Abstract
This study proposes a historical and conceptual framework to elucidate the state of the university system in Chile after more than 25 years following the return of democracy. Chilean universities, in truth, do not form a single system but an amalgam of institutions without a strategic plan and without a shared direction. The organization and direction of these institutions are based on a projected vision of what would be a higher education market, which persists until today. This study analyzes the concept of governance because it seems to be the most adequate to the workings of a decentralized system, yet committed to the needs of the community which embraces it. In this study, some propositions to build a modern governance of the university system are elaborated, and it concludes highlighting the value that the university governance must have as model of coexistence for the society in which the university finds itself included.
Higher education; Universities; Governance; Society; Organization