The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) established on July 27 a 16-specialist Technical Commission to audit the 2026-2027 admissions process, after detecting the use of artificial intelligence and other irregularities during the administration of the institution's first fully online undergraduate entrance exam.
UNAM, the country's largest university with more than 370,000 students, administered the digital exam between May 23 and June 10 to 158,712 applicants competing for approximately 40,000 available spots. According to El Financiero, the results showed an unprecedented statistical jump: the proportion of test-takers scoring more than 100 correct answers rose from 9 percent in 2025 to 29 percent in 2026, and nine perfect scores were recorded in the Medicine program. The university blocked 1,117 exams during the first two weeks due to atypical behavioral patterns and, following a definitive analysis, cancelled 3,174 exams, equivalent to 2 percent of the total, according to official figures cited by El Universal.
The commission, chaired by Eduardo Bárzana García with Joaquín Narro Lobo as technical secretary, brings together specialists in computer science, statistics, educational assessment, law, and biomedical sciences. Rector Leonardo Lomelí Vanegas granted them full autonomy to request information and instructed them to deliver conclusions within the coming days. In parallel, UNAM filed a criminal complaint on July 3 with the Fiscalía General de la República against individuals and companies that offered fraudulent services to families, charging between 200 and 4,000 pesos for supposed real-time answers, identity impersonation, and leaked question banks, according to Milenio. On that same July 27, hundreds of applicants marched at Ciudad Universitaria demanding that the exam be retaken in person and that each applicant whose exam was cancelled be notified individually.
While the technical commission works, enrollment for the 2026-2027 cycle remains suspended. UNAM has enabled a review mechanism for applicants whose exams were cancelled, with a July 30 deadline, though it clarified that this process does not guarantee a spot. The decision on whether the exam will be repeated and in what format depends on the commission's recommendations, expected within the coming days.
This article was written with artificial intelligence assistance based on verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.