Governance Within the EHEA: Dynamic Trends, Common Challenges, and National Particularities

Abstract

The governance of higher education at system and institutional level across the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has been changing, notably in response to ‘higher education reform’ agendas at European, national and provincial levels over several decades (Haug and Kirstein, Trends 1: trends in learning structures in higher education. European University Association. http://www.eua.be/eua/en/publications.jspx, 1999). However, the pace of change differs across countries and the exact forms of ‘modernisation’ in governance arrangements have distinctive features in different parts of the region and in different institutions (Eurydice, Higher education governance in Europe: policies, structures, funding and academic staff. Education and Culture DG, Brussels, 2008; CHEPS, The extent and impact of higher education governance reform across Europe: final report to the Directorate-General for Education and Culture of the European Commission, EC, Brussels, 2009; Paradeise et al., Reform policies and change processes in Europe. In: Huisman J (ed) International Perspectives on the Governance of Higher Education: Alternative Frameworks for Coordination. Routledge, London, pp 88–106, 2009). While the general direction of travel in many countries is towards more autonomy for institutions with less direct state control, not all institutions relish the opportunity to exercise more autonomy or have the capacity to do so, and not all governments are willing to relinquish their levers of control as fully as they might. Indeed, under the rubric of ‘more autonomy but with accountability,’ different forms of control and steerage are emerging at system and institutional levels, both through government mechanisms and via new governance roles exercised by a wider range of interests. As the missions and diversity of higher education providers have expanded – and their contributions to national and regional economic and social development have become more central and significant – a wider range of ‘stakeholders’ has been brought into the governance domain. These include employers, industrialists, other professionals, entrepreneurs, students and alumni. Accountability as well as steerage of institutions has thus moved beyond governments and their agents to embrace these groups of stakeholders (Stensaker and Harvey (eds), Accountability in higher education: global perspectives on trust and power, London, Routledge, 2011). In addition, within institutions, expectations of accountability linked to the responsibilities of autonomy have had an impact on traditional forms of academic governance. New roles and structures have developed alongside shifts in authority between academic governance and managerial or corporate governance. Finally – and in parallel with government ‘de-regulation’ and ‘re-regulation’ – the higher education environment itself is becoming increasingly diverse, competitive, more market-driven and subject to the volatility of shifting global markets for higher education services. The overall context for governance in the EHEA therefore remains fluid, dynamic and also contested. In this paper, we offer an overview of developments in governance, beginning with conceptual and definitional issues and examining some of the drivers for changes in governance arrangements. We make comparisons with wider global patterns of governance and look briefly at some current developments and themes that are emerging; these are picked up in greater depth and detail in the accompanying chapters within the governance theme. In the last section, we look ahead to some of the challenges and issues arising for governments, agencies and higher education providers as they try to ensure that governance systems remain responsive, appropriate and effective for changing environmental conditions in Europe and in the wider world.