ECONOMIC IMPACT ON THE USE OF VIDEOCONFERENCING FOR MASTER AND DOCTORAL DEFENSES

Introduction:
The Center for Telehealth, University Hospital, Federal University of Maranhão acts on various fronts in the use of teleconferencing tools, among them, the defenses of dissertations and doctoral theses by video conferencing and web conferencing. Not being necessary, this way, the displacement of teachers from others Universities to compose the board of examiners.

Objective:
To verify the reduction of the cost regarding to spending on accommodations and tickets of teachers from others universities to take part of board of examiners.

Methods:
This is a descriptive study conducted at the Center for Telehealth at the Federal University of Maranhão. The cost of the tickets was defined as the arithmetic mean of the values practiced between promotional fares and full fares. The calculation of costs corresponding to the hosting was based on the value of a daily paid by the Federal University of Maranhão for a teacher with a PhD. Expenses for transportation, via mail, of the minutes of the defenses were calculated based on the table of the Brazilian Post Office according to the locality of each examiner.

Results:
There was a savings of R $ 20,134.42 (twenty thousand one hundred and thirty-four reais and forty-two cents). In the period studied was saved on average R $ 1,342.29 (one thousand, three hundred and twenty four reais and twenty nine cents) in each transmission.

Conclusion:
The Federal University of Maranhão saved resources to the purchase of airline tickets and per diem payments for shifting staff from other institutions for the composing of board of examiners.