Higher Education Funding Issues: U.S. / U.K. Comparison

Lack of reliable information about the characteristics of higher education and scientific research funding system in Serbia suggests the complexity of this issue. Such a situation makes it impossible to conduct a sound evaluation of the existing system solutions and to implement new ones. The article emphasizes the significance of education economics and offers an overview of sources of financing in different education systems for covering expenditures of higher education institutions. In EU countries, higher education finance policies have changed in the recent years. Having those changes in mind, the authors of the article analyse the modern trends in higher education funding, new sources of finance and higher education institutions' perception of the complexity of new sources of finance. The authors also provide an overview of certain characteristics of financing models and other specificities of higher education funding systems in Serbia and EU countries.

This Special Issue was conceived and developed following a series of international conferences held in Asia, with a particular focus on critically reflecting upon higher education development in the region from broader social and political economy perspectives. Some of the papers in this Special Issue were selected from presentations in the East Asia Social Policy (EASP) Research Network Conference successfully held in Taiwan in 2018, while others were chosen from international events held at Lingnan University in Hong Kong presenting critical reviews and reflections on internationalization, marketization and graduate employment of higher education in Asia. This introductory article puts the discussions of the selected papers in this issue in context, with critical reflections on the key issues being examined in these papers. The Special Issue is published when the world is still confronting the unprecedented global health crisis resulted from the outbreak of the COVID‐19 pandemic. This article discusses the higher education development trends in Asia through the massification, diversification and internationalisation processes in transforming the higher education system and examines how these development trends are affected by the COVID‐19 crisis.

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to investigate the effectiveness of higher education funding in Ukraine and the EU member states in the face of global challenges and national reforms, as well as to substantiate measures to implement the performance-based approach in the medium term. Methodology of research. The following methods are used to carry out the study: historical and logical – in the study of contemporary challenges for education in the global environment, statistical and generalization – in assessing the domestic practice of higher education financing, comparison – in the analysis of financial and demographic pressure on higher education institutions in Ukraine and EU, synthesis – to substantiate the effects of implementing the performance-based approach for the allocation of public funding to the higher education system and priorities for its reformation in Ukraine. Findings. In order to investing in skills and capacity-building, needed to achieve cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and quality, higher education requires sustainable and adequate public funding. The article substantiates that the current challenges for education systems in the global environment are political and regulatory changes, globalization trends, stakeholder expectations, digitization, nature and structure of the labour market. The feasibility of using a performance-based approach in Ukraine in comparison to other mechanisms of public funding allocation in higher education has been proved, the key performance indicators used in the EU member states have been uncovered also potential effects of implementation have been identified. Originality. The effectiveness of public funding in Ukraine in comparison with EU member states has been determined. This allowed substantiating a set of recommendations for domestic higher education institutions concerning their adaptation to the long-term financial and demographic pressures. The key principles of the public policy, oriented at achieving the effects of economy and efficiency in the sphere of allocation and use of public funds in the higher education system, have been substantiated. Practical value. The proposed recommendations put forward for implementation can be used in reforming the system of higher education funding in Ukraine and will help to improve the performance of educational institutions. Key words: system of higher education funding; public funding of higher education; higher education effectiveness; performance-based funding in higher education.

Performance funding is a specific method to manage performance by tying public funding to performance rather than to inputs identified by the organization. Since the 1980s, many countries have adopted some version of performance funding in the higher education sector as part of marketization processes and in response to increased competition, making it a major issue in higher education policy. This paper develops a theoretical framework that utilizes a network-related principal-agent framework to detect the possible origins of the failures in most versions of performance funding in higher education. The framework specifies the conditions required for effective monitoring and effort maximization. Nevertheless, we show that such conditions rarely exist in most higher education systems. Thus, performance funding creates an “autonomy paradox” that ultimately explains the failures in accountability related to performance funding. This unexpected and unwelcome outcome calls for a reexamination of this approach. We recommend expanding the collection of performance information to include inputs and capabilities and creating various mechanisms that connect specific solutions to specific problems.

Introduction. In recent years, digitalization is one of the defining trends of the development in the leading countries of the world. The development of information economy is influenced by a combination of factors; however, the most powerful is an educational dominant. The higher education institutions (HEIs) carry out training activities for information economy, the development of digital skills of the personnel, as well as carrying out studies of the personnel’s digital skills, and conducting research, generating innovations and their transfer to the real sector of economy. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the impact of higher education on the dynamics of information economy on the example of Latvia with further identification of the best practices and their adaptation to the Ukrainian social and economic conditions. The research methodology is conditioned by the implementation of the in-depth comparative analysis of the development of higher education systems in Latvia and Ukraine; within the study, were used the method of constructing cubic regression models of the relationship between indicators. The hypothesis: 1) there is an objective interaction between the level of economic development of the country and the amount of public funding for higher education; 2) the information economy development is largely determined by the level of higher education development, and funding for research at HEIs. Results. The study revealed the following constraints on the development of the national higher education system: complex geopolitical, demographic, migration situation, which affects the parameters of the student body of HEIs; low competitiveness level of HEIs in the global educational services market; low level of financial autonomy of HEIs; lack of financing, low level of diversification of the financing sources for HEIs, etc. These problems negatively affect the pace of the information economy development in Ukraine. The authors proved that the Latvian experience in the implementation of the digitalization strategy could be useful for Ukraine, because of some similar economic, social, mental, historic conditions and factors of development of both countries. The calculations on the econometric models of relationship between funding and basic indicators of higher education development in Ukraine and Latvia showed: the amount of funding for higher education systems does not depend on the number of HEIs; the number of students depends on the amount of public funding (this indicates the important role of the state in the higher education development, in increasing the level of accessibility of higher education for citizens); close relationship between the amount of funding for higher education and the number of graduate students; positive trend in funding for higher education. Conclusions. The authors conclude that strengthening the impact of the educational dominant on the information economy development requires: ensuring a proactive position of HEIs (by modernizing their educational, research and innovation activities); activating the role of the government sector in protection of intellectual property, stimulating the development of innovatively active enterprises and their cooperation with universities, involving investments in the development of the HEIs’ innovative infrastructure, commercialization of innovative results of the research in the real sector of the economy.

У статті здійснено науково-теоретичний аналіз підходів та обґрунтування методологічного концепту побудови та функціонування системи якості вищої фармацевтичної освіти.

QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION: STORIES OF ENGLISH AND CZECH ACADEMICS AND HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERS

Reviewed by: Refinancing the College Dream: Access, Equal opportunity, and Justice for Taxpayers Dongbin Kim and Jenny J. Lee Refinancing the College Dream: Access, Equal opportunity, and Justice for Taxpayers Edward P. St. John in collaboration with Eric H. AskerBaltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003, 272 pages, $44.95 (hardcover) Given rising tuition costs and decreasing student grant aid, postsecondary access for low-income students is one of the greatest challenges facing higher education policy makers today. Written by one of the most influential financial aid analysts in higher education, Refinancing the College Dream: Access, Equal Opportunity, and Justice for Taxpayers,is timely and well addresses this major and growing concern. With his extensive experience and expertise, Edward St. John offers a significant contribution in our understanding of the role of financial aid policy in accessing higher education over the past decades. Beyond the economics of education, the author discusses financial aid within the context of social responsibility and justice. The book is broadly divided into two parts. In part 1, "Understanding the Access Challenge," St. John draws upon John Rawls' theory of justice and develops three indicators to evaluate the effects of finances on college access. The three indicators are: (a) access to higher education, as represented by college enrollment rates for high school graduates; (b) equal opportunity, as represented by the disparity in college enrollment rates across race/ethnic or income groups; and (c) tax payer costs, as represented by tax expenditures per student enrolled in postsecondary education. Using these indicators, St. John analyzes the impact of financial aid policy changes at different periods throughout higher education finance history. The 1970s are defined the period of "equalizing educational opportunity." During this period of time, providing equal educational opportunity was considered a social goal, thus expanding federal and state roles in funding for higher education is justified. His research evidence supports that financial aid in the 1970s sufficiently increased college participation in the 1970s and early 1980s. St. John argues that it was the availability of grants that improved equal opportunity while the availability of loans increased total college participation rates. Higher education finance experienced significant change in the 1980s, which are defined "middle-class assistance." Beyond focusing on federal and state roles in funding for higher education, policy debates on increasing access and equity moved toward reforming K-12 schools. St. John explains that the increased emphasis on loans in the 1980s expanded the access to postsecondary education for the middle-class and increased efficient use of taxpayer dollars, but it also increased disparity in college enrollment rates across race/ethnic and income groups. The 1990s, "justice for taxpayers," show a shift on the burden to pay for college from taxpayers to students and their families. Coupled with the rising costs of attending college, the expansion of merit-based programs, the introduction of tax credits, and the decline in federal grants and state support in higher education, further eroded the equity indicator in the 1990s, while middle and upper classes benefited from the policies. Understanding the importance of academic access along with financial access, St. John provides a "balanced access model" which offers a more complete way of viewing [End Page 130] the effects of policy on access. St. John charges that the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) analyses, which have been the main propellers in driving national debates on access from financial policies to academic preparation, failed to consider the role of finances and thus reached misinformed conclusions about the causes of the greater inequality in access to postsecondary participation. The greater disparity in postsecondary participation was not caused by the failure of school reform, but by the reduction in need-based grants. After analyzing the access challenge in part 1, St. John proposes a contingency approach to "meet the access challenge" in part 2. The contingency approach is to inform policymakers about financial and educational reform strategies that can improve access and equalize opportunity in colleges, in states, and at the federal level. The contingency approach is based on the author's effort to balance different values, interests, and concerns as represented in the three indicators: (a) improving access for majority to postsecondary education; (b...

ПРОФЕСІОНАЛІЗМ ВИКЛАДАЧІВ ВВНЗ ЯК СКЛАДОВА ВНУТРІШНЬОЇ СИСТЕМИ ГАРАНТУВАННЯ ЯКОСТІ ВИЩОЇ ВІЙСЬКОВІЙ ОСВІТИ

This article compares recent governance reforms in Finnish and Portuguese higher education (HE) systems and institutions (HEIs). Although Portugal and Finland differ significantly, both the countries have recently undertaken similar HE legislative reforms. This article analyses the contexts and implementation processes of these legal frameworks: Law 62/2007 (RJIES) and Yliopistolaki 558/2009 (New Universities Act), aim at changing institutional governance structures, management and decision-making practices. Findings rely on legal documents and on the voices of practitioners. It is argued that new public management ideology and practice, also disseminated by international organizations' agendas (e.g. the Organisation for the Economic Cooperation and Development – OECD, and the European Commission), offer an explanation for similarities in national HE policies. In turn, historical and cultural specifics as well as structural characteristics of political-administrative systems may explain differences in policy design, implementation processes and national outcomes.

Resource allocation and funding in higher education is crucial to the success of reform and transformation of our higher education system. With a view to identifying trends and best practices in the area, utilizing a method of systematic literature review, we have critically reviewed relevant theories and practices from developed counties that are covered in the scholarly literature published in English in the past 10 years. Our review has revealed: (1) Several universal trends have exerted a decisive impact on resource allocation in higher education, for example, funding reduction and tuition fee increases, performancebased funding, privatization, corporatization, and internationalization; (2) Several theories underpin key research in the area, for example, new institutional economics, resource dependence theory, and political economy; (3) Several controversial issues have made their way into public debate, for example, higher education as a public good or private good, academic capitalism, educational equity, and the role of econometrics.

The objective of the research on the theoretical, methodological, and scientific level will be the analysis of higher education financing in Slovakia and comparison of various financing strategies for higher education in the studied countries. Authors of the research paper analyze the Slovak model of financing of higher education institutions and the latest innovations in this model. Financing of universities, along with the quality of education are very discussed and actual issues.

The article is devoted to the identification of the higher education development trends on the basis of the key analytical documents analysis of the following international organizations in higher education: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (ОЕCD), World Bank, European University Association. UNESCO documents are focused on the autonomy of higher education institutions and academic freedom. Autonomy means that degree of self-governance necessary for effective decision making by institutions of higher education regarding their academic work, standards, management and related activities consistent with systems of public accountability, especially in respect of funding provided by the state, and respect for academic freedom and human rights. However, the nature of institutional autonomy may differ according to the type of establishment involved. Autonomy is the institutional form of academic freedom and a necessary precondition to guarantee the proper fulfilment of the functions entrusted to higher-education teaching personnel and institutions. The World Bank Analytical reports are emphasized on the financial autonomy as an integral part of the higher education financing system. The OECD reports are devoted to the university autonomy in the context of financing, quality assessment and management of higher education institutions. The tendencies of the development of higher education systems in Europe are defined. They are increasing of the role of higher education in ensuring the competitiveness of countries in the world economic community; increasing of the universities competition in market economy and controlling over the public financial resources effective using; increasing demands for higher education quality; decentralization of higher education institutions management; development of the institutional autonomy and academic freedom; the interconnection of institutional autonomy, accountability and responsibility for the quality of higher education; the educational paradigm changing in terms of learning and teaching recognition as key institutional priorities.

This chapter introduces an analysis based on institutional profiles of higher education institutions and the two institutional case studies that were carried out in Finland as part of the CINHEKS study. The purposeful selection of the profiles and case studies was based on historical contextualization, the spectrum of higher education institutions in Finland, as well as the twin effects of a major legislative reform, carried out as the global economic crisis of 2008/09 unfolded. In terms of theory of the middle range, empirical focus was achieved via a purposeful selection based on mission emphasis, disciplinary cultures, career stage and competitive horizons. This analysis spotlights three key facets of the Finnish case particularly relevant to the CINHEKS comparative study. Specifically, the Finnish higher education systems’ incorporation into neoliberal transnational academic capitalism, characterized by tensions between established tradition, at a national competitive horizon and emergent competitive horizons linked to the global division of scholarly labor. Secondly, the way in which this division of labor manifests is illustrated by a contrast on two extreme cases within Finnish higher education, featuring regional (and HEI) survival in one case, and a pragmatic foray into the global-facing world of HEIs vying for globally significant profiles, reputation and outcomes. Thirdly, we focus on the resulting misrecognition of enduring features that characterize the Finnish system, as a whole, across the extremes in our case studies, as well as paradoxical change and flux that presently characterizes this system. From the outside-looking-in, Finland’s society and education system are internationally – and often uncritically – valorized, on a regular basis. However, from the inside-looking-around, many higher education actors are of the opinion that higher education is not changing quickly enough, while others remain firmly convinced higher education is changing far too quickly. Our discussion centers on the uncertainty as to the viability of the signature features that are often cited as the basis for the quality of life in one of the last remaining strong Nordic social democracies and the role higher education system has to play. In addition, building directly on the cross-case analysis of CINHEKS higher education profiles, this analysis introduces the conceptual problematization universtasis which integrates power, domain and mission in a way that allows both empirically grounded explanation-building and policy analysis concerning the relationships between social reproduction and transformation in higher education within and between networked knowledge societies.

The higher education sector has to face competition much in the same way as other economic entities do. Much has been done to introduce reforms making use of economic terms and concepts. This paper will highlight the manner in which different models for financing higher education can contribute to the management of higher education. The general higher education framework in Germany -- which differs from that in other countries -- has to be taken into account. Amongst these differences are notably: -- the absence of fees as an instrument for the financing and management of higher education; -- the fact that only a restricted number of students are selected by institutions of higher education. Where student numbers for subjects in great demand are too high, applicants are distributed amongst various universities by a central office. This paper is divided into four part: (1) an analysis of the German higher education system,: (2) an examination of different management methods relating to a new system of distributing students amongst the different types of institutions (ordinary universities and universities of applied sciences -- Fachhochschulen). A discussion of the management of student distribution within a given university follows. (3) In this context, it is recommended to introduce a market-oriented system of tuition fees instead of making provisions for student admission on the basis of available capacity, curricular standards (CNW) and centralized procedures of the distribution of students; (4) conclusions are drawn from these reforms in order to develop systems for performance analysis (management accounting and control).