The government of universities as of the Law of Higher Education 24.521: analysis of University Statutes

Abstract

Higher education policies of the last decades of the 20th century pointed at establishing new regulations around the relationship between the state, universities and society. In Argentina, the Law on Higher Education (LES) 24.521 passed in 1995 included a set of provisions related to the government of the system and institutions that, partially, reflect the new focus with regard to government and management. The spirit of these provisions does not break with the traditional characteristics of the university government with a reformist imprint–high degrees of autonomy and autarchy, collegiate government–, but introduces some changes in the composition and distribution of functions among the leading organs and new forms of regulation. The objective of this article is to identify the changes in the government of Argentine universities as of the approval of the LES, establishing scopes and characteristics chosen by the universities within the room granted by the norm and that were reflected in the new university statutes.