The strictest rules target undergraduate degrees in health and teacher education. These programs can no longer be offered entirely online. Teaching degrees must now include at least 50% of coursework in person. Nursing programs will be allowed only in traditional classroom settings. Other health-related degrees will require a minimum of 30% in-person classes.

“I believe the measures are positive, even if overdue. Distance learning is certainly a way to expand access to higher education—this has been the case in other countries—but it must be quality education. There’s no point in reaching remote areas if the education offered is poor,” said Claudia Costin, former global education director at the World Bank.

Ms. Costin noted that half of all students in distance learning programs drop out, and course quality is a major factor in that decision.

Nonprofit organization Instituto Península also supports the new requirement for 50% in-person attendance in teaching degrees. “Hands-on experiences, including internships and community engagement, shape good teachers. Practice is essential,” said Mariana Breim, the institute’s director of educational policy.

Education Minister Camilo Santana has raised concerns about the quality of training in health and teaching programs since he took office, particularly regarding the large number of students enrolled in online programs. In the 2022 college entrance cycle, about 80% of new students in teaching degrees chose online courses. For nursing degrees, 190,000 students were enrolled in remote programs, compared to 241,000 in in-person programs at private institutions.

“High-quality distance education is a powerful and strategic tool for expanding access to higher education. It plays a key role in meeting the goals of the National Education Plan, which expired last year and remains unmet,” said Mr. Santana at the decree signing ceremony.

The sector often argues that online education helps democratize college access, offering more affordable tuition (roughly a quarter of the cost of in-person programs), flexible schedules for working adults, and opportunities for students in towns without college campuses. Brazil has nearly 2,300 municipalities without in-person higher education offerings. However, only 10% of EAD students actually live in these areas.

The decree also introduces formal regulation of hybrid programs—those combining online and in-person elements—which have seen the fastest growth in recent years but previously lacked official classification. These were often just standard online programs with an increased number of in-person activities.

Meanwhile, for in-person degrees, the share of coursework that can be completed remotely will be reduced from 40% to 30%. Degrees in medicine, law, psychology, and dentistry will continue to be delivered exclusively in classrooms.

Distance learning programs must now include at least 20% of coursework as in-person or live online sessions, and all exams must be taken in person at designated locations.

The new regulatory framework aims to bring order to a market that experienced explosive and often disorderly growth following the pandemic. Brazil’s private distance education sector now serves 4.7 million students online, compared to 3.2 million in traditional classroom settings. In 2023, the number of first-year students in online courses was twice that of in-person programs.

This rapid growth has led to abuses by some institutions. Although regulations require that students complete exams, lab work (especially in health and engineering), and internships in person, it is not uncommon to find students taking exams online, conducting lab activities in virtual environments, and completing internships remotely. In such cases, students may complete a four-year degree without any face-to-face interaction, often leaving them unprepared for professions that demand social and interpersonal skills.

Going forward, exams must be taken in person and proctored by qualified instructors. For live online classes, enrollment will be capped at 70 students per class, and a certified teacher in the relevant field must be present.

While private institutions dominate the distance learning sector, public universities remain cautious. Only about 200,000 students are currently enrolled in online programs at public universities, compared to 1.9 million in in-person programs.

The Education Ministry also plans to inspect the physical locations, or learning centers, associated with online programs, where students are supposed to complete their in-person coursework. Many of these sites lack proper infrastructure, such as labs, libraries, and classrooms. Some operate with multiple institutions under one roof, offering little more than a storefront.

Roughly 50,000 learning centers are registered with the ministry, but it’s estimated that half are not adequately equipped. The sector is repeating the trajectory seen in 2008, when the first boom in distance education prompted the ministry to shut down 1,300 under-equipped centers.

At that time, the government banned the opening of new online programs and student slots for nearly a decade, which led to market concentration and high valuations for established players. In 2011, Kroton paid R$1.3 billion for Unopar, then the leading online education provider.