Abstract

This article examines recent changes in the governance of national higher education systems in Chile and Ecuador. It focuses on the changes associated with the different roles of the State/Government as a coordinating mechanism. An analytical model is proposed that distinguishes between five roles of the State/Government: system designer, principal, regulator, evaluator, and funder. Recent reforms introduced in the sector by both countries are analysed and their impact on the State/Government profile is compared. The results show that the roles of system regulator, designer and evaluator are changing in opposite directions because of the respective reforms. On the contrary, the results show that both countries are moving in the direction of strengthening the state/government roles as funder.