, given the negative association between their social background and access to higher education. In Brazil, ProUni (University for All Program) offers scholarships to low socioeconomic status students enrolled in private higher education institutions (IPES). This paper examines Law courses to test links between social disadvantage and academic achievement, and whether IPES obtain additional returns beyond direct economic gain from public funding. A linear regression using Enade data models exam score as the outcome and incorporates the share of ProUni students, class socioeconomic profile, and faculty profile.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Research purpose and scope

Method and variables

Main findings

Corresponding to Author ¹ Ruy de Deus e Mello Neto E-mail: [ruydedeus@usp.br](ruydedeus@usp.br)[ ](ruydedeus@usp.br)Universidade de São Paulo São Paulo, SP, Brasil CV Lattes [http://lattes.cnpq.br/6766154341629596](http://lattes.cnpq.br/6766154341629596) [Submmited: 08 Jul 2019](Submmited: 08 Jul 2019) [Accepted: 09 Sept 2019](Accepted: 09 Sept 2019) [Published: 30 Oct 2018](Published: 30 Oct 2018) 10.20396/riesup.v6i0 .8655907 e-location: e0200 ISSN 2446-9424 Antiplagiarism Check Distributed under ProUni and the Higher Private Institutions’ Profits: Advantages Beyond the Direct Gain of Public Funding Ruy de Deus e Mello Neto¹ [https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6035-5944](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6035-5944) Hugo Augusto Vasconcelos Medeiros2[https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6249-0920](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6249-0920) Afrânio Mendes Catani3[https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0656-3931](https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0656-3931)[ ](https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0656-3931)¹,3 Universidade de São Paulo, 2 Universidade Federal de Pernambuco ABSTRACT The theoretical framework for affirmative action policies converges to a central point: the importance of such policies for students from underrepresented groups due the negative correlation between their social background and their possible access to higher education. In Brazil, one of the most important policies of this kind is the so-called Programa Universidade para Todos (ProUni – University for All Program) . This policy provides fellowships for Low Socioeconomic Status students enrolled in Private Higher Education Institutions (HEI) . The purpose of this paper is to verify whether, specifically in Law studies, there is a relation between social disadvantages and academic achievement and if there are returns, in addition to economic profit, for the Private HEI in retaining ProUni students. For such, a linear regression model was created with data from Enade, taking the exam score as the dependent variable, and the independent variables concerning the proportion of ProUni students in the course, the class´ average socioeconomic profile, and the HEI`s faculty profile. The model has confirmed the intuitive relations between the variables of social background and academic performance and identified a positive relationship between the presence of scholarship holders in the courses and the institution´s overall results in the Enade exam. Thus, drawing from the model and the theoretical framework, it has observed that, in Law courses, Private HEI achieve considerably large returns, both in economic capital due to the funding structure of the public policy (ProUni) and in symbolic capital as a result of the positive relation between the presence of ProUni students and the ENADE scores. KEYWORDS Equal opportunity. Higher education. Private education. Educational evatuation. ProUni e Retornos de Capitais para Instituições Privadas de Ensino Superior: Uma Leitura Para Além dos Benefícios Diretos Com o Financiamento Público RESUMO A literatura sobre ações afirmativas converge sobre a importância de políticas reparadoras para grupos sujeitos adesigualdades históricas, em virtude da relação negativa entre os seus antecedentes e as possibilidades deingresso e permanência no Ensino Superior. No Brasil, uma das principais políticas nessa área é o Programa Universidade para Todos (ProUni), que oferta bolsas em instituições privadas de ensino superior (IPES) . O objetivo deste artigo é analisar se, no caso específico dos cursos de Direito, existe a relação entre antecedentes de desvantagem e desempenho acadêmico, bem como se há retornos, além do capital econômico, para as IPES em manter alunos ProUni. Para isso, foi criado um modelo de regressão linear com dados do Enade, usandocomo variável dependente a nota no exame, e como variáveis independentes a proporção de alunos ProUni nocurso, o perfil socioeconômico médio da turma, e o perfil docente. O modelo confirmou as rela

FAQs

What is ProUni, and whom does it target?

ProUni is a Brazilian policy that provides scholarships to low socioeconomic status students enrolled in private higher education institutions (IPES).

How does the paper test the relationship between disadvantage and academic achievement?

It uses a linear regression model with Enade data, treating exam score as the dependent variable and including proportions of ProUni students, class socioeconomic profile, and faculty profile as independent variables.

What returns does the study identify for private IPES that retain ProUni students in Law courses?

The model indicates a positive relationship between scholarship holders in the courses and Enade results, leading to sizable returns for IPES in both economic capital and symbolic capital.

Sep 7, 2026

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