Políticas Públicas no Ensino Superior: considerações sobre o Programa de Apoio a Planos de Reestruturação e Expansão das Universidades Federais (Reuni) no Estado do Rio de Janeiro

The main objective of this article is to analyze some aspects of the Program to Support Restructuring and Expansion Plans at Federal Universities (Reuni) from the perception of students in the State of Rio de Janeiro. In addition to bibliography related to the central theme -university expansion in Brazil- the data used for this analysis originate from in-depth interviews and application of structured questionnaires with students from the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) from the Angra dos Reis campuses ( Institute of Education of Angra dos Reis – IEAR) and Campos dos Goytacazes (Institute of Science of Society and Regional Development – ​​ESR). From this research, it was possible to observe that, despite the central importance that the REUNI program presented for the so-called “new university reform” in the country, the main beneficiaries of the program know little about the objectives and actions of that program. For this reason, we can say that this is a public policy that lacked further evaluation and, at the same time, a better presentation of its objectives among its target audience and stakeholders.