Access to higher education: normative effectiveness of socioeconomic quotas

Abstract Affirmative actions are special and temporary measures that aim to reduce inequalities and guarantee opportunities for vulnerable individuals. One of them is to reserve spots at universities for students from public schools. The purpose of this article is to assess whether this action model has normative effectiveness within the scope of the Faculty of Law of UERN (Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil) and to map experiences in this regard. It is a case study, with academic, legal and social relevance, as it contributes to the debate on the theme, evaluates social policies and impacts on institutional life. As a result of an exploratory, bibliographic and documentary research, deductive method and quantitative approach, finding out that, considering the area analyzed, quota students complete the Law course in the same period when compared to non-quota students. Thus, this affirmative action has been shown to be effective to meet the expectations generated by the instituting law, guaranteeing entry and training in an equitable manner to people with less acquisition power.