Mergers and Linkages in British Higher Education

In its pursuit of the cost-effective expansion of higher education (HE), the British Conservative government has strongly encouraged competition and has opened the HE sector to the influence of market forces. This policy has certainly helped to drive down unit costs but it also has an inherent destructive potential which requires to be mitigated by a whole spectrum of collaborative structures. To study the interplay between competition and co-operation in British higher education, it is useful to focus on the relationships between higher education institutions (HEIs) as manifested in mergers (both actual, proposed and ‘failed’) and the various forms of inter-institutional linkage which are leading to a re-alignment of HEIs in the post-binary era. A number of forms of linkage, stopping short of merger, are defined and illustrated: for example, affiliation, validation, accreditation, franchising and access arrangements, and the important function of consortia is underlined. However, because they exist within a matrix which is basically competitive, such forms of co-operation are subject to stress and disruption. The British higher education system manifests an unusual degree of flexibility which has enabled it to adapt organically to new policies and challenges. It is more permeable than that of most other European countries, but this permeability is gradually being endangered by increasing UK reliance on formal legislation in HE. Experience abroad, notably in Australia, indicates that wholesale dissolution of boundaries, combined with fierce forms of competition, can in the end lead to serious deterioration in educational standards. A balance between competition and co-operation must be sought, but can never be ‘established’ once and for all because external circumstances require it to be constantly re-adjusted. The research on which this paper is based was carried out with funds from the Economic and Social Research Council and from the Faculty of Education Research Committee of the University of Ulster.     

Towards Partnership in Teacher Education in Northern Ireland—an unfinished story

This paper was presented at the Gargnano seminar. It presents an analysis of the reform of teacher education in Northern Ireland from 1992 to 1995. It points to similarities and differences with developments in England and Wales and describes in detail the debate on partnership teacher education up to June 1995. The focus of the paper is on policy development in N.I. and on the interactions between the main players involved in advising government and implementing policy. The positions taken up by the Government, the HE institutions, the schools and the Northern Ireland Teacher Education Committee are described. The approach taken by the University of Ulster in the planning and delivery of social work training in N.I. is used as an exemplar of partnership building worthy of examination by the teaching profession. The paper concludes with a short section (written in September 1996) which brings the reader up to date on some major developments, including a “step back from the brink”.     

Hong Kong University and Polytechnic Grants Committee

The political uncertainties surrounding Hong Kong's future as a British Crown Colony have not inhibited either the Hong Kong Government or its particular version of a University Grants Committee (UGC) system from devising and planning a continuing expansion of higher education at a time when most other countries are levelling off or contracting their own.This article deals with the many unique features of the Hong Kong situation of which perhaps the most important is the nature of the Hong Kong Government - traditionally colonial and potentially authoritarian, not elected yet highly sensitive to Chinese opinion both internally and externally, and highly efficient in most of its management activities in spite of a strongly laisser faire tradition.The Hong Kong UGC system is charged with much wider planning functions throughout higher education than elsewhere and is responsible for the polytechnic as well as the two universities - hence its trans-binary designation as the University and Polytechnic Grants Committee. While this has helped its overall planning and academic guidance roles, it has involved it in severe difficulties in relation to its basic financial role which requires it to develop methodologies of financial assessment of Polytechnic costs for which no overseas models exist. Its academic membership is still entirely from overseas, with inevitable repercussions on its ability to arrange adequate collective discussion and its reliance on its local secretariat who act as the Government's de facto Department of Higher Education.     

Political decision-making in socialist education: a Hungarian case study (1958–1960)

The subject of this article is a definite shift in socialist pedagogy: the implementation of polytechnic education in the late 1950s. First, the Soviet model is presented, then the analysis of its Hungarian introduction shows the decision-making process thoroughly, from the first steps in February 1958 to the publication of the ‘Principles’ in September 1960, which affected subsequent discourse about the so-called ‘school-reform’. The study is based on the reports of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party archives, mainly the files of the Political Committee, because this body designed and determined the characteristics of the new era in Hungarian education. Silence dominated the afterlife of the reform after 1965 – in retrospect, it was a failure – and the situation has not changed since. Although the archives are now open, the actors in the decision-making process, and their different interests, have not yet been investigated by scholars.     

试论合并高校档案管理的整合创新

高校合并实际是一种教育资源的重组,是联合办学、优化资源配置的最高形式.是教育体制改革中体制变动最大、涉及各方利益最深的一种形式.本文试就高校合并后在档案的管理机构、管理制度、管理模式、管理手段上如何整合创新这一问题展开探讨,以期达到做好合并高校档案工作目的.     

对高职教师“双师素质”培养方法的探讨

在介绍当前高职教育背景的前提下,简单叙述了高职教育中教师的作用及高职教育的发展对高职教师提出的新的要求,着重讨论了何为“双师素质”及其在当前形势下针对“双师素质”教师队伍的可实施的具体措施。     

Who Will Speak for the Universities? The Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals in the Age of Mass Higher Education

Since the demise of the University Grants Committee (UGC) the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (CVCP) has had an opportunity to forge a new relationship to the state. While the Committee has continued to engage in elite negotiations with state institutions such as the funding and research councils, it has also become an active pressure group exerting its influence upon the political process in general. Perhaps more interesting than the recent change in the CVCP's role is the way in which, given the expansion of the university sector following the passage of the Further and Higher Education Act, 1992, it will develop in the future. This future role, so the article argues, is dependent upon the interaction of two factors: the nature of the funding context imposed by government, and the ability of the Committee to sustain its own internal cohesion. The article poses alternative outcomes dependent upon contrasting interpretations as to how these two variables could develop.     

高职"订单教育"简论

"订单教育"是我国高职教育的一种新型教育模式,对高职教育的发展起到了有利地推动作 用。本文就高职教育"订单模式"的形成与特点作了简要论述。     

Institutional mergers and access: The case of North-West University

Abstract

This article examines how faculty and administrators of the newly merged institution, North-West University, understand issues of access and seek to foster an environment that enhances their achievement, given considerable reservations that are often associated with any organisational change process. In light of the reality that the merger between the two institutions – one historically white (advantaged), the pre-merger Potchefstroom University, and the other the historically black (disadvantaged), the pre-merger University of North West – is an involuntary arrangement ordered by the Minister of Education, how would the faculty and administrators of the newly merged organisation manage their competing, and in some cases conflicting, objectives to create a new institution whose mission aligns with national equity objectives? The perspectives illuminated by the participants in this study highlight the persistent tension between the historical values of these institutions and the national vision to attain access and equity. These tensions are evident in the three core themes that emerged from this study: 1) language and its impact on the culture of the post-merger institution; 2) the continuing impact of race in hiring decisions; and 3) access issues for students. While the government mandated this amalgamation in an effort to create an equitable, accessible post-merger university, three years into the merger process core elements of the pre-merger Potchefstroom University and University of North West (UNW) campuses are still firmly rooted. For all practical purposes, these are two campuses that share little beyond their common institutional name acquired after the merger and a common institutional executive administration team.     

加入WTO后我国职业技术教育发展趋势的思考

我国加入WTO后 ,职业技术教育的发展将增添原动力 ,同时也面临着新的挑战 ,高职教育的根本对策是加速现代化建设。     

The Victorian College of Pharmacy: a case study of amalgamation failure and success in Australian higher education

Small specialist higher education institutions often face challenges when negotiating with larger partners. In 1988, John Dawkins, Australia’s federal Minister for Education, introduced sweeping reforms to create a Unified National System of higher education. Dawkins’ criteria for funding necessitated mergers for many smaller providers. The Victorian College of Pharmacy in Melbourne, Victoria, presents a case study of how one institution negotiated this policy and asserted its interests to achieve an optimal outcome. It rejected amalgamation with the University of Melbourne, reaching a superior arrangement with Monash University despite state and federal opposition. This article combines archival research from Melbourne and Monash Universities and the state government with interviews of key players. It examines the importance of institutional identity and how small institutions can navigate government policies of consolidation. It also focuses on the deleterious effects of inflexible government policy and how the College successfully overcame these challenges to complete its desired merger.     

Reconciling university autonomy with public accountability: The state,University Grants Committee and higher education in New Zealand

This article analyzes the contemporary role of the University Grants Committee (UGC) vis-à-vis New Zealand's universities and the Department of Education. Emphasis is given to the historical and political factors which resulted in devolution of the University of New Zealand in the early 1960s and brought the UGC into being. Established to guide the development of the university system in a period of budgetary expansion, the UGC assesses the financial needs of the universities and the national need for new academic programs. Recent financial exigency prompted the government to introduce restrictions on the financial autonomy of the universities. The UGC has lost some of its autonomy in consequence, but a fundamental change in its relationship to government or in its protective role with respect to the universities is considered unlikely.     

Resource Dependence in the Further Education Marketplace: considerations for the managers of college mergers

Abstract

In 1993 all institutions designated by the government as ‘further education providers’ were removed from local authority control (under the provisions of The Further and Higher Education Act 1992). All such colleges are now responsible for institutional self‐management, a task which, in the context of the current post‐16 education environment, presents a number of challenges.

Allied to a range of government generated targets, further education (FE) institutions find themselves subject to increasingly intense competition from their perceived local rivals. This is significant because a substantial proportion of college funding is based upon student recruitment (as well as the retention upon and the completion of programmes by students). Thus, there is an inevitable emphasis placed upon competing for the available student cohort. At the same time the FE sector is also subject to wider government measures, including the ongoing capital expenditure cuts for the sector introduced in the 1995 Budget.

In the context of considerable external influence and growing competition, many FE colleges are consequently exploring alternative strategies for coping with a complex and uncertain environment. In particular, a growing number of institutions have examined a merger strategy as a response to the pressures within the sector. By 1998, it has been suggested that 100 FE colleges will disappear due to college mergers. It would therefore appear that integration between institutions is at least being explored by a number of colleges, whilst it has been undertaken by a small number of other providers of FE.

The main focus of this article is to examine the motives of colleges seeking to merge with another FE institution, to identify the advantages and disadvantages associated with such a strategy and to explore the important issues for institutions involved in the merger process.

The article is a preliminary study of college mergers within FE and will initially note that the FE market is fundamentally different to an unrestricted, free market. In the context of government regulation it will be asserted, using a resource‐dependence model, that colleges are locked into a financial dependence upon the government. In turn, the government is then able to demand that specific criteria are pursued across the FE sector. On this basis, it will be noted that the merger is an increasingly prominent strategic option for those institutions responding to this financial dependence.

Given the nature of the FE market, the established resource dependence and the characteristics of FE colleges, the article will subsequently examine the perceived advantages and disadvantages derived by institutions pursuing a merger strategy. This will then be extended to embrace an examination of the key management issues that colleges will encounter when considering integration.

The article will therefore be of interest to academics and practitioners focusing on the nature of the external environment and markets in the public sector, the response of FE colleges to markets, competition and the government, and those examining mergers as a strategic option.     

Buffer,coupling, and broker: Reflections on 60 years of the UGC

The main conclusion of this survey of the way in which the British University Grants Committee (UGC) has acted as an intermediary between government and universities is that the UGC secures the maximum degree of self-government possible at any given time. How great that “maximum” is depends essentially on the power and purposes of the two principals (government and universities) rather than on the limited powers of the go-between (the UGC). Whereas for the first 45 years of its existence the relations between the principals were such as to focus attention on the UGC as “buffer,” changes in those relations since 1963 have emphasised the fact that the UGC is also a “coupling” between state and higher education. The pressures of economic circumstance and government action have suppressed the “euphoria” that accompanied the expansionist fifties and sixties, but to kill the messenger would be inappropriate.     

Anatomy of a Merger

The 1993 merger between Jordanhill College of Education and the University of Strathclyde is analysed by the Principals of the two institutions. They examine such factors as the nature of the merger itself, the importance of the timing of the proposal, the influence exercised by prior experiences, and the attitude of the key players - Senate, Academic Board, Court and Governors, students, academic and non-academic trade unions, the Funding Council and the Scottish Office Education Department. The authors then proceed to compare their merger with mergers which have occurred in higher education in the Netherlands and in Australia. While there was a major difference, in that there was no government pressure to merge, there were other significant ways in which the process was similar. Many of the lessons learned in those countries apply equally in the UK.     

Comparing Forms of New Higher Education Organisations at Start-up

In this article, we investigate three recently established entrepreneurial organisations created to deliver education and training to new audiences of learners at a distance. Each of the organisations -- the University of Michigan's Academic Outreach Program, the University Center at Northwestern Michigan College, and the Michigan Virtual Automotive College -- is involved in multiple complex partnerships with internal and external entities, including government, industry, and education. Paying particular attention to the structures, strategies, and processes of these organisations, we argue that their emergence signals the evolution of a postsecondary knowledge industry in which permeable boundaries, new competitors, and market sensibilities are converging to challenge the fundamental nature of postsecondary education.     

澳洲高校合并后校园文化的培养与重建

高校合并现象引起了学术界的高度重视，如何处理和缓解由此带来的行政管理、教学、科研等诸方面的问题和矛盾，是对高校管理提出的新的挑战，其中合并后校园化建设更是其中一个不容忽视的方面。本着重介绍先于我国高校完成合并的澳大利亚高校的校园化培养，以及其校园化对高校实质性融合产生的作用等问题，说明校园化建设对培养新组建高校的忠实度(loyalty)和一体感的重要性。虽然中澳两国在基本国情、高校管理等方面存在着许多差异，但认真了解、分析澳洲高校的管理经验，对我们仍有许多可借鉴之处。     

影响高职教育质量的因素及对策

高职教育在我国现已具有相当规模，但质量问题不容忽视，本分析了因为培养目标定位不准，实训条件缺乏，师资及生源等因素，造成高职毕业生特色不明显，社会认可度低，同时论述了为恢复高职的应有地位，保证高职培养质量，目前应采取的几项主要措施。     

The British universities and the state: A comment

This article comments on the relationship between British universities and government departments with special reference to the work of the University Grants Committee and the role of its Chairman. The extent to which universities are free to exercise discretion is delineated and the place of lay (i.e., non-academic) people in university government is described. The future would seem to call for increased political adroitness on the part of those who govern universities if the unusual freedom at present possessed by British universities is to be retained.A lecture given at the University of Lancaster on May 28, 1979. Sir Charles Carter was formerly Vice Chancellor, University of Lancaster.