Public Higher Education System Research Articles

Pricing and University Autonomy: Tuition Deregulation in Texas

This paper investigates changes in tuition policies in the wake of tuition deregulation in Texas, which in 2003 transferred tuition-setting authority from the state legislature to institutions. We find that price increases accelerated, particularly at the most selective institutions. Institutions also began differentiating price by undergraduate program, raising relative prices for the most costly and lucrative majors, including engineering, business, nursing, and architecture. Price increases were particularly large for institutions with the highest initial costs and for programs with a high earnings premium within institutions, though lower for institutions with more low-income students. These distinctions suggest that public postsecondary institutions respond to microeconomic incentives when given greater autonomy to set price, and take some measures to alleviate impacts on low-income students. The Texas experience suggests that decentralized price-setting generates greater price differentiation within the public higher education system, both across and within institutions.

Cambodian Accreditation: An Uncertain Beginning

U.S. Accreditation as a Barrier Beyond filing the application, which reeks of U.S. assumptions about educational structure and organization, the institution needs to begin the process of becoming accredited by WASC. The phases to the WASC process include establishing a viable track record of several years as a functioning institution, followed by a two-year eligibility phase, and then a four-year candidacy period. While these processes are underway, the institution must be in operation and hence financed, including the implementation of the elements mentioned above. A niche in the higher education marketplace must be found to enable the institution to support itself financially during this period. Competition with California’s public higher education system, along with the extensive number of private institutions in existence there, requires a study of potential student demand, up-front funding, solid planning, and considerable luck. Success depends, among other things, on the programs and their quality, the institution’s credibility and legitimacy, tuition and fees (and financial aid), geographic access; and comparative advantage to the student. For example, will the international institution bring name recognition to legitimate its offerings? Will the institution have unique expertise or provide internships or a career connection in either the United States or in the institution’s home country?

Student Loans in Thailand: From Social Targeting to Cost Sharing

Privatization has become the mantra of the day everywhere, including the case of higher education. In addition to the above-mentioned methods of financial privatization, governments in many countries seem increasingly to be getting wedded to the neoliberal philosophy that centers on the role of markets in every sphere. Governments promote the growth of private higher education institutions—most of which can be described as “for-profit” institutions. The wave of privatization of higher education has become so massive that even predominantly public higher education systems began to emerge as predominantly private in a very short period, making the relative presence of the public higher education sector almost invisible.

Досвід державно-громадського управління вищою освітою в Польщі

Проаналізовано систему державно-громадського управління вищою освітою у Польщі, правовий статус та обсяг діяльності основних суб’єктів у сфері вищої освіти з боку академічного середовища. Автори роблять висновок, що система громадського управління вищою освітою Польщі є дуже розгалуженою та охоплює всіх стейкхолдерів і учасників освітнього процесу, таким чином забезпечуючи врахування їхніх інтересів на всіх рівнях та в будь-якому рішенні, що стосується політики у сфері вищої освіти і науки. Міністерство та міністр науки і вищої освіти є фактично не керівником, а партнером, чого, власне, і вимагають європейські стандарти управління. Закон унеможливлює жорстоке централізоване підпорядкування і гарантує університетську автономію, академічні права і свободи. Такий досвід демократизації та децентралізації управління вищою освітою в Польщі, створення системи державно-громадського управління має важливе значення і може бути адаптований до умов України в процесі модернізації управління освітньою галуззю.

Implications of State and Local Policy on Community College Transfer in California

Lower division transfer preparation for the university has been the primary mission of community colleges since their inception creating an important pathway to baccalaureate degree attainment for many students who may not otherwise have the opportunity for higher education. Once considered fairly straightforward, the transfer pathway has become overly complex and difficult for students to navigate. The underlying issues with community college transfer are multifaceted and profound, and often the focus of much attention by public policy makers. This study explored the extent to which the complexity with transfer is rooted in flawed state and local policy coupled with insufficient capacity to meet the growing demand for postsecondary education at many public universities in California. Interviews with key players in higher education in the state, a focus group of community college professionals involved with transfer, observations of meetings where transfer was discussed and a review of state and local documents concerned with transfer comprised the methodology of this study. Results suggest that legislative interference in the transfer pathway, university elitism and selectivity, uneven placement of state resources, the confines of the state master plan for higher education and inadequate capacity at the state universities all contribute to damaging the transfer pathway. This embedded case study examined the transfer pathway in one large region in southern California in the first decade of the 21st century.The study investigated the implications of flawed public policy and insufficient capacity at some public universities on the development of local policy, and the unintended consequences for transfer students who are denied admission to transfer.Further, the study described how these policy decisions are hindering access and equity in the public postsecondary education system in the region under investigation. Amidst fluctuating economic conditions, the public higher education system in California has struggled to meet increasing enrollment demand. With the ongoing deterioration in state appropriations for higher education in California, the need for increased baccalaureate degree attainment to meet the future economic demands of the state is more critical than ever.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GOVERNANCE IN THE CONTEXT OF HIGHER EDUCATION GOVERNANCE IN SOUTH AFRICA

Public higher education in South Africa is governed by the Higher Education Act (Act No. 101 of 1997). Governance of public higher education in South Africa is just one element of governance practised across the entire domain of government to ensure accountability to the citizens of the country. This paper refers to four different, but related, levels of governance that span the landscape of public higher education: firstly, within the global context, secondly, in the context of the country with all of its government ministries; thirdly, the “system” of education in the context of legislative governance within the public higher education sector in South Africa; and finally, the institutional governance arrangements required in terms of legislation or regulation, which will be reviewed with particular attention being given to IT governance. Further, the notion of “managerialism” will be discussed to provide some structure to the context in which governance is practised. IT governance, as a subset of institutional governance, within and across the public higher education system is subsequently addressed. Finally, the current absence of IT governance oversight or reporting to the public higher education authority and mechanisms to improve governance in the sector are discussed, which provide an indication of the value that can be created by the implementation of a best practice IT governance framework at institutional level. Accordingly, an IT governance framework can be used to measure the maturity of a wide range of IT processes that The layered approach to governance investigated in this paper provides insight into the factors that influence the ability to govern subsystems, particularly the IT subsystem, in the public higher education sector in South Africa.

Cyberbullying: percepções acerca do fenômeno e das estratégias de enfrentamento

Cyberbullying is characterized as one of the different types of violence in educational contexts and is one of the main causes of uneasiness felt by its protagonists. It is also considered as one of the challenges of contemporary education. The study inserted in the project Cyberbullying - a diagnosis of the situation in Portugalintended to understand the phenomenon, its extension and nature through the experience of 118 first year psychology students in the Portuguese public higher education system. Participants responded to a questionnaire of open and closed-ended questions. From the analyses done we understand the students' perceptions regarding the phenomenon, as well as the fundamental importance peers, teachers and parents/legal guardians have in coping with and preventing cyberbullying. These results demonstrate that there is the need to systemically develop communities that may internally strengthen themselves so that each individual feels authorized to intervene and care for those that are the victims of violence.

INTEGRATION OF THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH WITH THE EDUCATION IN THE ALBANIAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITY

In the framework of the trends of development of Higher Education in Europe and all over the world, especially with the Bologna Process, The National Strategy of Higher Education, N S H E2008-2013, has put forward the main problems of the system of higher education so that Albania may have its own place in the European Higher Education Area.One of the main problems has been thereformation ofhigher education, the improvement of the teaching system and scientific research which until now have been completely separated from each other, the scientific research was carried out in the research institutes outside of the higher education, which were mainly subject to theScienceAcademy. The reforms undertaken in the area of higher education and of the base research aim at the integration of these two systems in the system of higher education having as the primary goal the increase of quality in universities especially in the second and third cycle of study.Through this article we want to present an innovation in the system of public higher education, the integration of the scientific research with the process of teaching in the higher education, to expose the priorities, the performance, the weaknesses which are observed, the reasons and the future perspectives

Japan’s higher education incorporation policy: a comparative analysis of three stages of national university governance

A number of countries with public higher education systems have implemented privatisation policies. In Japan, the national government introduced the National University Corporation Act (NUCA) in 2004 and changed the legal status of national universities from that of government-owned public institutions to independent administrative agencies. Its objective was to incorporate them, giving their presidents discretionary power and encouraging financial independence and autonomous administration. Applying McNay’s models of university governance, this paper tracks three stages of university governance longitudinally from 1886, when Japan’s modern higher education system was established, to reveal the historical roots of problems that the NUCA is meant to address. In addition, the effects of the NUCA over the first 6-year period (2004–2009) are examined based on data analysis. Its criteria for analysis are developments in the direction of financial, administrative and intellectual independence, accompanied by increased levels of transparency and public accountability.

What is the greater good? The discourse on public and private roles of higher education in the new economy

This study examined the ways that the ‘public good’ of higher education is being conceptualised as economic benefits and cost/benefit rationalities in the current economic downturn. Based on the case of Arizona in the United States, a discourse analysis of speeches was performed on the way public, state and institutional leaders described ways that the public higher education system must respond in the changing global economy with less state funds directed towards public institutions. The findings demonstrate the changing public nature of higher education from emphasising individual over societal benefits, thus also reflecting changing funding sources.

Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board's Functions and its Historical Value

Washington State has a well-developed public higher education system which consists of three types of institutions, the Research Universities, the Comprehensive Universities, and the Community & technical College. These institutions constitute a public higher education system in the state structure. Washington actively explores public higher education in the field of state management, the establishment of a successful coordination mechanism to provide an institutional guarantee for the healthy and orderly development of the State Higher Education.

Living for the City: Migration, Education, and the Rise of the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California

This book looks at Black Power politics on the campus and the street. In this nuanced and ground-breaking history, Donna Murch argues that the Black Panther Party (BPP) started with a study group. Drawing on oral history and untapped archival sources, she explains how a relatively small city with a recent history of African American settlement produced such compelling and influential forms of Black Power politics. During an era of expansion and political struggle in California's system of public higher education, black southern migrants formed the BPP. In the early 1960s, attending Merritt College and other public universities radicalized Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, and many of the young people who joined the Panthers' rank and file. In the face of social crisis and police violence, the most disfranchised sectors of the East Bay's African American community - young, poor, and migrant - challenged the legitimacy of state authorities and of an older generation of black leadership. Excavating this hidden history, Living for the City broadens the scholarship of the Black Power movement by documenting the contributions of black students and youth who created new forms of organization, grassroots mobilization, and political literacy.

Drogi i bezdroża szkolnictwa wojskowego w Polsce

The article presents the history of the military higher education system, which is connected to the shaping of the Polish statehood as well as its present state. The structure of this type of education system was dependent on the e ectiveness of socio-economic, political and military activities of public authorities. However, it is only the November Uprising which is generally associated with the revolt of the o cers from the O cer Cadets School [Szkoła Podchorazych] in Warsaw. The changes which occur within the military education system on account of its adjustment to the requirements of the Act “Law on higher education” of 27 June 2005 are very positive. They accommodate military higher education institutions to the public system of higher education, they in uence the development and the quality of education in these institutions, they obliged them to implement the regulations arising from the National Quali cations Framework and to observe all the procedures arising from the legislations which are enacted in the domain of higher education by the competent public authorities.

Performance Funding in Pennsylvania

Greater accountability in public higher education systems is a fact of life in the current political climate. Increasingly, one form this accountability takes is performance funding, which arises f...

O PROGRAMA DE APOIO A PLANOS DE REESTRUTURAÇÃO E EXPANSÃO DAS UNIVERSIDADES FEDERAIS: O CASO REUNI NA UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE VIÇOSA

In order to amplify the access to higher education in Brazil, the Federal Government has been editing and implementing policies to reduce social inequalities, to promote social inclusion and improve the quality of education, by utilizing the available physical structures. The creation of the Support Program for Restructuration and Expansion of Federal Universities – REUNI, by Decree No. 6096 on April 24, 2007, more than a governmental initiative, it is a public politics that aligns with the proposals of the leaders in the federal universities, in order to consolidate and improve the public system of higher education, as improving the efficiency, effectiveness and quality of the public services provided to citizens. This paper describes the initial guidelines and analyzes the data relative to the first year of REUNI implementation at the Universidade Federal de Vicosa, as well as the guidelines proposed and under progress to fulfill the goals of theprogram in this institution. Keywords: REUNI, public management policies, access to higher public.

A Percepção dos Gestores Públicos Estaduais Sobre o seu Papel na Implantação de Novos Padrões de Eficiência na Gestão Pública: O GESPÚBLICA

Aiming to broaden access to higher education in Brazil, the Federal Government has been editing and implementing policies to reduce social inequalities, to promote social inclusion and improve the quality of education, utilizing of existing physical structures. The creation of the Support Program for Restructuration and Expansion of Federal Universities – REUNI, by Decree No. 6096 of April 24, 2007, more than a government initiative, it is a public politics that aligns with the proposals of deans of federal universities, to consolidate and improve the public system of higher education, improving efficiency, effectiveness and quality of public services provided to citizens. This paper describes the initial guidelines and analyzes data from the first year of REUNI implementation at the Federal University of Vicosa, and also the guidelines proposed and in progress to fulfill the goals of this program in this institution. Key-Words: REUNI , public management politics, access in higher public.

Examining Retention and Contingent Faculty Use in a State System of Public Higher Education

In many cases, state systems of higher education are not only challenged to address decreasing state budgets but are also asked to increase student retention and other measures of student success. The increased use of contingent faculty may help economically, but this trend may have unintended consequences. This research used logistic regression methods to examine six institutions within a public higher education system for the effects of contingent faculty use on first-year student retention. A thorough examination of other traditional variables used in retention studies is also provided. Results are reported by institutional type via Carnegie classification. Most notably, high levels of exposure to part-time faculty in the first year of college are consistently found to negatively affect student retention to the second year. These findings have implications for both policy and practice in the use of contingent faculty across institutional types.

Participation and study decisions in a public system of higher education

AbstractWe analyze the decision whether to participate and where and what to study in a public system of higher education, based on a unique dataset of all eligible high school pupils in an essentially closed region (Flanders). We find that pupils perceive the available institutions and programs as close substitutes relative to the outside option. This implies an ambiguous role for travel costs: they hardly affect the participation decision, but have a strong impact on the decision where and what to study. To illustrate how our empirical results can inform the debate on reforming public systems, we assess the effects of tuition fee increases. Uniform cost‐based tuition fee increases achieve most of the welfare gains; the additional gains from fee differentiation are relatively limited. These welfare gains are quite large under conservative assumptions on the social cost of public funds, and there is a substantial redistribution from students to outsiders. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Program duplication in higher education is not necessarily bad

Public systems of higher education have recently attempted to cut costs by providing financial incentives to cut duplicated programs, i.e. programs that are offered at different institutions. We study the profit and welfare effects of reducing program duplication, against the background of a funding system reform in Flanders (Belgium). We find that dropping duplicated programs at individual institutions tends to be socially undesirable, due to the students’ low willingness to travel to other institutions and to the limited fixed cost and variable cost savings. Furthermore, we find that the financial incentives offered to drop programs may be very ineffective, leading to both undesirable reform and undesirable status quo. These findings emphasize the complexities in regulating product diversity in higher education, and serve as a word of caution towards the various decentralized financial incentive schemes that have recently been introduced.

Gubernatorial Authority and Influence on Public Higher Education

State governors have the potential to impact their states’ public higher education systems in a variety of very significant ways. The findings for the 33 governors included in this study suggest a great deal of variation in the extent of their authority and influence. Governors’ composite ratings of formal authority and informal influence are transposed onto a four-quadrant matrix of gubernatorial power. The matrix reveals that 19 systems have maximum-power governors, 11 have entrepreneurial-power governors, 8 have prescribed-power governors, and 2 have minimum-power governors.