The university as an institution has undergone great transformations throughout its history. Despite the autonomy with which it carries its activities and organizes its structures, it has not remained at the margins of the demands of society, mostly in the formation of professionals. Two centuries ago, in Europe and North America, the university became the space in which professors and students began to develop scientific research, to create knowledge, to put it in context, and to preserve the culture. The current reality indicates that knowledge has become a patrimony that, without a doubt, has contributed to the development and improvement of the life conditions of the societies. In this work it is shown that the Colombian system of higher education is too weak, that in spite of the great number of higher education institutions, the offerings of doctoral programs is scarce and the low number of active researchers is reflected in the short list of production of knowledge in the universities, except in a few examples. Some concrete actions are suggested so that the higher education system can be articulated * Correspondencia: Ramon Fayad ramon.fayad@gmail.com, ramon.fayad@urosario.edu.co. Direccion Postal: Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Matematicas, Universidad del Rosario, Carrera 24 No. 63C-69, Bogota, D.C. Colombia. Recibido: Mayo 12 de 2010 Aceptado: Junio 23 de 2010.