The university’s “Third Mission” (TM) encompasses functions beyond traditional teaching and research. From this perspective, it is possible to identify a social and/or economic orientation in higher education systems. In this study, 1,304 mission statements from universities in 19 Latin American countries are analyzed using text mining techniques to understand how institutions in Spanish America communicate their commitment to these approaches.

Social vs. economic orientation

• 82% of the statements have a social orientation.
• 55% have an economic orientation.
• 48% of universities reflect both orientations (social and economic).

Predominance of the social approach

• Terms such as “human development,” “social commitment,” and “justice” are frequently used.
• University extension remains a central element in many countries.

Relationship with the private sector

• There is a correlation between the proportion of students in private universities and a greater presence of exclusively economic orientation.

Daniel Cuesta-Delgado, David Barberá-Tomás & Pedro Marques (2025). A text-mining analysis of Latin America Universities’ mission statements from a ‘Third Mission’perspective. Studies in Higher Education, 50(7), 1420-1438.