ABSTRACT How to measure the perceived influence of a course on its alumni skills? This paper describes the use of CPP-TRI as a tool to face this problem. The method was applied here in the context of a M.Sc. course evaluation. Levels of impact and importance previously determined for different features provide the framework for the analysis. Classifications by different groups of evaluators are combined. Taking into account the subjectivity in the assessments, CPP-TRI treats them as realizations of random variables. The combination of the evaluations is performed by computing joint probabilities, what avoids the assignment of weights to evaluators. Interval classifications between a hostile and a benevolent limit are provided offerings the educational evaluator a deeper understanding of the results. An additional study is here performed on the classification of the features. A total of sixteen features are sorted.

This work proposes and applies an approach to evaluate perceptions about the effects of Professional Master's Degree in Engineering over the professional performance of their alumni. The proposal is based on a trichotomous outranking multicriteria method, called ELECTRE TRI (Mousseau et al., 2000). An application of the proposal has been made, catching the perceptions from students and professors of a Brazilian course of a Professional Master in Production Engineering, also from chiefs these students and coordinators of courses of Professional Masters of a similar range. The set of criteria was based on literature review and refined by opinions from specialists. The participants of the research were asked about their perceptions on importance degree of criteria and level of influence of the course upon the alumni' skills, from each criterion considered in the survey. The results obtained from each group were compared. Additionally a sensibility analysis was carried on the results.

Os mestrados profissionais se constituem na modalidade mais recente de pós-graduação stricto sensu no Brasil e apresentam novas dificuldades quanto à sua avaliação. O presente trabalho apresenta uma abordagem baseada na avaliação de lacunas de percepção quanto ao impacto do mestrado profissional no desempenho profissional do seu egresso. A metodologia foi aplicada em uma situação específica com coleta de percepções de egressos e seus chefes na organização onde trabalham, sobre a influência de um programa de mestrado no desempenho de seus alunos. Os resultados mostraram que os participantes da pesquisa perceberam um maior impacto do curso nos aspectos que versam sobre a "autoestima" e o "perfil de pesquisador" do pós-graduado.

Professional Master's Programs present major difficulties in their evaluations, since they are the newest modality of stricto sensu graduate program in Brazil. This work presents a methodology to evaluate perceptions on the impact of a Professional Master's Program on the skills of its alumni and on academic aspects of the course implementation. The methodology was applied in a specific situation collecting perceptions from both alumni and their bosses in the organization about the influence of the Master's Program on graduates' skills. Results showed that the respondents have perceived 'self-esteem' and 'researcher's profile' as the skills that were most positively influenced by the program.

O presente trabalho apresenta uma abordagem para avaliação de percepção quanto ao impacto do mestrado profissional sobre o perfil de seu egresso. A proposta foi aplicada a uma situação específica por meio de questionário, elaborado a partir de aspectos garimpados na revisão bibliográfica realizada, para coleta de dados entre alunos, chefes desses alunos, professores e coordenadores de mestrados profissionais classificados na área de Engenharias III pela CAPES. Os resultados obtidos na aplicação da proposta permitiram identificar as percepções dos participantes da pesquisa quanto ao grau de importância dos critérios utilizados no questionário e o nível de impacto do mestrado profissional sobre o desempenho dos seus egressos. De forma geral, os chefes apresentaram uma visão mais otimista e os docentes foram mais exigentes quanto ao impacto do curso no desempenho dos alunos. Além de contribuir na construção de indicadores que permitam avaliar os impactos do mestrado profissional no perfil dos seus egressos, os resultados deste trabalho também podem subsidiar a coordenação do curso participante da pesquisa na tomada de decisões inerentes a seu aperfeiçoamento contínuo.

This work presents a model to evaluate perceptions about the impact of professional masters program (PMP) on the performance of graduate students. The method proposed was applied using a questionnaire, based on a literature review, in order to collect the perceptions of four groups: students, company managers, faculty members, and coordinators of PMP in the Engineering III area according to CAPES. Among other relevant results, the present application highlighted the criteria based on the highest performance and importance levels. The company managers expressed more optimistic views about the impact of the Professional Masters on the graduate students' performance, and the faculty members were more demanding. Besides contributing for the construction of indicators to evaluate the impacts of PMP on those students, this research supports course coordination decisions related to the program's improvement.