Abstract
The chapter seeks to shed light on university reforms in Norway since 1980 and asks how well-designed the reforms are regarding their capacity to strengthen the impact of universities in the regions where they are located. The chapter starts by asking how well-suited universities are to meet the expectations they face in the regions where they are located. It argues that the institutions in many ways have organizational characteristics – as academic and bureaucratic organizations – that are not well-suited to fulfilling varied and dynamic local needs. Subsequently the chapter analyzes the reforms and changes characterizing higher education – in terms of growth, internationalization and standardization – that may contribute to understanding the current situation. Finally, it takes a closer look at ongoing reforms and transformational processes and their indications of possible trends in the coming years. Here, changing expectations and tensions arising from multiple goals are emphasized in order to understand the obstacles faced by government attempts to enhance labor market relevance by means of structural reforms with institutional mergers as a main ingredient.
Highlights
In Norway, as in all other industrialised countries, a strong expansion in higher education started in late 1950s
This was politically initiated with the aim of a better educated work-force and broadening access to higher education socially and regionally as well as by gender
Rapporten knytter disse beregningene til viktige samfunnsendringer, som økt behov for spesialutdannet arbeidskraft i servicesektoren og intimt knyttet til industrialiseringsprosessen og økning i levestandard
Summary
Historisk sett har høyere utdanning bestått av en eller et begrenset antall universiteter og vitenskapelige høgskoler som til dels ble regulert direkte av de sentrale myndighetene, noen ganger gjennom spesifikke lover for den enkelte institusjon. Dagens høyere utdanningssystemer omfatter vanligvis alle institusjoner som bygger på videregående utdanning og på forskjellige måter bidrar til et felles overordnet mål under felles lovgivning, finansieringssystem og evaluerings- og akkrediteringssystemer, og som omfatter utdanninger som tidligere ble sett som yrkesorienterte og ikke-akademiske (Guri-Rosenblit et al, 2007)
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