Visually handicapped students in higher education: the position in eastern Europe

ABSTRACT

This article is based on findings made by members of the Student Support Service of the Royal National Institute for the Blind during study visits to Hungary, Poland and Czecho‐Slovakia in June and September 1991 and during attendance at a conference in Prague in November 1991. All these visits were funded by the EC under the Tempus scheme ‐ Trans European Mobility Programme for University Students. The present position of students who have a significant visual disability was assessed against a background of the services available to such students in Britain and Ireland. Information was sought on students’ studies, the support services available from universities, local societies for the blind and other sources. Interviews showed that a significant number of visually handicapped students were studying in higher education, aided generally by supportive friends and staff. However, a considerable lack of specialist material and equipment was revealed and, in certain cases also, a lack of awareness of special needs. There appeared to be little knowledge of the numbers of students with high partial sight, or of their particular requirements. Recommendations for change are made and discussed in relation to personal, financial, vocational and technical requirements, in the short‐, medium‐ and long‐term, bearing in mind economic constraints within the countries concerned.     

Towards a general model of quality assessment in higher education

In this article a number of elements of a general model of quality assessment in higher education are presented. On the one hand these elements are put in a historical context of quality assessment in Medieval universities and, on the other hand, deduced from the recent experiences with quality assessment in both North-American and Western European countries. With respect to the historical context a distinction is made between the intrinsic and the extrinsic values of higher education. Two types of quality assessment related to these values are also distinguished. Concerning the recent experiences with quality assessment systems, the practices in the U.S.A., Canada, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are explored. In the final section the general mode of quality assessment is discussed in the context of the distinction between the intrinsic and the extrinsic values of higher education.     

Why transitional public relations methodologies are needed for the reform of higher education in the countries of central and eastern Europe

This essay reflects upon the themes that emerged from the “Public Relations—An Instrument for the Transformation and Development of Higher Education in Central and Eastern Europe” seminar, for which the articles appearing in this issue of Higher Education in Europe were originally prepared. The transitional public relations approach, which was developed and introduced to the world public relations literature by the author, is used to analyze the impact of this type of public relations on the reform of higher education in the former communist countries of Europe. The main conclusion is that, in view of the common communist heritage of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the application of public relations strategies and instruments in higher education accelerates and facilitates reform of this key area of the economy and also causes it to become more effective. The above statement is particularly valid for private universities.     

Trends in private higher education in Australia

The last decade has witnessed a significant growth of private higher education around the world. The growth included the number of private education providers, and also the growing number of students. While some countries are experiencing trend growth, others are witnessing decline. Some of the reasons for the decline include increased regulation and stringent accreditation and reaccreditation of higher education institutions and courses, government policies to encourage the growth of public universities, and acquisition of small providers by large private education institutions. The growth of private higher education has increased competition, and it has also established collaboration with public institutions. The growth of private higher education has also raised concerns about ethical governance, maintenance of academic standards, and mechanisms to plan, review, and improve educational outcomes. This paper focuses on Australia where despite growth, there is limited research about private higher education. This paper reviews literature on the global growth and decline of private higher education. It then analyses the trends in Australia and possible scenarios for the future of private higher education in the country.     

Embedding quality culture in higher education in Ghana: quality control and assessment in emerging private universities

High quality provision has been one of the key aims of the current reforms in higher educational institutions across the globe since the beginning of the century and the millennium. Consequently this has led to the increasing demand for quality assurance (QA). This report identifies those institutional processes and structures that support the development of an internal quality culture in the emerging private universities in Ghana. The study bases its understanding of “quality culture” on the definition which sees it as referring to an organizational culture characterized by a cultural/psychological element on the one hand, and a structural/managerial element on the other hand. If we take our educational activity as a process, then the process (the activity) requires inputs (information, materials), resources (people, equipment, space) and control (QMS) to produce outputs (products and/or services). QA then is a culture—a way of continuously aiming to improve and do better—and the private universities in Ghana are responding to this.     

民办高等教育在高等教育体系中的定位

传统的高等教育类型划分影响了民办大学的准确定位 ,对民办高等教育发展产生了消极影响。本文提出民办高等教育应该属于综合类高等教育 ,民办大学有条件办成以全日制本专科教育为主的综合大学 ,而不是高等职业技术学校     

The growth of private higher education in Brazil: implications for equity and quality

There has been a dramatic growth in private higher education in Brazil in recent years. The World Bank has promoted this expansion on the basis of the private providers’ ability to ensure a rapid increase in enrolment, to improve quality through competition between institutions and to bring benefits for society at little public cost. However, the charging of fees means that the majority of Brazilians do not have access, and that inequalities are reproduced due to the relation between course costs and the value of the final diploma. Equitable access is, therefore, far from being achieved and is unlikely even with an increase in student loans and government subsidies. The contribution of private universities to the long‐term development of society is seen to be limited, due to lack of investment in research and academic staff.     

Organizational decline and effectiveness in private higher education

The central purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between organizational decline and three domains of effectiveness (i.e., academic, morale, and external adaptation) in private colleges and universities. The study differed from earlier inquiries in terms of its measurement of the organizational decline construct and its reliance on faculty perceptions of organizational effectiveness. The results clearly demonstrate that the relationship between decline and effectiveness is not uniform across the three types of private institutions (i.e., Research Universities, Comprehensive Colleges, Liberal Arts Colleges). For example, organizational decline has a negative effect on effectiveness in the academic domain only at Liberal Arts Colleges. Similarly, the magnitude of decline necessary to have a negative effect on effectiveness varies among the three institutional types. The implications of these findings for future research and for the management of decline in private higher education are discussed.     

英国私立高等教育机构类型及其质量保障体系探析

近年来,英国私立高等教育迅速发展,为英国高等教育规模扩张做出了巨大贡献.通过对英国私立高等教育机构类型的梳理和对其质量保障体系的分析,挖掘英国私立高等教育发展的优缺点,为我国私立高等教育发展提供有益借鉴.     

博洛尼亚进程中的欧洲高等教育质量保障及启示

一、博洛尼亚进程1999年,欧洲29个国家在意大利博洛尼亚举行的会议上,签署了博洛尼亚宣言,并确定了2010年前建立“欧洲高等教育区”的发展目标,博洛尼亚进程应运而生。这次会议的目标是:消除欧洲内国家之间学生流动的障碍;提高欧洲高等教育在全世界范围内的吸引力;确定欧洲范围内的高等教育系统的共同框架,并在这个框架之内建立本科和研究生两个阶段的高等教育结构。     

Culture and quality in higher education

The growth in quality assurance worldwide raises questions about what higher education should want from its quality programmes. The paper constructs a typology of quality assurance systems (drawing a distinction between the source of the judgement and the purpose of the process) and evaluates the alternatives. It argues that Total Quality strategies are the best suited to the higher education purpose but demonstrates that there are deep, often conflicting, cultural processes that can frustrate its introduction.     

Towards sustainable internationalisation of higher education

This article engages with the question: what does the internationalisation of higher education in times of globalisation sustain and what should it sustain? We first consider, through literature on globalisation and Stier’s (Glob Soc Educ 2(1):1–28, 2004) work, limitations of currently prevalent perspectives on internationalisation in economic terms. We then offer a brief review of how sustainability is understood in higher education and articulate our own notion of educational sustainability. We flesh it out in reference to data reflecting ideas and activities constitutive of daily practices of internationalisation in one faculty of education. We contend that our sustainability frame of reference can expand opportunities to think critically about internationalisation and, more importantly, offers opportunities to see internationalisation in its complexity, and to re-think and reorder practices that are not in alignment with educational goals and values.     

The rising cost of private higher education

The report illustrates the informational and analytical basis on which one high-cost institution—Yale University—sets its annual tuition levels and long-term pricing policies. The rising cost of private higher education in general, and of a Yale education in particular, is examined in a context that takes into account historical trends, economic data (price and income inflation), the financial condition of the institution, comparative cost data from other schools, and studies of the impact of cost on enrollment. The results suggest that current educational costs, despite their recent rapid increases, are not significantly above historical levels (after adjusting for inflation), are not unfair to students, are affordable to most families, and are in line with the costs of other private institutions. No serious impact on the quality or diversity of the student body was discovered.     

论陕西民办高等教育的缘起与发展

陕西民办高等教育有其自身的历史发展特点。促使其发展的成因主要有环境因素(教育环境和政策环境)和人的因素(办学者的动机、素质和性格)。陕西民办高等教育目前存在着一定的问题和困难,需要政府管理层制定相应的对策。     

Measuring higher education quality

Conclusion The panelists indicated that considerable progress is being made by such organizations as ACT and NCHEMS in identifying the domains of quality to be measured and particularly in devising unidimensional indicators of student progress. Few were able to cite comparable advancements in the development of multivariate techniques to assess the relation of student growth to other variables. Notable progress in achieving consensus on appropriate standards for measuring quality institutions or curricular programs within comparable institutions remains as a future task.Panelists were: William Toombs, Pennsylvania State University; Patrick Terenzini, State University of New York at Albany; Lois Torrence, University of Connecticut. Joan Stark, University of Michigan, was moderator.     

Patterns of subsidies to higher education in Europe

The patterns of government subsidies to higher education in France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (UK) are compared and contrasted. The subsidies are subsequently evaluated in the light of stated policy objectives, with particular attention to the objectives of efficiency and equity. Two extreme models of financing are considered; one in which public subsidy covers 100 per cent of the private costs of higher education, including income forgone by students, the other in which public subsidy to students is kept at a minimum. The study concludes that the ideal package from the standpoint of efficiency and equity is (1) a grants system in the last few years of secondary education; (2) a system of fees equal to about 30–50 per cent of institutional incomes and (3) an income contingent loan scheme (or graduate tax) for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.The research for this paper was sponsored by the United States Education Policy Research Center for Higher Education and Society under HEW Contract No. 300-76-0026. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Center. Our thanks are due to J. Froomkin for valuable comments on an earlier draft.