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This paper discusses understandings of higher education and the public good in the context of Finland. A lexical-based comparison of public goods terminology reveals that the Finnish translation of public good—julkishyödyke—is used in comparatively recent (post-1970s) scholarship, mainly limited to the fields of economics, forestry and agriculture. It is notably absent in discussions of higher education. Instead, universities’ contribution to the public good is expressed as sivistys, service, social impact and national development. The second half of the paper discusses findings from a qualitative study of university staff and policymaker understandings of public good(s) (n = 21). Participants framed the contribution of universities to the public good as sivistys, service and social impact and also highlighted the dimension of social equality. These goods were viewed as applicable to local, national and global levels, flowing both out of and into Finland, thus benefiting everyone. As such, responses were closely aligned with the UNESCO (2015) definition of higher education as a global common good. Recent higher education policies that are based on the logic of higher education as a private good (education export, tuition fees for international students) threaten this model, revealing a conflict in the role of the state as protector of the public good at the national level and promoter of higher education as a private good at the global level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]