In this article, formative necessities of university professors are addressed. Necessity is understood as the distance between a real situation, and an ideal one, both the subjective and the objective levels being considered (Benedito; Imbernón; Félez, 2001). A questionnaire with closed and open questions was applied to newly hired professors at a public university. The results oppose the demands of professors (subjective level), mainly focused upon the technical dimension. The need of continuing education to consider the characteristics of universities in/of the world today (objective level) demands from the teaching profession technical and scientific expertise, besides that; a performance on equally important dimensions, such as the cultural, ethical, esthetical, technological and environmental ones
higher education; necessity of professional education; continuing education for professors