This analysis examines the present and future of the “traditional” universities of regional Chile – the members of the Council of University Rectors beyond Santiago. Departing from a previous study of the state universities, the manuscript reviews and distills signal features (regionality, tradition, and ambition) of a broader range of institutions. The scheme allows a new classification of these institutions within eight distinctive groups. It becomes possible to conceptualise their present and future while opening new avenues to support their development through public policy.