The Brazilian Open University (UAB) system was launched in December 2005. It is a network system bringing together public higher education institutions, municipalities and state governments, and the fe-deral government, especially in the CAPES (Coordenação de Aformación de Personal nível Superior) via the DED (Divisão de Educação a Distância), to extend and offer higher education in internal cities using the e-learning model. This work describes the contribution of the DED/CAPES to the system during the management of the UAB system between 2005 and 2010.