Historical evolution of organization and governance dimensions of two selected Colombian higher education institutions

The aim of this study was to establish the evolution of the organization and governance dimensions of two Colombian higher education Institutions; included one public (National University of Colombia) and one private (Great College of Nuestra Señora del Rosario) as the representation of Colombian universities that will help to illustrate the evolution of higher education specifically from these two aspects. Three questions were proposed to guide this historical research: (1) How have the organization and governance dimensions of higher education evolved in two selected higher education institutions of Colombia?, (2) What characteristics of the Spanish and French models are reflected in the organization and governance dimensions of private and public higher education institutions?, and (3) What are the differences and similarities of the organization and governance dimensions between public and private Colombian higher education institutions as reflected by two case examples? The findings show that the organization and governance dimensions of the Great College of Nuestra Señora del Rosario and the National University of Colombia have their genesis in the medieval university model, which instituted the use of contemporary titles such as Rector, Vice-Rector (Provost), and Dean among others. Through the influence of the medieval university, each higher education institution evolved through a complicated process derived from the historical development of the societal, economic, political, and educational evolution of the country, from since its conquest to the present day. In addition, certain aspects of the university organization and governance reflected the Spanish and French models. However, the researcher also discovered the influence of other higher education models, such as the American and German ones. Finally, both higher education institutions have similar organizational structures to the other higher education institutions of Colombia and the rest of the world. Most of the positions and governmental bodies have similar duties and responsibilities; however, the most important difference between the university and the college, which was the focus of the study, was the way these offices were set up within each organizational chart according to the historical time of each institution. The expansion of each higher education institution caused that each one become more complex, making it necessary to add more offices in order to respond to the challenges that they faced.