Universidade do Oeste de Santa Catarina

What Universidade do Oeste de Santa Catarina does

Universidade do Oeste de Santa Catarina (Unoesc), legally maintained by Fundação Universidade do Oeste de Santa Catarina (Funoesc), is a private non-profit community university founded in 1968 and headquartered in Joaçaba, Brazil. It operates 12 campuses across western Santa Catarina — Joaçaba, Chapecó, São Miguel do Oeste, Videira, Xanxerê, Maravilha, Pinhalzinho, São José do Cedro, Xaxim, Campos Novos, Capinzal, and Concórdia — offering more than 200 undergraduate, graduate, specialization, master's, doctoral, technical, and extension programs. The institution employs 550+ faculty members holding master's and doctoral degrees, supports 234 active research projects with 300 researchers, and maintains a bibliographic collection of 230,000+ titles through a Pergamum-based library system. Beyond higher education, Unoesc runs a network of K-12 schools (Colégios SuperAtivo, Superação, Expressivo, and Unoesc), the Hospital Universitário Santa Terezinha (HUST), a university publishing house (Editora Unoesc), educational radio (Rádio Unoesc 106.7 FM), a distance learning platform (Unoesc Virtual on Moodle), an innovation and startup hub (I.nova), and a university hospital serving health programs.

The technology stack is built on commodity educational platforms: a proprietary academic management portal (acad.unoesc.edu.br) handling enrollment, grades, finances, and scholarship requests; a Moodle-based virtual learning environment (unoesc.mrooms.net) for online course delivery; and the Pergamum library management system. Student recruitment runs through a direct-to-consumer motion combining the Seletivo Unoesc admission portal, the ACAFE vestibular consortium, vestibular entrance exams, and digital marketing campaigns across WhatsApp, social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn), podcasts, and on-campus events such as Unoesc Day and the OLIUNI sporting event drawing 1,300+ athletes.

Revenue is generated primarily through tuition and semester fees across degree, technical, and extension programs, supplemented by federal and state government programs including PROUNI (University for All Program) scholarships and the Universidade Gratuita (PUG) free university program, plus institutional scholarships and discounts. Tuition prices are not publicly disclosed. The institution serves individual students across 12 regional campuses and, through its Colégios network, K-12 students across five additional municipalities; there are no disclosed enterprise or institutional customers. International activity is anchored by a 2024 partnership with the Universidade de Salamanca (Spain), and research funding flows through partnerships with CAPES, CNPq, FAPESC, and FINEP.

Name

Universidade do Oeste de Santa Catarina

Legal name

Fundação Universidade do Oeste de Santa Catarina

Website

https://unoesc.edu.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Universidade do Oeste de Santa Catarina (Unoesc) is a private non-profit community university operating 12 campuses across western Santa Catarina, Brazil, serving individual students with 200+ undergraduate through doctoral programs, K-12 schools, and a university hospital under the Funoesc foundation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Technical and Trade Schools (6115)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Transfer/University-Parallel Community Colleges (EDAHADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Technical Community Colleges (Applied/CTE-Focused) (EDAHADAD), Online Nonprofit Universities (EDAHALAK)

Keywords

• Community university education
• Distance learning programs
• Graduate degree programs
• Research and extension
• Continuing education courses

Headquarters

HQ city

Joaçaba

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices12 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Semester Fees: Unoesc generates revenue primarily through tuition and semester fees charged to students across its undergraduate, graduate, specialization, master's, doctoral, technical, and extension programs. Financial support comes from government programs including PROUNI (University for All Program), student scholarships, and the Universidade Gratuita program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Universidade do Oeste de Santa Catarina (Unoesc) is a community university that delivers higher-education programs — undergraduate, specialization, master's, doctoral, technical and extension courses — across 12 campuses in western Santa Catarina and through an online distance-learning platform. It also operates secondary schools (Colégios Unoesc), a university hospital (HUST), an academic publishing house, an educational radio station, and an innovation hub, all maintained by the non-profit Fundação Universidade do Oeste de Santa Catarina (Funoesc).

Product overview

Universidade do Oeste de Santa Catarina (Unoesc) is a community university offering a comprehensive educational platform consisting of multiple integrated services. The core product portfolio includes the Portal de Ensino (Learning Management Portal) for online academic management, the Biblioteca/Pergamum library system with 230,000+ titles, Unoesc Virtual for distance learning, and I.nova for innovation and startup support. The university also operates complementary sub-brands including Editora Unoesc (publishing house), Rádio Unoesc 106.7 FM (educational radio), Unoesc Store (merchandise), and a network of Colégios secondary schools. Student support services include the Serviço de Apoio ao Estudante (SAE) for scholarships and assistance, and the Secretaria Acadêmica for enrollment and academic records management. The institution serves over 12 campuses across western Santa Catarina with 200+ courses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Facisa/Xaxim: Faculdade de Ciências Sociais Aplicadas - Xaxim campus
• I.nova
• Unoesc Virtual
• Editora Unoesc
• Rádio Unoesc 106.7 FM

Products and services

• Portal de Ensino (Academic Portal) Web-based academic management portal providing students access to online classes, enrollment management, schedule consultation, financial status, scholarship requests, grades and attendance tracking, registrations, and digital documents.
• Biblioteca Unoesc (Pergamum) Library system offering bibliographic access, virtual library services, and a user access portal across Unoesc's campuses, with over 230,000 titles in the collection.
• Unoesc Virtual (Distance Learning) Moodle-based distance-learning platform offering online courses and educational content delivery for Unoesc's EaD programs.
• Undergraduate Degree Programs (Graduação) Bachelor's degree programs delivered across Unoesc's 12 campuses in western Santa Catarina, covering multiple knowledge areas.
• Specialization Programs (Especialização) Postgraduate specialization (lato sensu) programs offered across Unoesc's campuses for professional development and continuing education.
• Master's and Doctoral Programs (Stricto Sensu) Stricto sensu master's and doctoral programs (mestrado and doutorado) that train researchers across multiple knowledge areas at Unoesc.
• Technical Courses (Cursos Técnicos) Vocational/technical courses preparing students for direct entry into the labor market, offered across Unoesc campuses.
• Extension Courses (Cursos de Extensão) Short-duration extension courses providing continuing education and community engagement across Unoesc's campuses.
• Colégios Unoesc (K-12 Schools) Network of Unoesc-branded K-12 schools — SuperAtivo (Joaçaba/Capinzal), Superação (Videira), Expressivo (Xanxerê/Xaxim), and Unoesc (Concórdia/São Miguel do Oeste) — providing primary and secondary education.
• Hospital Universitário Santa Terezinha (HUST) University hospital providing clinical services and supporting health-related academic programs at Unoesc.
• I.nova Unoesc (Innovation Hub) Innovation hub and startup accelerator supporting entrepreneurship, innovation and incubation initiatives tied to Unoesc's research and extension activities.
• Editora Unoesc University publishing house producing hundreds of academic publications contributing to scientific dissemination created at Unoesc.
• Rádio Unoesc 106.7 FM Educational university radio station (106.7 FM) broadcasting music and information programming to listeners in western Santa Catarina.
• Unoesc Store Online store offering university-branded merchandise and products.
• Serviço de Apoio ao Estudante (SAE) Student support service providing scholarships, financial aid, housing, transportation, accessibility services, and psychological and psychopedagogical assistance.
• Secretaria Acadêmica Academic registry and control service managing enrollments, transfers, degree conferrals, course interruptions, and academic records.
• Museu Arqueológico Archaeological museum preserving and exhibiting regional cultural heritage as part of Unoesc's cultural and extension activities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 234 ongoing research projects with 300 active researchers
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior)coreOthers · 1 January 2024
• Universidade de Salamanca (Spain)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024
• CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico)coreOthers
• FAPESC (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Estado de Santa Catarina)coreOthers
• FINEP (Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos)coreOthers
• PROUNI (Programa Universidade para Todos)coreOthers
• ACAFE (Associação Catarinense das Fundações Educacionais)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor
• UniversiaminorOthers

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Universidade Comunitária da Região de Chapecó (Unochapecó): Unochapecó is the closest peer — a Brazilian Universidade Comunitária operating in western Santa Catarina with multi-campus presence, K-12 schools, and a teaching hospital, sharing the same ACAFE consortium and the community-university legal/operational model.
• Universidade do Contestado (UNC): UNC is a multi-campus community university in Santa Catarina serving similar rural/semi-urban municipalities. Shares the community-university model, ACAFE membership, and graduate-to-doctoral program structure with Unoesc.
• Universidade Regional de Blumenau (FURB): FURB is a Santa Catarina regional university with a strong research profile and community focus, comparable in size and scope to Unoesc. Both institutions are ACAFE members and emphasize regional development.
• Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina (Unisul): Unisul is a multi-campus Santa Catarina university with significant distance-learning operations and K-12 extension, making it a strong direct comparable on online scale and geographic coverage.
• Universidade do Vale do Itajaí (Univali): Univali is a Santa Catarina-based multi-campus university with similar program breadth, distance-learning operations, and K-12 linkages. Operates in the same state regulatory environment as Unoesc.
• Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul (UFFS): UFFS is a federal public university with campuses in Chapecó, São Miguel do Oeste, and other western SC municipalities directly overlapping Unoesc's geography — competing head-to-head for the same student pool at zero tuition.

Broad incumbents

• Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina (UDESC): UDESC is the state public university system across Santa Catarina. While operating broader statewide, it competes in the same labor market for faculty and students as Unoesc.

Emerging players

• Centro Universitário Internacional (UNINTER): UNINTER is Brazil's largest distance-learning university, headquartered in Paraná. Represents the scaled national EaD competitor that Unoesc Virtual faces as online demand grows.
• Universidade Cruzeiro do Sul: Cruzeiro do Sul is a large São Paulo-based distance-learning institution with national reach. Relevant as a benchmark for scaled online program delivery and student acquisition that regional universities like Unoesc must compete against.

Others

• Hospital Universitário Santa Terezinha (HUST) — Industry Comparable: Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein: Although Einstein is a private hospital and not a direct peer to the university, it serves as a relevant comparable for HUST (Unoesc's subsidiary hospital) on teaching hospital scale, academic integration, and healthcare education partnerships in Brazil.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/unoesc
• Facebookfacebook.com/unoescoficial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/unoesc-oficial-42b279126

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Universidade do Oeste de Santa Catarina