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System · Sisu

Unified Selection System (Sisu)

Problem
According to Machado and Szerman (2021), before 2010 selection for higher education was entirely decentralized: the student applied to each institution, took its own exam (the vestibular), and paid an application fee per exam. According to the MEC, the main objectives of the Sisu proposal were to expand the democratization of access to public higher education places and to enable greater academic mobility.
Who it serves
According to the MEC, candidates for places in undergraduate courses offered by the public higher education institutions that participate in the Sisu through adhesion.
How it works
According to the MEC, the Sisu was established by Normative Ordinance No. 2 of January 26, 2010; the responsible unit in the ministry is the Secretariat of Higher Education (Sesu). According to the MEC, the reformulation of the Enem made it possible to use the exam score, starting with the 2009 edition, as the sole parameter in selection for public institutions; the Enem was created in 1998 to assess the quality of high school education, according to Machado and Szerman (2021). According to the Sisu page, registration is free, online, with up to two course choices, and those not selected can compete for unfilled places through the waiting list. Since 2013, according to the MEC, there has been a reservation of places for quota students in the Sisu to apply the Quota Law (Law No. 12,711/2012).

Education

Relation to the Lula governments

Created under Lula · Second term (2007 to 2010) · from January 2010 to 2010

According to the MEC, the Unified Selection System (Sisu) was established by Normative Ordinance No. 2 of January 26, 2010, intended for the selection of candidates for places in undergraduate courses offered by the participating public higher education institutions through adhesion.[1]

According to the SiSU page on the MEC site (capture from December 2009), the proposal had as its main objectives to expand the democratization of access to public higher education places, to enable greater academic mobility, and to induce the restructuring of high school curricula.[2]

Shared implementation · Second term (2007 to 2010) · from January 2010 to 2010

According to the MEC, the first edition of the Sisu, in the first semester of 2010, had 51 participating institutions, which offered 47,913 places in bachelor's degrees, teaching degrees, and higher technology courses, with selection by the 2009 Enem score.[3]

Reshaped under Lula · Third term (since 2023) · since November 2023

According to the MEC, Ordinance No. 2,027/2023 updates the rules for ranking in the Unified Selection System (Sisu), in line with the improvements of the new Quota Law (Law No. 14,723/23), signed into law in November 2023, and the changes will already be observed from the next Sisu edition, in January 2024.[4]

According to the MEC, in 2024 the Sisu edition will have only one registration stage, with places in courses whose classes are scheduled to begin in the first and second semesters of 2024; the candidate will not be able to choose which semester to enter, because that will depend on the candidate's ranking in the desired course, but will compete for the places of the whole year with a single registration.[5]

According to the MEC, unlike in previous years, in 2024 the waiting list may be used throughout the year by the participating higher education institutions to fill any places not occupied in the regular call.[6]

According to the MEC, Notice No. 29/2026 sets the schedule and procedures for public higher education institutions to join Sisu+ 2026, a new complementary stage of the Unified Selection System (Sisu); according to Notice No. 36/2026, the student registration period runs from June 15 to 19, and only candidates who participated in the regular stage of Sisu 2026 may take part in the complementary stage.[7]

Shared implementation · Third term (since 2023) · since 2023

According to the MEC, the Sisu of the first semester of 2023 ended with 1,073,024 registrants by CPF and offered more than 226 thousand places at 128 public institutions, 63 of them federal universities; the second 2023 edition had 305,797 registrants.[8]

According to an MEC survey, Sisu 2024 had 1,271,301 registrants for 264,181 places and 239,872 approved candidates, 102,005 of them in open competition and 137,867 in quotas and the institutions' affirmative actions.[9]

According to the MEC, Notice No. 29/2025, published in the DOU on December 23, governed Sisu 2026, with 274,876 places, 136 participating institutions, and 7,388 courses in 593 municipalities.[10]

According to the MEC, Sisu 2026 had 271,789 approved candidates in the regular call (129,386 in open competition, 124,064 in quotas, and 18,339 in the institutions' own affirmative actions), which filled 99.14% of the places offered in that call.[11]

According to the same ruling, in the Sisu 2024 edition only 52% of candidates approved in the regular call completed enrollment, and more than 25 thousand new places went unfilled for lack of candidates on the waiting list.[12]

Origin and precursors

Origin milestone: founding legal act, Second term (2007 to 2010).

According to the MEC, the Unified Selection System (Sisu) was established by Normative Ordinance No. 2 of January 26, 2010, intended for the selection of candidates for places in undergraduate courses offered by the participating public higher education institutions through adhesion.[1]

Precursors

  • Decentralized selection through each institution's own entrance exams (vestibulares) (until 2009) similar initiative, no succession stated by the source According to Machado and Szerman (2021), before 2010 selection for higher education was entirely decentralized: the student applied to each institution, took its own exam (the vestibular), and paid an application fee per exam.[13]
  • Enem (created in 1998) and its 2009 overhaul, basis of the score used in Sisu (Enem dossier) earlier technical basis According to the SiSU page on the MEC site (capture from December 2009), the Ministry of Education presented a proposal to reformulate the Enem that made it possible to use the exam score, starting with the 2009 edition, as the sole parameter in selection for public higher education institutions.[14]
  • Use of Enem as bonus points in undergraduate admission processes (93 institutions in 1999) similar initiative, no succession stated by the source According to a chapter published by Ipea (Teramatsu and Straforini), Enem results were used for score bonuses in undergraduate admission processes by 93 higher education institutions in 1999.[15]
  • Use of Enem in ProUni selection for scholarships at private institutions (since 2004) similar initiative, no succession stated by the source According to the same Ipea chapter, published in 2022, since 2004 Enem results have also been used to grant scholarships at private higher education institutions in ProUni, and, at the time, the ProUni and Fies processes took place after the Sisu.[16]

Precursor investigation: new structure established (October 14, 2026).

Scope: MEC Normative Ordinance No. 2/2010 (MEC copy on the Internet Archive) and compiled text of 2011; pages and documents of the sisu.mec.gov.br website from 2009 to 2011 on the Internet Archive (home page of December 2009, Process Manual of October 2009, MEC Call for Applications No. 1/2010, Normative Ordinance No. 6/2010); SESu Social Report 2003 to 2014; Ipea (Institute for Applied Economic Research) chapter (Teramatsu and Straforini, 2022) on Enem and Sisu; Machado and Szerman (2021) on admission before and after Sisu. No document of the MEC proposal to Andifes (2009) was located.

Responsibilities

  • Ministry of Education, Secretariat of Higher Education (Sesu), system management and calls for applications federal management

    The unit responsible for the Sisu in the MEC is the Secretariat of Higher Education (Sesu), according to the system's page.[17]

  • Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) (Rulings 2376/2022, 961/2025 and 875/2026) oversight

    In the operational audit of Ruling 875/2026 (Sesu/MEC and sixty-nine federal universities), the rapporteur records, based on the Higher Education Census, a decline in the occupancy of new places in the federal network starting in 2020, from a historical level of around 90% to the 75% range; in 2022, only 75% of the 297 thousand new places were filled.[18]

Timeline

Timeline of Unified Selection System (Sisu)
DatePhaseWhat happened
2009AnnouncementMEC presents a proposal to reformulate the Enem so that its score is used as the sole selection parameter at public institutions.[14]
January 2010Legal actMEC Normative Ordinance No. 2 of January 26, 2010 establishes and regulates the Sisu.[1]
January 2010LaunchFirst edition (first semester of 2010), with 51 institutions and 47,913 places, according to the MEC.[3]
2013ImplementationSisu begins applying the reservation of places under Law No. 12,711/2012.[19]
January 2024ImplementationSisu 2024 with a single annual edition and a waiting list throughout the year.[5]
June 2026ImplementationSisu+, complementary stage of Sisu 2026 for places that became available.[7]

How it works

According to the Sisu page on the MEC site, registration is free and done online with a gov.br account; the candidate answers the social and economic profile questionnaires used to apply the Quota Law and chooses up to two course options, and those not selected can compete for unfilled places through the waiting list.[20]

Implementation

According to the Ipea chapter, in the first selection of 2019, 127 higher education institutions in all federative units participated in the Sisu, with 235,461 places in 559 municipalities.[21]

Observed results

A result observed during a term may have causes other than the program.

According to Machado and Szerman (2021), between 2010 and 2017 the share of courses at public institutions that used the Sisu to select students rose from 20% to 75%.[22]

According to the Ipea chapter, in 2013, 13.1% of the 118,994 students enrolled through the Sisu had made an interstate migration (15,699 relocations), and 6,682 migrated between regions, 5.6% of the total enrolled through the Sisu.[23]

Impact evaluations

Evaluations with a causal design are flagged; association is not proof of effect.

Machado and Szerman (2021), exploiting the staggered adoption of the Sisu by courses with administrative data, estimate that, after centralization, the participation of students from other states increases by 2.9 percentage points, equivalent to 20.4% of the baseline migration rate, in the authors' preferred specification.[24]

According to Machado and Szerman (2021), after joining the Sisu, courses record a drop of 1.2 percentage points (2.3%) in the share of women among entering students and a 0.9% increase in average age; based on characteristics such as race and attendance at public high school, the authors indicate that students of low socioeconomic status are not disproportionately affected.[25]

According to Machado and Szerman (2021), the effects of centralization on scores and migration are stronger at institutions in the upper tercile of the quality distribution, and those in the lower tercile only absorb the increase in age.[26]

Audits

In the TCU operational audit of the quota policy (Ruling 2376/2022, period 2013 to 2022), the technical team pointed out that the Sisu regulations tied the candidate to the competition category chosen and did not allow reclassifying the candidate into open competition even with a sufficient score; the rapporteur did not adopt the recommendation proposed for this finding, for lack, in the case file, of the policymakers' reasons.[27]

In the same Ruling 2376/2022, the TCU recommended that the MEC conduct studies to revise the income criterion of Law 12,711/2012, including on the scope of the income bracket of 1.5 minimum wages per capita or less.[28]

In Ruling 875/2026, the TCU recommended to the MEC changes to the Sisu and the Sisu Gestão, among them the category "Enrollment Under Review" and a second waiting list (list of alternates) for candidates approved in their second choice who did not enroll.[29]

Limitations

At the same meeting, according to the MEC, the undergraduate provost of UFMG reported a growing number of students who complete the Sisu selection but never attend classes, both quota students and open-competition students.[30]

According to the Ipea chapter, the adoption of the Sisu expanded only the potential geographic mobility of students: effective mobility continues to depend mainly on income, students prefer nearby institutions, and Sisu-motivated migrations are still small.[31]

The Ipea chapter records unfilled or idle places as a problem in the admission stage and cites, as adjustments after implementation, the regional inclusion criterion adopted by some institutions and the reduction in the number of calls in the Sisu.[32]

Context

According to the MEC, the Pé-de-Meia Licenciaturas (Pé-de-Meia Teaching Degrees), a highlight of Sisu 2025, will pay, from the start to the end of the course, a monthly amount of R$1,050 to students approved through the Sisu in in-person teaching degree courses who apply for the scholarship and are approved; the scholarships will be paid by Capes and, for 2025, the MEC made up to 12 thousand scholarships available.[33]

According to the MEC, before the creation of the Sisu the candidate had to face a marathon of separate entrance exams at different institutions, a model that limited the options available and generated high costs for students in registrations, travel, and lodging.[34]

Precursors

According to Machado and Szerman (2021), the Enem was created in 1998 as an optional one-day exam to assess the quality of high school education; the exam has its own dossier (enem).[35]

Machado and Szerman (2021) record that the Ministry of Education began a series of reforms in 2008, of which the most important were the reformulation of the Enem in 2009 and the creation of the Sisu in January 2010.[36]

Sources and evidence

Excerpts are quoted in the original language of the source.

  1. 1. According to the MEC, the Unified Selection System (Sisu) was established by Normative Ordinance No. 2 of January 26, 2010, intended for the selection of candidates for places in undergraduate courses offered by the participating public higher education institutions through adhesion.

    • Portaria Normativa MEC nº 2, de 26 de janeiro de 2010 (institui e regulamenta o Sistema de Seleção Unificada) · Ministry of Education Official legal act
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured March 11, 2023); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: header and summary. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Edição número 18 de 27/01/2010”
    • Portaria Normativa MEC nº 2, de 26 de janeiro de 2010 (institui e regulamenta o Sistema de Seleção Unificada) · Ministry of Education Official legal act
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured March 11, 2023); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: summary. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “PORTARIA NORMATIVA Nº 2, DE 26 DE JANEIRO DE 2010 Institui e regulamenta o Sistema de Seleção Unificada, sistema informatizado gerenciado pelo Ministério da Educação, para seleção de candidatos a vagas em cursos de graduação disponibilizadas pelas instituições públicas de educação superior dele participantes.”
    • Portaria Normativa MEC nº 2, de 26 de janeiro de 2010 (institui e regulamenta o Sistema de Seleção Unificada) · Ministry of Education Official legal act
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured March 11, 2023); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: art. 23 and signature. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Art. 23 Esta Portaria entra em vigor na data de sua publicação. FERNANDO HADDAD”
    • Sisu: Linha do Tempo · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured November 19, 2025); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: 2010. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Janeiro: criação do Sistema de Seleção Unificada (Sisu), instituído pela Portaria Normativa nº 2, de 26 de janeiro de 2010, destinado à seleção de candidatos para vagas em cursos de graduação oferecidas pelas instituições públicas de educação superior participantes por meio de adesão.”

  2. 2. According to the SiSU page on the MEC site (capture from December 2009), the proposal had as its main objectives to expand the democratization of access to public higher education places, to enable greater academic mobility, and to induce the restructuring of high school curricula.

    • SiSU - Sistema de Seleção Unificada (página inicial, área de instituições) · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured December 6, 2009); original address: sisu.mec.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: section What is the SiSU?. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “A proposta tem como principais objetivos ampliar a democratização do acesso às vagas públicas do ensino superior, possibilitar uma maior mobilidade acadêmica e induzir a reestruturação dos currículos do ensino médio.”

  3. 3. According to the MEC, the first edition of the Sisu, in the first semester of 2010, had 51 participating institutions, which offered 47,913 places in bachelor's degrees, teaching degrees, and higher technology courses, with selection by the 2009 Enem score.

    • Como funciona o SiSU (página do Sistema de Seleção Unificada) · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured January 30, 2010); original address: sisu.mec.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: How the SiSU works, paragraphs 1 and 2. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Nesta primeira edição, 51 instituições oferecem 47.913 vagas em bacharelados, licenciaturas e cursos superiores de tecnologia.”
    • Como funciona o SiSU (página do Sistema de Seleção Unificada) · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured January 30, 2010); original address: sisu.mec.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: How the SiSU works, paragraph 1. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “O Sistema de Seleção Unificada (SiSU) foi desenvolvido pelo Ministério da Educação (MEC) para selecionar os candidatos às vagas das instituições federais que utilizarão a nota do Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio (Enem) 2009 como única fase de seu processo seletivo.”
    • A democratização e expansão da educação superior no país 2003-2014 (Balanço Social SESu 2003-2014) · Ministry of Education, Secretariat of Higher Education Official record
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured October 29, 2020); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education, Secretariat of Higher Education.
      Where: pp. 59-60, section Unified Selection System. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Do processo seletivo do primeiro semestre de 2010, do qual participaram 51 instituições,”

  4. 4. According to the MEC, Ordinance No. 2,027/2023 updates the rules for ranking in the Unified Selection System (Sisu), in line with the improvements of the new Quota Law (Law No. 14,723/23), signed into law in November 2023, and the changes will already be observed from the next Sisu edition, in January 2024.

    • Portaria MEC nº 2.027, de 16 de novembro de 2023 (impressão da página do DOU) · Ministry of Education Official legal act
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured October 3, 2026); original address: sisu.mec.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: header and summary. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Publicado em: 20/11/2023 | Edição: 219 | Seção: 1 | Página: 49”
    • Portaria MEC nº 2.027, de 16 de novembro de 2023 (impressão da página do DOU) · Ministry of Education Official legal act
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured October 3, 2026); original address: sisu.mec.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: summary. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Altera a Portaria Normativa MEC nº 18, de 11 de outubro de 2012, que dispõe sobre a implementação das reservas de vagas em instituições federais de ensino de que tratam a Lei nº 12.711, de 29 de agosto de 2012, e a Portaria Normativa MEC nº 21, de 5 de novembro de 2012, que dispõe sobre o Sistema de Seleção Unificada - Sisu.”
    • MEC atualiza regra de classificação no Sisu · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured December 9, 2023); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: paragraph 1. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “a Portaria n. 2.027/2023, que atualiza as regras para a classificação no Sistema de Seleção Unificada (Sisu), de acordo com os aprimoramentos da nova Lei de Cotas (Lei n. 14.723/23), sancionada em novembro de 2023. Com isso, as mudanças já serão observadas a partir da próxima edição do Sisu, em janeiro de 2024.”

  5. 5. According to the MEC, in 2024 the Sisu edition will have only one registration stage, with places in courses whose classes are scheduled to begin in the first and second semesters of 2024; the candidate will not be able to choose which semester to enter, because that will depend on the candidate's ranking in the desired course, but will compete for the places of the whole year with a single registration.

    • Publicado edital do Sisu 2024 · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured December 29, 2023); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: paragraphs 1 and 2. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “O Ministério da Educação (MEC) publicou nesta sexta-feira, 29 de dezembro, o Edital n. 22/2023, referente ao processo seletivo de 2024 para o Sistema de Seleção Unificada (Sisu).”
    • Publicado edital do Sisu 2024 · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured December 29, 2023); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: paragraph 2. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Em 2024, a edição do Sisu terá somente uma etapa de inscrição de candidatos às vagas ofertadas pelas instituições participantes. Serão ofertadas vagas de cursos com início previsto das aulas para o primeiro e o segundo semestre de 2024”
    • Publicado edital do Sisu 2024 · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured December 29, 2023); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: rules for second-semester places. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “o candidato não poderá escolher em qual semestre irá ingressar, porque isso dependerá da sua classificação no curso pretendido, mas concorrerá às vagas do ano inteiro com uma única inscrição”

  6. 6. According to the MEC, unlike in previous years, in 2024 the waiting list may be used throughout the year by the participating higher education institutions to fill any places not occupied in the regular call.

    • Publicado edital do Sisu 2024 · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured December 29, 2023); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: section Waiting list. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Diferentemente dos anos anteriores, em 2024, a lista de espera poderá ser utilizada durante todo o ano pelas instituições de educação superior participantes, para preenchimento das vagas eventualmente não ocupadas na chamada regular.”

  7. 7. According to the MEC, Notice No. 29/2026 sets the schedule and procedures for public higher education institutions to join Sisu+ 2026, a new complementary stage of the Unified Selection System (Sisu); according to Notice No. 36/2026, the student registration period runs from June 15 to 19, and only candidates who participated in the regular stage of Sisu 2026 may take part in the complementary stage.

    • MEC abre adesão ao Sisu+ para instituições públicas · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured April 29, 2026); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: paragraph 1. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “o Edital nº 29/2026 que estabelece o cronograma e os procedimentos para adesão das instituições públicas de educação superior ao Sisu+ 2026, etapa complementar inédita do Sistema de Seleção Unificada (Sisu).”
    • MEC abre adesão ao Sisu+ para instituições públicas · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured April 29, 2026); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: paragraph 5. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Contudo, poderão participar da etapa complementar apenas os candidatos que tenham participado da etapa regular do Sisu 2026.”
    • Sisu+ 2026: inscrições começam em 15 de junho · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured May 22, 2026); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: paragraph 1. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “o Edital nº 36/2026, que dispõe sobre o cronograma e demais procedimentos relativos ao Sisu+, etapa complementar inédita do Sistema de Seleção Unificada (Sisu).”
    • Sisu+ 2026: inscrições começam em 15 de junho · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured May 22, 2026); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: paragraph 1. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “De acordo com o edital, o período de inscrição dos estudantes vai de 15 a 19 de junho, por meio do Portal de Acesso Único.”

  8. 8. According to the MEC, the Sisu of the first semester of 2023 ended with 1,073,024 registrants by CPF and offered more than 226 thousand places at 128 public institutions, 63 of them federal universities; the second 2023 edition had 305,797 registrants.

    • Sistema de Seleção Unificada 2023 tem 1.073.024 inscritos · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured March 23, 2025); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: paragraphs 1 and 4. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “O Sistema de Seleção Unificada (Sisu) do primeiro semestre de 2023 foi encerrado com 1.073.024 inscritos por CPF.”
    • Sistema de Seleção Unificada 2023 tem 1.073.024 inscritos · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured March 23, 2025); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: paragraph 4. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “A primeira edição do Sisu 2023, que seleciona estudantes para universidades públicas, ofertou mais de 226 mil vagas em 128 instituições públicas participantes, 63 delas universidades federais.”
    • Segunda edição de 2023 do Sisu teve 305 mil inscritos · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured June 27, 2023); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: paragraph 1. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “A segunda edição de 2023 do processo seletivo para o Sistema de Seleção Unificada (Sisu) teve 305.797 inscritos”

  9. 9. According to an MEC survey, Sisu 2024 had 1,271,301 registrants for 264,181 places and 239,872 approved candidates, 102,005 of them in open competition and 137,867 in quotas and the institutions' affirmative actions.

    • Sisu 2024 teve mais de 239 mil aprovados · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured February 7, 2024); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: paragraph 1. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “A edição de 2024 do Sistema de Seleção Unificada (Sisu) recebeu a inscrição de 1.271.301 pessoas, que concorreram a 264.181 vagas. De acordo com levantamento do Ministério da Educação (MEC), foram aprovados 239.872 candidatos no processo seletivo , sendo 102.005 na ampla concorrência e 137.867 n a modalidade de cotas e ações afirmativas das instituições”

  10. 10. According to the MEC, Notice No. 29/2025, published in the DOU on December 23, governed Sisu 2026, with 274,876 places, 136 participating institutions, and 7,388 courses in 593 municipalities.

    • Sisu 2026 ofertará 274,8 mil vagas · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured December 26, 2025); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: paragraph 1. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “o Sistema de Seleção Unificada (Sisu) ofertará 274.876 vagas em cursos de graduação gratuitos de instituições públicas de educação superior em todo o país.”
    • Sisu 2026 ofertará 274,8 mil vagas · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured December 26, 2025); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: paragraph 2. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “O Edital nº 29/2025, que trata do cronograma e dos demais procedimentos relativos ao processo seletivo do Sisu 2026, foi publicado nesta terça-feira, 23 de dezembro, no Diário Oficial da União (DOU).”
    • Sisu 2026 ofertará 274,8 mil vagas · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured December 26, 2025); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: paragraph 2. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “com a participação de 136 instituições de ensino superior e oferta de 7.388 cursos disponíveis em 593 municípios”

  11. 11. According to the MEC, Sisu 2026 had 271,789 approved candidates in the regular call (129,386 in open competition, 124,064 in quotas, and 18,339 in the institutions' own affirmative actions), which filled 99.14% of the places offered in that call.

    • Sisu 2026: 99% das vagas são preenchidas na chamada regular · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured January 29, 2026); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: paragraph 1. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “O processo seletivo do Sistema de Seleção Unificada (Sisu) 2026 teve 271.789 candidatos aprovados, sendo 129.386 na ampla concorrência, 124.064 na modalidade de cotas e 18.339 por meio de ações afirmativas das próprias instituições de educação superior. Com isso, 99,14% das mais de 274 mil vagas ofertadas foram preenchidas na chamada regular.”

  12. 12. According to the same ruling, in the Sisu 2024 edition only 52% of candidates approved in the regular call completed enrollment, and more than 25 thousand new places went unfilled for lack of candidates on the waiting list.

  13. 13. According to Machado and Szerman (2021), before 2010 selection for higher education was entirely decentralized: the student applied to each institution, took its own exam (the vestibular), and paid an application fee per exam.

  14. 14. According to the SiSU page on the MEC site (capture from December 2009), the Ministry of Education presented a proposal to reformulate the Enem that made it possible to use the exam score, starting with the 2009 edition, as the sole parameter in selection for public higher education institutions.

    • SiSU - Sistema de Seleção Unificada (página inicial, área de instituições) · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured December 6, 2009); original address: sisu.mec.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: section What is the SiSU?. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “O Ministério da Educação apresentou uma proposta de reformulação do Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio – ENEM. Essa reformulação tornou possível a utilização da nota deste exame, a partir de sua edição referente ao ano de 2009, como parâmetro único na seleção de candidatos para ingresso nas instituições públicas de educação superior.”

  15. 15. According to a chapter published by Ipea (Teramatsu and Straforini), Enem results were used for score bonuses in undergraduate admission processes by 93 higher education institutions in 1999.

  16. 16. According to the same Ipea chapter, published in 2022, since 2004 Enem results have also been used to grant scholarships at private higher education institutions in ProUni, and, at the time, the ProUni and Fies processes took place after the Sisu.

  17. 17. The unit responsible for the Sisu in the MEC is the Secretariat of Higher Education (Sesu), according to the system's page.

    • Sistema de Seleção Unificada (Sisu) · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured November 19, 2025); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: Summary. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “UNIDADE RESPONSÁVEL: Secretaria de Educação Superior (Sesu).”
    • Portaria Normativa MEC nº 21, de 5 de novembro de 2012 (dispõe sobre o Sisu), texto compilado com alterações até a Portaria nº 1.127/2024 · Ministry of Education Official legal act
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured December 10, 2025); original address: sisu.mec.gov.br. Text compiled by the MEC, with wordings given by later ordinances; it does not replace what was published in the DOU. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: art. 2, § 2. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “§ 2º A Secretaria de Educação Superior - SESu dará publicidade, por meio de editais, aos procedimentos relativos à adesão das instituições públicas e gratuitas de ensino superior e aos processos seletivos do Sisu.”

  18. 18. In the operational audit of Ruling 875/2026 (Sesu/MEC and sixty-nine federal universities), the rapporteur records, based on the Higher Education Census, a decline in the occupancy of new places in the federal network starting in 2020, from a historical level of around 90% to the 75% range; in 2022, only 75% of the 297 thousand new places were filled.

  19. 19. According to the MEC, since 2013 there has been a reservation of places for quota students in the Sisu to apply Law No. 12,711/2012 (Quota Law), signed into law under the Dilma Rousseff government, which reserves at least 50% of the places at federal higher education institutions for students who completed high school entirely in public schools; the law has its own dossier (lei-de-cotas).

    • Sistema de Seleção Unificada (Sisu) · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured November 19, 2025); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: Presentation, paragraph 3. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Desde 2013, para a aplicação no Sisu das exigências da Lei nº 12.711/2012 - Lei de Cotas, há reserva de vagas para cotistas, que podem disputar essas vagas ao se inscrever na modalidade “Lei de Cotas”.”
    • Lei nº 12.711, de 29 de agosto de 2012, publicação original · Chamber of Deputies (Computerized Legislation) Official legal act
      Where: art. 1. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Art. 1º As instituições federais de educação superior vinculadas ao Ministério da Educação reservarão, em cada concurso seletivo para ingresso nos cursos de graduação, por curso e turno, no mínimo 50% (cinquenta por cento) de suas vagas para estudantes que tenham cursado integralmente o ensino médio em escolas públicas.”
    • Lei nº 12.711, de 29 de agosto de 2012, publicação original · Chamber of Deputies (Computerized Legislation) Official legal act
      Where: signature. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “DILMA ROUSSEFF”

  20. 20. According to the Sisu page on the MEC site, registration is free and done online with a gov.br account; the candidate answers the social and economic profile questionnaires used to apply the Quota Law and chooses up to two course options, and those not selected can compete for unfilled places through the waiting list.

    • Sisu: Como funciona · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured November 19, 2025); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: section Registration. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “A inscrição no Sisu é gratuita e deve ser realizada exclusivamente pela internet, no site Acesso Único.”
    • Sisu: Como funciona · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured November 19, 2025); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: section Registration. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Para se inscrever, é necessário possuir uma conta ativa no gov.br.”
    • Sisu: Como funciona · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured November 19, 2025); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: section Registration. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “No momento da inscrição, o candidato deve responder aos questionários de Perfil Social e de Perfil Econômico, utilizados para a aplicação da Lei de Cotas, e selecionar até duas opções de curso entre as ofertadas no processo seletivo.”
    • Sisu: Como funciona · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured November 19, 2025); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: section Registration. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Caso não seja selecionado em nenhuma das opções de curso indicadas, o candidato ainda pode disputar as vagas eventualmente não preenchidas por meio da lista de espera”

  21. 21. According to the Ipea chapter, in the first selection of 2019, 127 higher education institutions in all federative units participated in the Sisu, with 235,461 places in 559 municipalities.

  22. 22. According to Machado and Szerman (2021), between 2010 and 2017 the share of courses at public institutions that used the Sisu to select students rose from 20% to 75%.

  23. 23. According to the Ipea chapter, in 2013, 13.1% of the 118,994 students enrolled through the Sisu had made an interstate migration (15,699 relocations), and 6,682 migrated between regions, 5.6% of the total enrolled through the Sisu.

  24. 24. Machado and Szerman (2021), exploiting the staggered adoption of the Sisu by courses with administrative data, estimate that, after centralization, the participation of students from other states increases by 2.9 percentage points, equivalent to 20.4% of the baseline migration rate, in the authors' preferred specification.

  25. 25. According to Machado and Szerman (2021), after joining the Sisu, courses record a drop of 1.2 percentage points (2.3%) in the share of women among entering students and a 0.9% increase in average age; based on characteristics such as race and attendance at public high school, the authors indicate that students of low socioeconomic status are not disproportionately affected.

  26. 26. According to Machado and Szerman (2021), the effects of centralization on scores and migration are stronger at institutions in the upper tercile of the quality distribution, and those in the lower tercile only absorb the increase in age.

  27. 27. In the TCU operational audit of the quota policy (Ruling 2376/2022, period 2013 to 2022), the technical team pointed out that the Sisu regulations tied the candidate to the competition category chosen and did not allow reclassifying the candidate into open competition even with a sufficient score; the rapporteur did not adopt the recommendation proposed for this finding, for lack, in the case file, of the policymakers' reasons.

  28. 28. In the same Ruling 2376/2022, the TCU recommended that the MEC conduct studies to revise the income criterion of Law 12,711/2012, including on the scope of the income bracket of 1.5 minimum wages per capita or less.

  29. 29. In Ruling 875/2026, the TCU recommended to the MEC changes to the Sisu and the Sisu Gestão, among them the category "Enrollment Under Review" and a second waiting list (list of alternates) for candidates approved in their second choice who did not enroll.

  30. 30. At the same meeting, according to the MEC, the undergraduate provost of UFMG reported a growing number of students who complete the Sisu selection but never attend classes, both quota students and open-competition students.

    • Aperfeiçoar Sisu é prioridade para MEC e instituições públicas · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured April 4, 2025); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: paragraph 6. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “O pró-reitor de graduação da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Bruno Teixeira, lembrou que, apesar de a UFMG sempre receber o maior número de inscrições no Sisu entre as instituições participantes, há um problema com o número crescente de estudantes que concluem o processo de seleção, mas nunca comparecem às aulas.”
    • Aperfeiçoar Sisu é prioridade para MEC e instituições públicas · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured April 4, 2025); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: paragraph 6. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Esses estudantes são tanto cotistas, em condições de maior vulnerabilidade, como também estudantes de ampla concorrência.”

  31. 31. According to the Ipea chapter, the adoption of the Sisu expanded only the potential geographic mobility of students: effective mobility continues to depend mainly on income, students prefer nearby institutions, and Sisu-motivated migrations are still small.

  32. 32. The Ipea chapter records unfilled or idle places as a problem in the admission stage and cites, as adjustments after implementation, the regional inclusion criterion adopted by some institutions and the reduction in the number of calls in the Sisu.

  33. 33. According to the MEC, the Pé-de-Meia Licenciaturas (Pé-de-Meia Teaching Degrees), a highlight of Sisu 2025, will pay, from the start to the end of the course, a monthly amount of R$1,050 to students approved through the Sisu in in-person teaching degree courses who apply for the scholarship and are approved; the scholarships will be paid by Capes and, for 2025, the MEC made up to 12 thousand scholarships available.

    • Sisu: 97% das vagas são preenchidas em chamada regular · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured January 27, 2025); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: paragraph 1. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Um dos destaques da edição é o P é-de-Meia Licenciaturas, incentivo financeiro para estudantes que optarem por cursos que formam professores.”
    • Sisu: 97% das vagas são preenchidas em chamada regular · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured January 27, 2025); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: section Pé-de-Meia Licenciaturas. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “O programa pagará, do início ao fim do curso, o valor mensal de R$ 1.050 para os estudantes aprovados em cursos presenciais de licenciaturas pelo Sisu e que se inscreverem para a bolsa e forem aprovados.”
    • Sisu: 97% das vagas são preenchidas em chamada regular · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured January 27, 2025); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: section Pé-de-Meia Licenciaturas. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “As bolsas serão pagas pela Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (Capes) e o benefício será válido para novas matrículas em cursos de licenciatura. Para 2025, o MEC disponibilizou até 12 mil bolsas.”

  34. 34. According to the MEC, before the creation of the Sisu the candidate had to face a marathon of separate entrance exams at different institutions, a model that limited the options available and generated high costs for students in registrations, travel, and lodging.

    • Sisu impulsiona inclusão nas universidades públicas · Ministry of Education Government communication
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured January 22, 2025); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education.
      Where: section History. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “Antes da criação do Sisu, o acesso ao ensino superior público era um desafio para os estudantes na maior parte do país, sendo preciso enfrentar uma verdadeira maratona de vestibulares isolados em diferentes instituições. O modelo não apenas limitava as opções de escolha, mas também gerava altos custos para os estudantes com inscrições, deslocamentos e estadias.”
    • A democratização e expansão da educação superior no país 2003-2014 (Balanço Social SESu 2003-2014) · Ministry of Education, Secretariat of Higher Education Official record
      Read from an archived copy (Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), captured October 29, 2020); original address: www.gov.br. The archive preserves the copy; the author is Ministry of Education, Secretariat of Higher Education.
      Where: p. 59, section Unified Selection System. Accessed October 14, 2026.
      “os estudantes podem concorrer a vagas de instituições públicas de educação superior de diferentes regiões do país sem ter que arcar com custos de deslocamento e de taxas de inscrição inerentes à participação em vestibulares”

  35. 35. According to Machado and Szerman (2021), the Enem was created in 1998 as an optional one-day exam to assess the quality of high school education; the exam has its own dossier (enem).

  36. 36. Machado and Szerman (2021) record that the Ministry of Education began a series of reforms in 2008, of which the most important were the reformulation of the Enem in 2009 and the creation of the Sisu in January 2010.

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