The present article sought to understand how the participation of the Technical-Administrative Staff in Education (TAE) in the institutional evaluation of Brazilian federal universities occurs, from the perspective of the Institutional Self-Assessment Reports prepared by the Self-Appraisal Committees CPA. The research sample was composed of the five federal universities that are best rated in the General Index of Courses (IGC) of 2014, one per region of the country, then was selected the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), University of Brasília (UNB), the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). The excerpts from the reports where the 'TAE' are mentioned were identified using descriptors previously established, transcribed and analyzed. The results showed that, contrary to the principles established by the National System for the Evaluation of Higher Education (SINAES) and what the literature recommends, there is no effective participation of TAE in the institutional evaluation of Brazilian federal universities.
Key words: Institutional evaluation; Technical-administrative staff in education; TAE; Federal universities. Sinaes