UNAM entrance exam will return to in-person format, rector says

The National Autonomous University of Mexico admitted that it made a serious mistake by moving its undergraduate entrance exam online without ensuring that applicants could not cheat. Three months after the test, the university has acknowledged failures in planning, coordination and operations that were reflected in unusual scores.

An expert commission reviewing the process described the episode as a “multicausal crisis.” Its report covered the period from the call for applications through the publication of results. The controversy led to the removal of Secretary General Patricia Dávila and created an unprecedented national scandal that, according to the report, harmed students who completed the exam without assistance.

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Until all the conditions necessary to guarantee the administration of the online exam are in place, entrance exams will be held in person, using preloaded electronic devices as in the control exam, and will take place at various venues to facilitate participation by students from across the country and abroad.

Rector Leonardo Lomelí Vanegas said the next admission exams will return to in-person testing. Instead of printed forms, applicants will use preloaded electronic devices. The exams will take place at several venues to make participation easier for students in Mexico and abroad. Lomelí said the online format would not return until the university could guarantee the necessary conditions.

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The crisis was multicausal.

Commission chairman Eduardo Bárzana García said the final results exposed failures in planning and coordination, along with omissions and operational gaps in the validation process. The commission worked in three groups and held nine plenary meetings between July 27 and Aug. 31 before delivering its findings to the rector.

The report also pointed to problems before the exam was administered. UNAM published its January 2026 call saying the test would be online, but it did not sign its contract with Territorium Life until March. Bárzana said that sequence showed the university had determined the plan was viable before formalizing the contract and before receiving the technical annexes detailing the company's service and commitments.

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This sequence indicates that the viability of the scheme was determined before the contract was formalized and, therefore, before having the technical annexes specifying the service and the commitments the company would assume.