In recent decades the Hungarian intelligentsia, both political and governmental, emphasised the importance of higher education in socio-economic modernisation. At the same time, after nearly twenty years of system-transition we have to see that the ambitious goals of reforms in many cases have been turned into their opposite. This paper analyses the key actors and their strategies in the higher education system, highlighting the most important obstacles to development based on a multi-actor strategy model, based on institutional economy and principle-agent theory. The results show considerable divergence in force and interest-structure of different actors. As a consequence of relationship of forces it has been shown that, without steadfast governmental policy, long-term commitment for development and active participation of the business sector in innovation, there seems to be only a rather limited possibility for upgrading the agricultural higher education system.