The Indian University Grants Commission

The Indian University Grants Commission (UGC), established shortly after Independence, has vested in its powers the responsibility of regulating academic standards as well as disbursing funds provided by central government.Unfortunately, in spite of such responsibilities being entrenched by statute, the UGC has chosen not to exercise them which has had serious consequences for academic standards in Indian universities. The Indian university structure was modelled on the collegiate structure of the University of London with the result that the vast expansion of student numbers in the 1950s and 1960s led to an uncontrolled increase in the number and size of the colleges which themselves came to dominate the university system. Again the UGC chose not to intervene and did not attempt to co-ordinate the growth of the colleges. Bearing in mind the public pressures for an expansion of university education, it would have been unrealistic to expect the UGC to have tried to prevent expansion but it could have sought to moderate it and to impose co-ordination. One result has been the growth of research institutes and high calibre teaching institutes outside the established university system. The UGC is now attempting to remedy the situation but it is clear that this will be a long and uphill task.     

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.     

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.     

论英国高校与政府关系的演变及其启示

英国的高等教育的发展具有悠久的历史,政府在对高校的管理方面也取得了许多成功的经验。英国高校与政府的关系从早期大学的高度自治逐步走向加强政府的干预。现阶段英国政府与高校的关系呈现三个特征：大学高度自治;中介组织协调,政府宏观调控;社会机构参与,市场机制引导。我国在深化高等教育体制改革的过程中可以借鉴其成功经验,处理好政府与高校的关系,以便更好地管理和建设我国的高等教育。     

关于高校管理中“去行政化”问题的思考

随着高等教育改革的不断推进,高校管理中的“行政化”问题日益突出,严重干扰了学术活动的活力和创造力,因此．推行高校管理的“去行政化”势在必行。我国目前的高校管理行政化的历史由来已久,探究我国高校管理“去行政化”的有效途径可以从以下三个方面着手：一是转变政府职能,理顺政府与高校关系,增强高校的自主办学权;二是民主管理高校,崇尚学术权力,处理好行政权力与学术权力的关系;三是以法律作为保障,坚持依法治校。     

高校去行政化的路径选择:以行政合同理论为突破口

高校行政化使高校成为政府的附属机构,严重束缚了高校的办学活力。实现高校去行政化需要转变政府职能,重新定位政府与高校的关系,还高校独立主体地位。适用行政合同理论处理政府与高校的关系是可行的。引入行政合同理论处理政府与高校的关系,有助于实现政府对高校管理模式的转变,突出高校的独立主体地位。应通过政府与高校订立行政合同充分保障高校办学自主权,使高校摆脱政府的束缚,从而逐步实现高校的去行政化。     

The British University Grants Committee 1919–83: Changing relationships with government and the universities

Since its creation in 1919 the University Grants Committee (UGC) has been seen in Britain and many other countries as a model piece of machinery for channelling funds from Government to universities. Over these 60 years there have been many changes and fluctuations in its relationships both with Government and universities, and its effectiveness has varied, depending on the circumstances of the period.Up till World War II the UGC achieved its purpose of serving as a buffer or shock absorber (UGC, 1968). These metaphors picture a largely reactive body responding to initiatives either by Government or the universities. After the Second World War there were calls for the UGC to play a more positive role in university development and national planning and its terms of reference were changed. The UGC's response to this change has been variable and only in the period post 1979 has it consistently played the broader role envisaged for it in 1946 although its rhetoric claimed this role for it in the 1960s. This more active role in the 1980s has brought mixed reactions: more respect from the Government but more criticism from the universities.Insofar as this criticism relates to the processes used by the UGC during its selective retrenchment activities (1981–83), these could be improved by a strengthened UGC; insofar as the criticisms relate to the basic idea of a committee composed primarily of academics apparently aiding and abetting a Government's policy to cut back higher education, the future viability of the UGC idea itself is called into question.Another variable in the UGC's future is connected with the recently created National Advisory Board for Local Authority Higher Education (NAB). Discussions have ranged widely over the future options for the coordination of higher education: a merger of the two bodies, their separate development or creation of an overarching body over both sectors and their respective agencies. For the moment, however, the continued existence of the UGC represents an extraordinary example of institutional longevity over a period when immense changes have occurred in British society, the machinery of Government, and the British education system.     

两次世界大战之间英国大学发展研究

两次世界大战期间英国大学教育数量发展平缓,科技教育发展不足;建立大学拨款委员会是这一时期大学教育发展的突破点,也是英国大学管理制度创新的范例;大学经费资助政策的倾斜与兼顾促进了英国不同层次大学的发展。     

高校办学自主权变迁的实证再研究（三）——改革开放四十年来高校学术自主权的变迁指数分析

政府简政放权、校级层面的学术治理机构设置与完善以及校院两级管理改革是高校学术自主权改革的三个主要路径。在前期研究的基础上，以这三个改革为主要内容，重新对高校办学自主权具体指标进行拆解和结构化，通过综合指数研究的方法，试图揭示改革开放四十年来我国高校办学自主权的变迁特征。研究结果表明：第一，总体上，随着政府不断简政放权，高校通过学术治理机构完善和具体学术决策权向学术权力的让渡，获得了越来越多的学术自主权，学校内部也呈现出越来明显的学术本位特征；第二，在学术自主权的变迁路径上，沿着先外部自主权后内部自主权、先“如何提供”的生产决策后“提供什么”的战略决策规律演进；第三，不同类型和不同层次高校的学术自主权也呈现一定差异性，其中部属高校和拥有博士学位授予权高校在学术自主权的增长中贡献了更多力量。     

The Nigerian university system: meeting the challenges of growth in a depressed economy

A phenomenal expansion of the Nigerian university system began with the oil boom of the 1970s. Following a downturn in the nation's economy and the introduction of structural adjustment programmes, government subventions to Nigerian universities have dropped appreciably, and in real terms the universities have suffered considerable decline in purchasing power. Institutional structures for monitoring efficiency have played an important role in efforts to maintain academic standards; but in the face of continued uncontrolled expansion and in the absence of basic facilities for teaching and research, the university system cannot sustain a healthy growth. Greater attention is being given to improved fiscal management, income generation by the universities and rationalisation of academic programmes. As scholarships and bursary awards for able but indigent students are resuscitated, cost recovery measures in the universities need to be intensified. Proposals for the establishment of private universities operating within guidelines prescribed by the National Universities Commission (NUC) should be re-examined.     

论高校自治与大学生受教育权的保护

近来,大学生诉高校案件接连不断,这反映出高校自治与大学生受教育权之间存在着紧张的关系。这种紧张的关系主要是立法的缺陷尤其是空白性授权、高校内部管理失范、行政体制的缺陷以及回应型司法的缺失造成的。高校自治与大学生受教育权从紧张走向和谐,需要准确认识二者的辩证统一关系,从立法上保证高校自治的能动性,加快高校的良法自治进程,并完善受教育权的救济渠道。     

Strategic planning directions of Malaysia’s higher education: university autonomy in the midst of political uncertainties

In Malaysia, the national government has seen fit to steer higher education policy in a direction that is in the ‘national interest’. This notion of ‘national interest’ is best exemplified by the changing relationship between the State, higher education institutions and the market. Since the late 1960s, we saw the gradual but steady erosion of university autonomy with the increasing dominance of the State. The recently launched National Higher Education Strategic Plan 2020 and the National Higher Education Action Plan, 2007–2010, which operationalised the Strategic Plan, promises greater autonomy for the universities. While this increased autonomy for universities could be regarded as Malaysia’s response to deal with emerging issues in higher education management and governance, the amendments to the University and University Colleges Act, 1995 have not resolved the issue of wider autonomy from the Malaysian treasury regulations for public universities. For the State, in the present climate of political and economic uncertainty, giving full autonomy to the public universities is seen to be inappropriate and untimely. The State considers public universities as still heavily dependent on the State for resources, and thus the need for regulation and supervision.     

斯里兰卡社会福利制度初探

斯里兰卡独立以后 ,开始在全国实行大规模的社会福利制度 ,政府向全体国民提供食品、教育、医疗三大福利。社会福利耗费了国家大量的资金 ,使国家经济增长乏力。 1977年以后 ,斯里兰卡政府开始对社会福利制度进行改革 ,在一定程度上促进了经济发展     

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.     

新建本科院校突出办学特色、提高教育质量的实践与思考——以陕西学前师范学院为例

新建本科院校作为近年来本科高校的新生力量,正在不断壮大和发展,形成鲜明的办学特色、提高教育质量,在高等教育史上具有重要现实意义。本文论述了新建本科院校形成办学特色、提高教育质量的必要性,并以陕西学前师范学院为例,对新建本科院校在突出办学特色、提高教育质量过程中面临的问题与对策进行了一些分析和思考。     

“为有源头活水来”:新中国第一所新型大学的创办与成立

中国人民大学是新中国成立后中国共产党和中央人民政府创办的第一所新型正规大学,它在中国高等教育发展史上具有划时代的重要意义。中国人民大学的成立突破了社会阶层和职业构成的藩篱,使广大贫苦下层群众能够走入最高学府接受教育。中国人民大学创办初期的学校定位、建校过程、课程建设、人才培养等方面,生动反映了新中国成立初期党和国家创办新型高等教育的思路和举措。它的创办与成立,在新中国成立初期老解放区高等学校的正规化和新解放区高等学校的改造方面都起到了关键的示范作用,在今天仍然具有重要的历史价值。     

Australian Universities 1939‐1999: How Different Now?

Between 1939 and 1999, when the Australian population increased from 7 to 19 million, university enrolments rose from 14,236 to 681,870. Until 1974 the most notable changes were the increases in the size of universities and of departments (which encouraged greater specialization), continued increases in research expenditures, in the percentage of postgraduate students, and a gradual decline in collegiality. In 1974 the Commonwealth Government assumed full responsibility for government grants to universities and abolished fees at just that time when growth rates in the economy fell sharply. Government influence on the universities increased, and there were some departures from the no-fees policy for international and postgraduate course-work masters and diploma students. Then in 1988 the Government decided to abolish the distinction between universities and colleges of advanced education, to create through amalgamations a smaller number of much larger universities and to set a specific mission for each university in the interest of economic growth. The Tertiary Education Commission was abolished and the universities dealt directly with the Minister and his Department. The Universities became distinctly more managerial, less collegial, and the range of courses and degrees was greatly expanded. There are now legitimate doubts about the quality of some degrees. Student fees came back, but in a way that reduced the financial burden on the government without giving the universities greater freedom. The government sponsored collective bargaining for university staff but as universities were not given the capacity to earn much additional income, increases in salaries increased student/staff ratios and induced a decline in morale.     

印度大学拨款委员会及其对我们的借鉴意义

随着我国高等教育迈进大众化发展阶段,政府如何在转变职能的过程中通过中介组织加强对高等教育的管理成为日益迫切的问题。本文介绍了印度大学拨款委员会的建立、组织、职责、工作程序及其与教育司和各邦政府的关系,探讨了我国在高等教育管理中建立缓冲机制的必要性。     

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.     

中美两国公立大学办学模式比较研究

从办学的法律结构、管理、财政资助、使命和任务方面对中美两国公立大学的办学模式进行了比较分析后,找出了异同点。建议中国加快立法建设,构建有中国特色的公立大学治理结构;出台鼓励捐赠办学的法律法规,拓宽筹集办学经费的渠道;高校加强财政管理和资本运作,解决办学经费短缺的困难;建议高校实施通识教育课程改革,有利于创新型人才的培养。