The great cycle of differentiation reform of higher education in Uruguay: from a one-university system to a university system (1984-2013)

Abstract

Higher education in Uruguay for more than 150 years was reduced to a single institution, the University of the Republic, until in 1984 the first private university and the second university in the country was created. From that moment began a change in the dynamics of higher education, which we define as the reform of differentiation involving the slow and controversial construction of a university system. It was a period of 29 years, that ended in 2013, when, in a framework of political disputes and tension, Uruguay moved from a monopolistic model to a public-private differential system. This article describes the processes, inserts them in the context of the dynamics produced in the region, displays the characteristics, shows the complexity of the tensions and struggles around the construction of university systems and process and conceptualizes a phase of the university dynamics in the country .

Differentiation; College; Politics; Private universities; Public universities; Reforms