Social relevance of a public university in Mexico from the view of students, teachers and employers

The social relevance of a public university in the state of Sonora, northwestern Mexico, is analyzed from the perception of students, employers and academics. A quiz about university functions (De la orden, 2007) and another about importance and achievement of generic competences of the Tuning project were applied (Beneitone, et al., 2007) at the Universidad de la Sierra, Sonora. The function that this university has served the most is "to prepare for the professional world" whereas the least served is "social commitment". Generic skills are highly valued by the social actors. However, not all competences reach to developed during university education, such as communication in a second language and th e ability to work in an international context.