Diagnosis of University Social Responsibility (USR) in Bolivian private universities

Abstract

University Social Responsibility (USR) has established itself as a comprehensive paradigm that proposes the ethical management of the organizational, educational, cognitive, and social impacts generated by higher education institutions. The objective of the study was to analyze and contrast the contemporary theoretical model of management of USR impacts with the documentary evidence of Bolivian private universities, in order to identify its level of alignment and main gaps. The research was developed under a descriptive-analytical documentary review design, based on the initial review of approximately 35 international and Latin American references, as well as on the comparative analysis of current institutional documents. A matrix structured in four dimensions of impact was applied and mixed content analysis was used to evaluate the presence and scope of practices. The results show that the social dimension presents greater documentary development, with a predominance of extension programs; however, they maintain a welfare-based approach. The organizational, educational and cognitive dimensions show weaknesses related to curricular transversality, environmental management and measurement indicators. It is concluded that Bolivian private universities are in a phase of discursive recognition of USR, requiring progress towards its strategic institutionalization and systematic evaluation.