Assessment of Higher Education Financing Models in the CEE Countries

Abstract

The aim of the present article is to analyze higher education financing models and their characteristics in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (the CEE countries). To obtain research results, the authors have analyzed the existing higher education financing models of each CEE country. In the course of research, the authors have developed the formulas that most comprehensively characterize the financing policy and its specific features of each higher educational establishment in the CEE countries. The existing differences in the higher education establishment financing models in the CEE countries regarding state direct and indirect financing have been discovered. Differences in the volume of financial support, study crediting systems, and tuition fees in different CEE countries have also been identified. However, despite the differences in the sources of direct and indirect financing observed in the CEE countries, numerous common mid-term tasks have been set, such as: 1) increase of the state funding for higher education; 2) granting of larger autonomy in financial resource management; 3) ensuring of direct correlation between performance results and the allocated funding; 4) promotion of diversification of the sources of finance, as well as establishment of cooperation among research institutions, enterprises and municipalities. The authors have concluded that higher education establishments in the CEE countries should purposefully improve the efficiency of financial management systems, in such a way approaching the level of the leading EU and world universities in the globalized economy.