University Centers - University Centers are private or public learning institutions that offer several higher-education courses, university extension programs, and post-graduate lato sensu and stricto sensu, and may offer learning and qualification opportunities for their professors and working conditions for the academic community. At least 1/3 of a university center faculty shall be formed by masters and doctors. Moreover, at least 1/5 of faculty shall be formed by full-time professors. University Centers hold autonomy to create, organize, and extinguish higher-education courses and programs (except for medicine, law, psychology, and dentistry, pursuant to legal and regulatory restrictions), as well as move or increase openings in their existing courses in the city where their main place of business is located, without MEC’s prior approval. University Centers cannot create unities outside the city where its main place of business is located.

Company or Ânima - Anima Holding S.A.

Extension Course - Short-duration courses, with workload between 8 and 180 hours, subject to MEC’s approval for openings and completion.

Post-Graduate Course Lato Sensu - Courses with workload higher than 360 hours in post-graduate, specialization, category, with a standard time of completion of 12 months.

Post-Graduate Course Stricto Sensu - Courses offered in masters and doctorate levels and that require prior approval by Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES) for their operation. They have a standard time of completion of 24 months.

Distance-Learning - Distance-Learning is a form of learning rendered to higher-education students through remote learning tools, such as the Internet, printed books, and electronic books.

Higher-Education - Higher-Education includes the following courses and levels: (i) sequential courses, designated for obtaining or updating technical, professional, academic, or intellectual development qualification, in the fields of sciences, humanities, and arts; (ii) technical courses, structured to serve several sectors of economy, lecturing on professional formation, covering specialized areas and conducting to technologist degree. (iii) graduate courses, which provide education in several areas of knowledge, on-site, part-time, or distant-learning modalities. (iv) post-graduate courses or programs, open to graduated applicants that fulfill the requirements of learning institutions, consisting of lato sensu post-graduation (specialization and professional masters) and stricto sensu post-graduation (academic masters or doctorate); and (v) extension courses, which consist of an articulated range of educational actions, of a theoretical nature and/or practical, on-site or at distance, planned and organized in a systematic manner.

Colleges - Higher-education institutions focused on offering bachelor, diploma, Technological Graduation, and lato sensu post-graduate courses, not being applicable university prerogatives in relation to autonomy to open courses, issuing diplomas, and faculty.

FIES - Higher-Education Student Funding (Financiamento ao Estudante de Ensino Superior). According to MEC, FIES is a program to fund graduation in higher-education of students enrolled in non-free institutions. The funding could be requested by students enrolled in higher-education courses that hold positive evaluation on proceedings conducted by the Ministry of Education. FIES was created in 1999. As from 2011, FIES started to work in a new format, where FNDE is the new Operative Agent of the Program and interest dropped to 3.4% per year. Moreover, funding can be requested at any time of the year.

FINEP - Education and Projects Fund of the Federal Government (Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos do Governo Federal).

FNDE - National Fund for Education Development (Fundo Nacional de Desenvolvimento da Educação)

Technological Graduation - Higher-education course with an average term of two years and a half. Formation focused on a specific area and development of capacities targeting a quick entrance into the labor market. It grants a higher-education degree and allows continuation of studies in a post-graduate level.

Regular Graduation - Higher-graduation course with an average term of four years with the objective of academic formation for exercising a profession. It grants Bachelor’s or teaching degree and allows continuation of studies in a post-graduate level.

Graduation - Regular and Technological Graduation, when jointly referred to.

Grupo Ânima - Includes the following companies: us, BR Educação Executiva, HSM do Brasil, HSM Editora, HSM Educação, HSM Marcas, Una, UniBH, and Unimonte.

INEP - Anísio Teixeira National Institute for Educational Research and Studies (Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anísio Teixeira).

Bases and Guidelines Law or LDB - Law No 9,394, of December 20, 1996, and further modifications, known as bases and guidelines law for Brazilian education.

MEC - Ministry of Education

MGE or Una - Minas Gerais Educação S.A.

Distance-Learning Complex - Premises authorized by MEC for performance of on-site activities in courses under the Distance-Learning category.

PROUNI - University for All Program (Programa Universidade para Todos)

UniBH - Instituto Mineiro de Educação e Cultura Uni-BH S.A.

Unities - Premises of each learning institution.

Unimonte - Instituto de Educação e Cultura Unimonte S.A.

Universities - Multi-disciplinary institutions for formation of higher-education professionals, research, extension, and domain and nurture of human knowledge, which distinguish themselves for (i) institutionalized intellectual production through systematic study of the most relevant themes and problems, both from scientific and cultural and regional and national points-of-view. (II) one-third of faculty, at least, holding masters or doctorates academic titles; (iii) one-third of faculty as full-time professors.