Our approach is a critical reflection on the concept of link between university and society and the implications of this relationship. Understanding that the social function to which the higher education institutions are due to respond to the demands of the various actors of society, the objective of this work is to show that the link with the community is the main axis on which the relevance and the raison d'être of the university are sustained. For this, the methodology of the case study is used, taking Ecuador as an emblematic example of the current situation of Latin American higher education.