Study goals
To characterize the dimensions of the brand personality of a federal university from the perspective of students and graduates of undergraduate courses offered in the city of Uberlândia.
Relevance / originality
The educational environment has undergone several transformations, such as the high level of competitiveness and the emergence of new private and public higher education institutions, and the strengthening of the brand is one of the possible differentials for educational institutions.
Methodology / approach
The research has a quantitative descriptive approach and simple random sampling, with data collection via survey. The instrument used is the Brand Personality Dimensions Scale proposed by Muniz and Marchetti (2012), which molded Aaker's (1997) scale to the Brazilian context.
Main results
The results evidence that the Credibility dimension is perceived, precipitously, with emphasis on "I believe UFU is respectable", "I believe UFU is responsible" and "I believe UFU is trustworthy".
Theoretical / methodological contributions
By confirming the proposed hypothesis, the article contributes to the advancement of studies on brand personality, in particular by applying the scale to a Brazilian public university.
Social / management contributions
The study provides information about the university's primary customer (the student); therefore, university managers can seek institutional decisions considering the students' wishes and reflect the values as part of the institution's projects.