THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF DISTANCE EDUCATION FOR LOCAL AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT: VISION OF PROFESSIONAL ACTIVE IN THE SUPPORTING POLES FACE

This article aims to identify the Distance Education contributions as policy of expansion and democratization of higher education, under the focus of the view of Coordinators of Presential Support and Tutors and observe the contributions of the expansion of distance education courses for regional and local development in the states of Bahia and Pernambuco. To carry out this investigation, were selected four poles, located in the cities of Juazeiro / BA, Pintadas / BA, Ouricuri / PE and Trindade / PE. To collect data, we used the qualitative approach analysis. For the data collection process, it proceeded to the interviews with Pole Coordinators and Presential and Distant Tutors in the selected poles. In addition to these interviews, we used the survey of documentation and files (documents, spreadsheets and printed and digital records) of the Secretary of Distance Education of UNIVASF, in order to verify the locations and poles of graduates and locate Coordinators and Tutors. After this phase of collection, proceeded to the transcription of the interviews and document comparison, followed by analysis of collected data. Among the results, it highlights that the coordinators agreed that Distance Education has come to increase access to higher education and improving the lives of people. it stands out that still occur common difficulties revealed by them, among which the internet lack of quality and lack of support about the Pole maintenance with city managers. These results demonstrate the effective contribution of Distance Education, both in the training of graduates and for the local and regional development and show that this is a field still open to further investigations.