高等学校定位:竞争中的抉择

高等教育多样化是在社会竞争中由学校自主办学形成的。要用一种动态的眼光来看待所谓学校的“定位”。高等学校制定自己的发展战略是审时度势下的理性决策。政府的职能是完善社会竞争机制和宏观调节手段 ,构建合理的高等教育结构。     

卡内基高等教育机构分类与美国的研究型大学

卡内基高等教育机构分类是目前在世界范围内有广泛影响的高校分类体系,本文通过分析美国卡内基高等教育机构分类产生的背景、过程及分类标准的几次修订,揭示美国多样化高等教育系统的形成及其特点,特别是通过对分类中研究型大学标准的变化,揭示研究型大学的本质内涵。     

CONFERENCE ON INTERNATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION IN POLYTECHNICS AND SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS

A survey of current activities, undertaken by higher education institutions in the United Kingdom and other organizations and agencies which promote international cooperation towards solving problems involved in the improvement of student and staff mobility, constituted the main issues of a Conference on International Higher Education in Polytechnics and Similar Institutions. This conference was held on 29 and 30 March 1979 at Oxford Polytechnic.

The following article, which relates the work of this conference, was written for “Higher Education in Europe” by Arnold A. Zimmerman from the International Office of the North East London Polytechnic.     

ACCREDITATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN UKRAINE

The article describes the system of evaluation and accreditation of higher education which is being developed in Ukraine. Although the activities of quality control and accreditation are centralized around the activities of the Inter‐branch Accreditation Commission (IAC), the intention is to decentralize them as soon as possible. The results so far have been positive. The Ukrainian government wishes to create a higher education system fully compatible with the higher education systems of other European countries and therefore wishes to develop its evaluation and accreditation system in co‐operation with similar activities in other countries.     

LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION AND ITS OUTCOMES

The increasing diversity and internationalization of higher education in Europe require greater sophistication in the means of assessment of individual higher education institutions, individual units within given institutions, and learning outputs and outcomes. A short historical overview of assessment in Europe and in the United States is given followed by proposals to refine and to broaden specific aspects of evaluation. The authors suggest the development of instruments and procedures aimed at measuring learned abilities and adressing them in the context of curricula, learning environment, teaching, and learning; instruments which can measure both vertical and horizontal differences; and instruments suitable for measuring both outputs and outcomes. They further suggest a number of study design elements and conclude with a recommendation that CHER stimulate research in this crucial domain.     

ACCREDITATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN RUSSIA

Although the formal evaluation of higher education by state authorities has a long history in Russia, the creation of a system of accreditation began in 1990 in order to meet the challenge of the setting up of private institutions of higher education. There are two kinds of accreditation: state accreditation and public accreditation. This article stresses the former because of the two types it is the most developed. Its objectivity is assured through the use of computerized procedures and visualization. Moreover, the use of computerization permits the simultaneous evaluation of higher education institutions and in general responds rapidly to changing conditions in the Russian Federation.     

USSR: UPGRADING AS A PART OF LIFELONG EDUCATION AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO DEMOCRATIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Upgrading of professional knowledge and skills is an important factor in the concept of lifelong education. The following article tells how this important component is integrated into the USSR's higher education system. The article is based on a paper presented by Professor Dimitri Vasilyev, Head of the Department of Executive Teaching and Research Personnel at the Ministry of Higher and Specialized Secondary Education of the USSR, during the Consultation for the Preparation .of a Study on Recurrent Education and its Contribution to the Democratization of Higher Education in the Context of Lifelong Education, which was held at Unesco Headquarters in Paris on 23 and 24 April 1979.     

RELATIONS BETVIEEN EDUCATION,RESEARCH AND PRODUCTION IN HIGHER EDUCATION

The following six articles concerning relations between education, research and production are based on some papers presented during the CEPES Symposium on Relations between Education, Research and Production‐ in Higher Education in Europe. The main findings of this meeting, which was held in Bucharest from 26 to 28 June 1979, are presented in the chapter “CEPES Activities” on page 33 of this issue.

As can be observed, the following articles cover different aspects or problems of the relations between education, research and production’ in higher education, some of them refer to national situations, others analyse types of study which include productive work or/and research, and still others refer to institutional experiences. However, in spite of the divergence in the topics dealt with here, all papers and articles are based on a common, present‐day reality: that numerous reforms and programmes have been or are being introduced, the objective of which is to require that higher education become more closely linked with the world of professional and productive activities.     

MAINTAINING EFFECTIVENESS AMID DOWNSIZING AND DECLINE IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION

The amount of cutback, downsizing, and decline in U.S. higher education is at unprecedented levels and equals the prevalence of downsizing in the corporate sector. Because the consequence of downsizing in the private sector is often negative, the question arises: Does financial decline and downsizing in higher education also lead to organizational ineffectiveness? This study of 334 colleges and universities found that institutions with declining resources are as effective as institutions with abundant resources. Institutions that develop attributes labeled "the dirty dozen," however, perform less effectively. Implications for managing under conditions of fiscal stress are discussed.