The upcoming academic year will see higher education institutions (HEIs) granted increased autonomy in managing student admissions.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation has announced modifications to the directive for setting admission quotas for public higher education in 2026-27. These changes provide institutions with greater autonomy in determining available places and more flexibility in managing these allocations.
As stated by the ministry, led by Fernando Alexandre in a press release, “the total number of available places may exceed by 5%” compared to the previous year.
“With the introduction of this rule, the previous exception allowing a 10% increase in places for study programs with an excellence index equal to or higher than 100 and in digital skills training programs has been removed. Conversely, there is more flexibility in transferring places between different admission routes. For example, it is now possible to transfer up to 10% of unfilled places from special access contests to the General Admission Regime,” the press release reads.
The ministry aims to encourage institutions to focus on the most sought-after access routes and contests, broadening their audience.
The directive also maintains the rule against reducing places in Medicine through the National Admission Contest (CNA) and continues to require transferring unfilled places from the special contest for graduates to the first phase of the CNA.
The condition requiring the number of places for a course in the CNA to match the number of students placed the previous year before an HEI can open special contest places is now adjusted.
Admission quotas for the 2026/2027 academic year will be announced on February 16.
