This article explores the profound changes which have been going on in Finnish university policies from the 1980s to now. It also analyzes how the new modes and features of university policies have changed the functions, the modes of governance and the meaning of the Finnish university. The implementation and the reception of new policies are explored at the national, institutional and actor level. Drawing on policy documents, statistics, interviews and a survey, this article indicates that models such as the ´entrepreneurial model’ have replaced old traditional models of the university, but the reception of new ideas and practices has been contradictory.