This article analyzes the perception about SINAES of program coordinators in Distrito Federal. The objective is to understand how regulation happens through the evaluations of the Brazilian government in analyzing the programs, looking for proximities and distances between practice and theory. With that aim, it discusses the relationship between state evaluation and regulation around the world; besides it discusses the development of the government’s policy on evaluation in Brazil. At the end, it points out how the evaluation process is reflected on the perception of academic autonomy and administrative autonomy for the colleges and universities analyzed.