Higher Education in Latin America has grown over the past forty years to comprise more than 3,000 higher education institutions.[14] Out of 17 million students in higher education, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina account for 10 million.[15] The fact that these three countries make up over half of the higher education student population in Latin America brings to light issues and further serves to illuminate on the current system of higher education and its lack of equity in opportunity. Although higher education is not new to the region; indeed, many institutions date back hundreds of years, but the noticeable growth spurt in the area of higher education has been more recent.
The past four decades have been a time of tremendous change and growth for Higher Education in the region. For example, institutional growth has resulted in a diversification of degrees offered to include more graduate degrees (Master's degrees, professional degrees and doctorates) and and less traditional areas of study.[15] This increase in graduate degrees has presented challenges related to funding, especially in the public sector of education. Budgetary limitations in the late 20th century saw a surge of private universities in many Latin American countries.[15] These universities sprung up all over the region during the time period and continue to serve a particular subset of the population. In general, Latin America is still subject to a developmental lag when it comes to education, and higher education in particular. The country of Brazil is the main exception to this "developmental lag".[15] Brazil boasts many of the top universities in Latin America, in some of the country's richest areas. That being said, no region or university is perfect. One continuing problem is the persisting issue of how low amounts of money are invested into research and development in the region.[15] This creates a lack of competition with other areas of the world and results in less innovation coming from the region. By investing comparatively low amounts of money into research and development, one can surmise that scholars and other scientists will be pulled to other regions of the world.
In addition, there is a need for regional accreditation programs valid beyond national borders.[15] An increase in accreditation programs could result in greater transfer of knowledge across universities and borders, be an incentive for more students to study in Latin American universities, and create greater cohesiveness in the region.