The article analyzes the main guidelines that gave life to the educational policies of the tertiary sector, based on the neoliberal economic model promoted under the Pinochet dictatorship since the beginning of the 1980s. The influence exerted by international financing agencies (especially the World Bank) and the Chicago Boys in the implementation of these policies in Chile is also examined. The study identifies the main limitations of human capital theory and the analysis of rates of return used by the World Bank. As a conclusion, it is argued that neoliberal policies had a negative impact on the development and projection of the state university sector, since fiscal spending has been significantly restricted and private sector growth has been favored through state subsidies. The traditional model of university committed to social development is replaced by that of a university for commercial purposes oriented to satisfy individual demands.