Navigating the Evolving Landscape of Higher Education in Spain:

This contribution aims to analyze the path taken by Spanish governments from the end of the Franco regime and the 'Transition' to the present day, in response to the emerging broad demand for knowledge—and higher education qualifications—and to assess the strength of the connections this journey has built and continues to build with society as a whole. We will focus on several aspects such as governance choices and the complicated balance between varying degrees of autonomy and centralization of Spanish universities, the characteristics and transformations of the accreditation systems that define the quality of academic programs, and the career progression of the faculty. We aim to understand, through the lens of the priorities identified by the systems themselves, how the university mission may be redefined. Finally, we will delve into three specific focal points: university rankings, the internationalization of Spanish universities, and the development and quality of the third mission.