Contrary to the position of some Professional Councils - addressed in a recent article of ours - the Ministry of Education, through the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Level Personnel (CAPES), published Ordinance No. 90 of 24.4.2019, which regulates the Master's and Doctoral programs (stricto sensu post-graduation) in the distance education modality.
Despite the possibility of offering these courses at a distance, mandatory internships, integrative seminars, professional practices and assessments should be carried out in person, as well as field research and activities related to laboratories.
Such face-to-face activities may be held at the headquarters of the IES or in a professional environment or distance education centers, previously authorized by CAPES, through a specific instrument.
To offer distance learning graduate programs it is not enough that the IES is accredited to operate at this level of education; it is also necessary that it has a General Index of Courses (IGC) equal to or higher than 4, if applicable, or at least one strito sensu graduate program operating in the same area of the new proposed course, which is recognized by MEC and has a grade 4.
The Ordinance also brings, (i) details on the submission of proposals for the offering of courses; (ii) guidelines on monitoring and evaluation of the programs; (iii) definitions on the composition of the faculty and support team, highlighting, finally, that sporadic activities as a content expert, member of an examining board or co-author of academic papers will not qualify a professional as a faculty member of the program.
To access the full text of the Ordinance click here.
The Educational Law area of Barcellos Tucunduva Advogados is available to provide advice on this and other issues in the sector.
