La función de la universidadDe la estrategia política a la política estratégica

Resumo

The main objective of this article is to examine the complex relationship between policies and the university, two concepts, each with their own meanings that fuse only in part, with respect to the function of the universities themselves. Once the sense of this article has been established, we will analyse the framework given to the co-ordination of what should be done, why and by whom at the different Spanish universities. We will also analyse the guidelines for higher education within the European framework and the current emphasis given to the search for quality in universities, as a means to achieving a strategic development. It is precisely the «culture» of evaluation in higher education that helps towards a renewed analysis of this quality within the context of mass universities. In correlation with the important challenge derived from the Maastricht Treaty, we will deal with the development of regional university systems, as well as the strategic policies related to the definition of university profiles. Finally, we make reference to some important elements for the articulation of functions which universities will have to face in the next millennium.