ABSTRACT
The primary focus of this chapter concerns the impact of academic contests on the quality of university teaching. The Argentinean higher education system is complex and heterogeneous, comprised of 82 universities and more than 1,200 third-level non-university establishments. The University of Buenos Aires (UBA) plays a unique and important role in Argentinian higher education. The UBA is also the most important public university center for scientific and technological production in the country. In describing university democratization under the Reform, people refer to the quantitative and qualitative incorporation of social sectors traditionally barred from the universities. Qualitative democratization to the political representation acquired by the students. The highest body at the UBA is the Supreme Council. It is made up of representatives of each of three key university groups or claustros: the student body, the faculty and the body of UBA graduates - plus the deans of the faculties.
