A Conceptual Analysis of State Support for Higher Education: Appropriations Versus Need-Based Financial Aid

In this paper, we use economic concepts to examine the choice that states make between giving appropriations to public colleges or need-based financial aid to students. We begin by reviewing the economic justification for state support for higher education. Next, we introduce a simple economic model for comparing and contrasting appropriations and need-based aid for supporting higher education. We then provide a graphical depiction of the model and simulate the effects of each policy on access to higher education. We show that it is in the best interest of states to provide need-based aid and not appropriations. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of the factors that complicate the reallocation of state funding away from appropriations and towards need-based aid.     

Dramatic Declines in Higher Education Appropriations: State Conditions for Budget Punctuations

Public colleges and universities depend heavily on state appropriations and legislatures must decide how much to fund higher education. This study applies punctuated equilibrium theory to characterize the distribution of annual changes in higher education appropriations and defines the threshold for a dramatic budget cut. Using data for the 50 states from years 1980 to 2009, this study investigates the relationship between such unique policy events and state characteristics using a Cox proportional hazards model. Results show that economic and political conditions are most predicative of dramatic budget cuts. High unemployment rates increase the probability of cuts while rapid increases in tax revenue and wider income inequality are protective against cuts. Unified Republican and unified Democratic governments are both more likely to cut spending compared to a divided government. Sensitivity analyses of state characteristics associated with small budget cuts demonstrates that large cuts are indeed unique events catalyzed by different conditions.     

Current State and Development Trends of Education Policy Research in China in the Last Decade (2004–2013): A Statistical Analysis of Papers from Eight Core Chinese Journals

Abstract

The author conducted sampling and statistical analysis of papers on education policy research collected by the China National Knowledge Infrastructure in the period from the years 2004–2013. Under the current state of education policy research in China, the number of papers correlates positively with the year; the papers are concentrated in education journals; the researchers are primarily associated with institutions of higher education; and the studies cover a broad range of topics, while emphasizing the practice of education policy. The development trends of education policy research in China include a general rising trend for research on education policy; in the future, researchers from institutions of higher education will continue to be a dominant force in education policy research, and the authors’ regional distribution will continue to be imbalanced; education policy research will focus more on educational equity and improved quality, and studies of foreign education policies will continue to be a topic of interest.     

Market-Based Higher Education: Does Colorado’s Voucher Model Improve Higher Education Access and Efficiency?

In 2004, Colorado introduced the nation’s first voucher model for financing public higher education. With state appropriations now allocated to students, rather than institutions, state officials expect this model to create cost efficiencies while also expanding college access. Using difference-in-difference regression analysis, we find limited evidence that these outcomes occurred within the 4-year sector; however, the policy increased cost efficiencies among community college and reduced college access for some underrepresented groups. The paper discusses the challenges of applying market-based reforms to public higher education.     

对我国研究生教育财政投入体制机制的若干思考

本文在回顾我国研究生教育发展及资源配置历史变迁的基础上,分析了我国教育和科研财政投入的体制和机制,其特征表现为“国家财政拨款为主的多渠道教育经费筹措体制、综合定额加专项补助的高校经费拨款机制、直接拔款和科学基金组合的科研经费投入方式”;并对我国研究生教育财政拨款体制机制如何改革进行了探讨。     

An Examination of the Influence of Decreases in State Appropriations on Online Enrollment at Public Universities

State support for public higher education has been a primary concern for decades. Online education has been identified previously as an alternative revenue source that can offer financial relief to colleges and universities. This study uses IPEDS data and a fixed effects regression approach to examine whether public universities increase their reliance on online education in response to decreases in state appropriations. Consistent with resource dependence theory, we found a negative relationship between state appropriations and online enrollment at public 4-year institutions. Our findings indicate that public universities, particularly public doctoral institutions, appear to be responding to declines in state appropriations by engaging in revenue diversification and increasing their commitment to online education.     

Covet Thy Neighbor or “Reverse Policy Diffusion”? State Adoption of Performance Funding 2.0

Performance funding has become an increasingly prevalent state policy to incentivize student retention and degree completion at public colleges. Using a Cox proportional hazards model on state-level data from years 2000 to 2013, this study analyzes the latest wave of policies that embed base appropriations into the state budget to fund student outcomes. Results indicate that having a greater proportion of bordering performance funding states diminishes the likelihood of policy adoption, capturing a “reverse policy diffusion” effect. States with Republican-controlled legislatures, more professionalized legislatures, and rapid growth in unemployment rates are more likely to adopt the policy, while those with higher educational attainment levels and more bachelor’s degrees awarded per student are less likely. Implications include the surprising finding of reverse policy diffusion, which suggests that states are delaying adoption until after they can observe the political consequences and impacts of the policy in neighboring states. Findings point to a policy learning effect—by observing other state’s experiences, policymakers can make more informed decisions about whether to pursue performance funding as an accountability tool.     

Community College Mission: Re(S)ources Make a Difference

Community colleges are unique among higher education institutions in their potential access to local appropriations as well as state funding. A total of 26 states reported to the Education Commission of the States in 2001 that community colleges in their states received some share of local funding. Using data for 781 public community colleges, we explored the implications of resource dependency theory for mission differentiation between dual-funded and state-funded colleges. Significant differences were observed in their student bodies, programming, expenditures, and outcomes. These differences have implications for the increasing dependence on state funding for community colleges and the roles these institutions play.     

河南省普通高等学校教育经费投资结构研究

河南省普通高等学校在扩大办学规模的同时,也面临着教育经费短缺、资源供求矛盾突出的状况。研究河南省普通高等学校教育经费结构及其存在的问题,对于进一步优化高等教育投资结构、解决教育经费短缺问题将具有重要意义。以河南省普通高等学校为研究对象,分析了从2001-2008年河南省高等教育经费收入所取得的成就以及投资结构所存在的问题,并在此基础上探讨优化河南省普通高等教育投资结构对策与建议。     

The activation,appropriation and practices of student-equity policy in Australian higher education

Current national reforms in Australian higher education have prioritised efforts to reduce educational disadvantage within a vernacular expression of neoliberal education policy. Student-equity policy in universities is enmeshed in a set of competitive student recruitment relations. This raises practice-based tensions as universities strive to meet specific institutional targets for low-socio-economic status (SES) and Indigenous student participation, whilst broadening participation more generally within the sector. This paper seeks empirically to trace the activation and appropriation of federal policy through two sites of higher education policy practices: a state government-sponsored equity practitioner body and two differently positioned universities, Dawson and McIllwraith, as they engage with low-SES schools. Working together Dorothy Smith’s insights into the textually mediated activation of local practices, Levinson and colleagues’ concept of the local appropriation of authorised policy, and Bourdieu’s notion of the contested field, we demonstrate that the generation of state level and institutionally specific policies for student-equity practices not only articulates to federal policy, but also appropriates the ruling relations of mandated policy. Further, the scope of these creative local appropriations is organised within a hierarchical academic field through which particular institutional imperatives, as well as the needs of low-SES students, are negotiated. The analysis demonstrates the vernacularisation of policy in the national rearticulation of global discourses, in appropriation at the level of the state body and in the practices of equity workers.     

From Policy to Practice in Higher Education: The experiences of disabled students in Norway

Knowledge about disabled students in higher education is fragmented. It is therefore difficult to assess whether policy goals actually promote better conditions for disabled students. The aim of this article is to take a closer look at the experiences of disabled students in Norway and, in light of policy goals, to identify obstacles in the higher education system. This study is based on qualitative data from in-depth interviews with disabled students in higher education. The findings indicate that an educational reform in Norwegian higher education seems to have helped to strengthen disabled tertiary students’ potential for learning, but there are a number of critical periods during their studies when it is imperative for disabled students to get the adjustment needed.     

DIMINISHED STATES? NATIONAL POWER IN EUROPEAN EDUCATION POLICY

ABSTRACT:  The increasing research on international organisations' education policy lacks analyses of the relation between international organisations and nation states. This paper aims to analyse the power of nation states in international education policy. Focusing on the new degree system in higher education in Europe, partly from Foucault's governmentality perspective, the paper suggests that nation states retain power while operating in international settings. The study's conclusions argue that the nation states' power might be a chance for further participation of affected people.     

扩招政策目标评析

分析了高校扩招最主要的四个政策目标——拉动内需、科教兴国、缓解就业压力、推行素质教育——都存在设置不当的问题。阐述了扩招政策目标已经在大学生就业、素质提高、科教兴国等方面造成了不容忽视的社会损失,并导致我国高等院校出现举债经营的问题。提出各级政府在制定公共政策目标时,应加强风险意识。     

Adult Education and State Policy in Latin America: The contrasting cases of Mexico and Nicaragua

This article examines adult education policy in two settings. The cases of Mexico and Nicaragua illustrate how the goals, content, methods, and outcomes of adult education differ according to state policy. Mexico (1970-1990) represents a "corporatist" state that undertook an incrementalist approach to literacy provision for purposes of political legitimation and social integration, while Nicaragua (1979-1990) represents a "revolutionary state" that pursued a structuralist approach to achieve fundamental changes in education and society. Despite their contrasting orientations, these two countries share many characteristics typical of dependent capitalist states in Latin America.     

美国大学面对财政危机的人事对策：兼职教授与教授终身制

在州政府减少对高等教育拨款的情况下美国大学采取了开源和截流两种方式来缓解财政困境。本文以风险社会理论为框架,应用定量研究方法探讨了美国大学在应对经济困境和质量之间的矛盾时采用的教师选拔制度。研究发现,美国公立大学在过去的十年中（1999年至2008年）经历了学费、杂费和食宿费的迅速增长期,而这些增长很大程度上是以美国在校大学生债台高筑为代价的,过度开源使上大学难成为社会关注的焦点,公众和政府的压力迫使大学把焦点部分地转移到截流。美国大学财政截流的基本方式是在不严重影响质量的前提下,选用兼职教师代替全职教师。各大学特别是研究型大学,使用了相对严格的终身职提拔制和年终教师评审制以保障教师的质量,进而保障大学的质量。在风险社会中,美国大学所面临的困境是全球大学正在或即将面临的共同课题。希望美国大学人事截流又着力保障质量的实践为中国高等教育人事制度改革提供一种可能的借鉴。

Abstract：

When states reduce appropriations to high education,American universities take two methods to cope with the fiscal crisis：increasing revenue（including tuition,fee）and reducing spending on hiring faculty.By using Theory of Risk Society and quantitative methods,this paper explores how American universities deal with contradictions between fiscal difficulties and quality of universities.The research found that under the condition of ensuring basic quality,universities often employ part time rather than full time faculty.Relatively higher standards of tenure system and faculty annual review further ensure quality of teachers.The problems that American universities face are the global problem,which other parts of the world are encountering now or will encounter in the future in a risk society.The author expects that the experiences of American universities in this regard will provide one of the lessons for China＇s reform in human resource management in higher education.     

我国高等教育大众化进程中的主要问题及解决思路

本文主要探讨了当前我国高等教育大众化进程中存在的主要问题,即途径和方式不合理、教育质量下滑、地区间发展不平衡、教育经费不足以及学生就业问题突出等,并提出了相应的解决思路。     

近十年我国高等教育微观研究动态综述

高等教育微观研究是较少受到高教界同行关注的领域。从研究内容及研究角度对1997年至2006年近十年来中国期刊全文数据库中有关高等教育微观研究的论文进行简要地分析与评论,可以清晰地看出国内高教微观研究已呈现出以下几个较为明显的发展趋势：日益重视决策、政策与规划研究;关注在较高层次上和多层面上研究高等教育质量与效益问题;更加重视“高等教育学科”基本理论与体系建设工作;高教领域高科技建设与基础性研究工作将进入新的发展阶段。     

在基础课教学实验室评估实践中对评估政策执行理论的探讨

本文以高等教育评估政策执行的理论为指导,结合广西壮族自治区高等学校基础课教学实验室评估的实践,探讨评估政策执行的意义、特点、目标、原则和方法。     

改革开放以来我国高等教育政策工具的演变分析

政策工具是政府为解决社会公共问题或达成一定的政策目标而采用的可以控制的手段。任何一种政策工具都有其发挥作用的条件和假设。对改革开放以来我国高等教育政策工具演变的分析可以看出,要在复杂的高等教育改革中顺利实现政策目标,必须在公众参与和民意调查基础上识别政策目标群体的态度、价值观、行为方式等特性,并在此基础上选择合理的政策工具,这是高等教育政策执行科学化和民主化的必要前提。     

Balanced Development for Provincial-Level Coordination and Higher Vocational Education

Abstract

In the rapid development of Chinese higher vocational education, large gaps have appeared in the scale of development and resource generation among the provinces, among regions in the provinces, and among higher education institutions in the provinces. Balanced regional development and provincial-level coordination have become policy focal points, but a discussion of the relationship between the two has been lacking in the academic world. Based on 2009 data on vocational colleges in China, the quantitative analysis in this paper shows that there is a tension between the governance models of higher vocational education and balanced development of vocational colleges within provinces. Research findings show that school affiliation is related to the ability to attract public funding, appropriations for public schools are significantly higher than for private schools, and tuition for private schools is significantly higher than for public schools; school affiliation is related to output, and the new student registration rate and number of cooperating enterprises is higher for public schools than private schools; and there is a significant positive correlation between the ratio of prefecture-level city schools and the average number of cooperating enterprises for schools in a province, and a significant positive correlation between the ratio of private schools and the average tuition of schools in a province. This paper suggests that to achieve the dual objectives of balance and development, provincial-level governments should adjust their administrations and financing for higher vocational education and decentralize their authority to local governments, in order to build a diverse and flexible new model for higher vocational education governance.