DISTANCE EDUCATION AND THE EXPERIENCE OF A UNIVERSITY CENTER

The offer of Distance Education in Brazil is considered a public policy to mitigate the difficulties of access to Higher Education. The objective was to describe, from the point of view of Distance Education center coordinators at the University Center, the contributions of this institution to mitigate challenges in access and retention in Higher Education. This study is classified as qualitative, descriptive-exploratory, conducted with 05 (five) coordinators of accredited center. Data collection was carried out through the application of a questionnaire with the aim of profiling the participants and understanding their conceptions of distance education, human rights, and accessibility through communication tools with the coordinators of their respective centers. The data were analyzed using the theoretical-methodological assumptions of Bardin's Content Analysis. He is all men biologic se, aged between 36 and 45 years old, have knowledge of human rights, criticize common sense in the trivialization of the term in society, and attribute Distance Education as a way to realize human rights and enable access to education for a more just society. Considers than the participants recognize the importance of Distance Education in ensuring access and retention in higher education and acknowledge prejudiced discourses as obstacles to the consolidation of Distance Education.