This essay explores approaches the topic of quality in Higher Education Institutions under the framework of an institutional approach, an economic theory that emerged in the mid-twentieth century. Through the presentation of a simple model and under assumptions that correspond to a theoretical situation, optimum behaviours are derived and these behaviours present good standards in the quality of education. Later, when considering the presence of some characteristics that are observed in the reality of these institutions such as asymmetric information, opportunism, agency problem, procrastination, anomie and difficulty in measuring the educational product, among others; it warns about the thread, in absence of corrective measures, that there exists a tendency for the operations of these educational centers to deteriorate their level of quality.