Financial Autonomy and Challenges to Being A Regionally Responsive Higher Education Institution

This paper discusses some current problems and challenges of the Finnish AMKs (polytechnic institutions), and whether financial autonomy could contribute to finding solutions for some of these problems. It provides an overview of the current status of financial autonomy of polytechnics in 6 European countries, and finally attempts to find links from financial autonomy to the AMKs' role as regional boosters. The AMKs are still faced with some administrative and cultural traditions related more or less to secondary level vocational institutions. The new Polytechnic Act (2003), 351/2003, guarantees self-governance for the AMKs as regards with their internal issues. At the same time, the Act stipulates that budget power and strategic steering belongs to their public or private maintainers. This raises the question of to what extent institutions actually are autonomous. The essence of autonomy rests on independent decision-making processes. The study shows that the Finnish maintenance system reflects strongly on the area of financial autonomy compared with the similar institutions in other European countries. Financial autonomy may be a factor that strengthens a higher education institution in becoming an organisationally uniform, responsive and flexible entity.     

How do Higher Education Institutions Enhance their Financial Autonomy? Examples from Finnish Polytechnics

Numerous studies have addressed how state authorities and public funding bodies control, regulate, steer, supervise or oversee higher education institutions. There are fewer studies on how higher education institutions respond to the actions of the mentioned authorities. States have aimed at increasing the autonomy of higher education institutions. At the same time institutions are expected to generate social benefits and economic growth. There is an endless tension between a policy that will strengthen the autonomy and simultaneously retain a space for state steering. The Finnish polytechnic and university sectors have very different origins from which their financial autonomy takes its shape. This article sheds light on how six Finnish polytechnics aspire to enhance their financial autonomy. The polytechnics operate under two separate steering systems, the state and local owners, and both of these actors exercise their own steering. This article shows that polytechnics are willing and able to enhance their financial autonomy. They calculate their advantages and habitually engage with the Ministry of Education or their owners depending on the case in question. The financial autonomy of polytechnics does not culminate in a form of diversified funding sources, but as balancing between the two masters on whose resources they are heavily dependent.     

Swedish universities towards self‐regulation: A new look at institutional autonomy

Abstract

Swedish universities are required to change towards more effective self‐regulation as the government has recently reduced state steering and devolved further responsibilities to them. In this paper, ‘self‐regulation’ is related to the concept of ‘autonomy’, a concept which is analysed on the two dimensions of ‘purpose’ and ‘authority’, resulting in four models of state governance and consequently in a different ‘space of action’ for the institutions. However, in order to develop self‐regulation, the space granted must also be used effectively to realise autonomy. Six Swedish higher education institutions are analysed concerning how they have used their new space of action and what restrictions they have met in their efforts for self‐regulation.     

Towards the In‐College Evaluation of TEC Programmes

Abstract

The advent of the single European market has generated new demands for training and consultancy, and many further and higher education institutions have been anxious to exploit the commercial opportunities that have been created. In general, however, institutions have been more successful in providing training for the public sector than they have been for the private sector. A survey of FHE reveals the kinds of single‐market training that are on offer, and suggests that the training that is available needs to be more precisely geared to the requirements of business if colleges and universities are to make further inroads into the private sector. It is argued that much training is currently ‘supply led’ rather than ‘demand led’, and that institutions need to recognise important differences between information needs, skills needs and qualifications needs in the design of their single market provision. There are, however, examples of good practice, and institutions’ perceptions of their own needs in improving their European training are also discussed. The article concludes with some practical steps that institutions might consider in order to improve their single‐market training.

‘The training performance of industry and commerce in this country must be raised to meet the greater commitment and higher standards of other European countries.’

The words belong to the then Minister for Further and Higher Education, Robert Jackson, and were spoken in 1990 at the launch of the Department of Education and Science‐funded PICKUP Europe Unit ‐‐ an initiative designed to help further and higher education (FHE) to meet the training needs of industry and business in anticipation of the changes heralded by the single European market (SEM). Helping industry and business to respond to the challenges of the enlarged European market fitted well into the PICKUP scheme, which was intended to encourage FHE institutions to make their expertise and resources available for the purposes of updating and reskilling the labour force. It reflected the Government's desire to build a stronger link between education and wealth creation, and to foster competence‐based, as well as knowledge‐based, aspects of educational provision. The 282 measures associated with completion of the single market have made it increasingly important that workers at all levels are familiar with the new Europe in which they will produce goods and services, but just how effectively are further and higher education institutions facing up to their own challenge, and providing the ‘training for Europe’ that is considered so important in ensuring that British businesses exploit the opportunities of the single market?     

‘Complete freedom to choose within limits’ – teachers’ views of curricular autonomy,agency and control in Estonia,Finland and Germany

ABSTRACT

To examine different approaches to teacher autonomy in nation-states, three countries were selected for a comparative study: Estonia, Finland and Germany. The emphasis of the study lies on the subjective perceptions of upper secondary school teachers (n = 33 semi-structured interviews) regarding their curricular autonomy and experiences of being controlled by the system. The article discusses different concepts of teacher autonomy and agency theoretically and concludes that they are partly overlapping, but not the same. Agency can be understood as the realistic actualization of autonomy within the constraints of the teaching profession, while autonomy is, in theory, more liberating, focusing on self-directedness, capacity for autonomous action and freedom from control. The data analysis showed that the expectations of teachers as to the amount of desired autonomy varied greatly. While the Finnish teachers in the study perceived control over teachers’ work to be unnecessary, due to their high professionalism, the Estonian and German teachers did not advocate absence of control, instead preferring to ‘have complete freedom to choose within limits.’     

Higher education students’ experiences of a short-term international programme: Exploring cultural competency and professional development

Background: Globalisation trends such as increased migration to and within European countries have led to even greater cultural diversity in European societies. Cultural diversity increases the demand of cultural competency amongst professionals entering their work field. In particular, healthcare professionals need knowledge and skills to equip them to work with clients from different cultural backgrounds. Within higher education (HE), the professional development of cultural competency should ideally feature in undergraduate education and is often promoted as a by-product of a study abroad period. However, recognising that logistical and financial barriers often exist for extended study abroad, one alternative approach could be participation, at home or abroad, in a short-term international programme set within students’ own HE institutions.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore HE students’ experiences of participating in international ‘short-term mobility week’ programmes at three European universities.

Methods: Each university involved in the research offered short-term programmes for healthcare professions students at their own institution, where both local students and students from abroad could participate. Participants were healthcare students in the programme at one of the three universities. Data were collected through focus group interviews (4–8 students per group; n = 25). The data were transcribed and then analysed qualitatively, using a content comparison method.

Results: The analysis identified six categories, which reflected students’ journeys within the short-term international experiences.

Conclusions: The analysis suggested that, for these students, engagement in a short-term mobility week programme provided valuable opportunities for encounters with others, which contributed to personal and professional development, greater confidence in the students’ own professional identities, as well as an increasing sense of cultural awareness.     

Decision-making in Context: Swedish and Finnish Teachers’ Perceptions of Autonomy

ABSTRACT

This article presents the results from a survey investigating 708 Swedish and 1583 Finnish teachers’ perceived autonomy with a focus on the teachers’ perceptions of who makes the most important decisions in school. Teacher autonomy is seen as exercised at different levels; by teachers individually in the classroom or by teachers as a collective in school; and in different domains of teachers’ work, since the degree of decision-making by teachers is likely to differ between educational, social, developmental and administrational issues. Finnish and Swedish teachers’ perceived autonomy varied in somewhat different ways between the domains. Finnish teachers generally perceived themselves to be more individually autonomous, while Swedish teachers were more collegially oriented.     

Strategic management of internationalisation processes: Problems and options

Abstract

In the framework of their first SOCRATES/ERASMUS applications in 1996, institutions of higher education in Europe were asked to formulate and submit a European Policy Statement (EPS) expressing the managerial and strategic thrust of their European goals and activities for which they wanted to receive support. As this was a new exercise for many institutions, especially from countries in which mission statements are not the rule, the resulting EPSs often contained a number of inconsistencies with regard to institutional strategies and policies and with regard to the relationship between institutional and European goals and policies. The contribution discusses typical problems of the strategic management of internationalisation processes at higher education institutions by presenting results of an analysis of these EPSs. It also draws some conclusions regarding implications for future developments in the context of institutional management of change and the concept of the learning organisation.     

Training of specialists and the labour market in Russia

Abstract

In this paper the authors argue that the use of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) in the implementation of the Bologna process presents coordination problems that do not allow for the full coherence of the results. As the process is quite complex, involving three different levels (European, national and local) and as the final actors in the implementation process higher education institutions (HEIs) have considerable degree of autonomy, assuming that the implementation of Bologna is a top‐down linear policy implementation process does not account for the developments taking place, which produce implementation difficulties at several different levels. Constraints resulting from economic concerns at European and national levels may be an obstacle for the Bologna's contribution to a social Europe.     

From participation to competition: Changes in the notion of decentralization in Swedish higher educational policy 1

Abstract

The relationships between higher education and the world of work are viewed, principally, as similar in economically advanced societies. The comparative study ‘Higher Education and Graduate Employment in Europe’, however, indicates substantial differences between European countries as regards transition to employment, as well as the employment and work situation, according to objective and subjective measures. The analysis is based on a survey of more than 30,000 graduates from 10 European countries about 3–4 years after graduation. The findings suggest that only a minority of 10–20% of graduates face substantial problems on the labour market or end up in positions not commensurate with their level of education. There is a clear North‐South differential in Europe with respect to transition and objective employment measures, while the pattern is more differentiated with respect to the perceived utilisation of knowledge, the self‐rated adequacy of position and the job satisfaction.     

Ownership and governance: the privatisation of New Zealand universities

Following the Learning for Life (Ministry of Education 1989) reforms in New Zealand, enacted in the Education Amendment Act 1990, and the development of an equivalent full‐time student (EFTS) funding system and student loan scheme, a taskforce was established to investigate the feasibility of a capital charge scheme for tertiary institutions, with responsibility also for examining the issue of governance. In late 1995 the New Zealand Vice‐Chancellors’ Committee in 1995 ‘became concerned that there were proposals for change in the relationship of universities to Government being developed at the officials level’, decided to be proactive in reviewing proposals on governance and commissioned Graham Scott, former Secretary to the Treasury, to write a paper on the ownership and governance of New Zealand universities. In essence, Scott in association with his colleague Simon Smelt (Scott and Smelt 1995) argue that the Crown is actively seeking ways to contain or reduce its financial risk. On this basis they argue for a private ‘not‐for‐profit’ trust model which, they maintain, would reduce the risk and performance concerns of the Crown while at the same time increase the commercial freedom of universities. This paper reviews current debates on governance and ownership of New Zealand universities, commenting upon the trust model and recent attempts to develop a model of ownership monitoring for TEIs (tertiary education institutions). It begins by contextualizing the discussion in terms of both structural adjustment policy and New Zealand's model of public management, before focusing on two opposing models of devolution. The paper then proceeds to review the governance of higher education in New Zealand against the background of the shift from so‐called ‘state control’ to ‘state supervision’, focusing on public sector reform, the contitutional consequences of privatization, and the issue of ‘representation versus technocracy’ arising out of the consideration of the ‘not‐for‐profit’ model of governance.     

HUNGARIAN ACADEMIC CO‐OPERATION WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE UNITED STATES

Academic co‐operation between higher education institutions in Hungary and those of western Europe, on the one hand, and those of the United States of America, on the other, are compared. Hungarian co‐operation with western European higher education, particularly the European Union countries, has been far more developed than that with the United States. The greater success and scope of co‐operation with western European higher education institutions is attributed to the comprehensiveness of the TEMPUS Programme of the European Union countries and its careful and well‐planned responses to the problems of the central and eastern European region. However, Hungarian higher education could gain a great deal from more intensive co‐operation with American higher education. Efforts should be made to encourage such co‐operation including the greater involvement of American higher education institutions in TEMPUS projects.     

New guiding principles in educational policy: the case of Germany

Pluralism, decentralization, deregulation, school autonomy, greater diversity and parent empowerment in education are among the new guiding principles in educational policy in numerous industrial countries. Whereas this paradigm shift reflects the advance of the market ideology into the education sector in other (particularly English‐speaking) countries, the driving force behind this movement in Germany is rather the political system's loss of legitimation and the conflict‐ridden state of educational policy. The first part of the article takes a retrospective view which links up to the analyses of Weiler. It shows that the former strategies for securing legitimation and regulating conflicts ‐ involving science in the educational reform process, legalization and judicialization ‐ have only been effective temporarily. Using the new Education Act of Hesse as example, the hypothesis is developed that the strategy of increasing parent empowerment and partially transferring regulatory powers and decision‐making competence to individual schools will also not bring about the expected effects since this will not solve the structural problems of the German school system. In the second part of the article this thesis is elaborated within the framework of a differentiated analysis of the consequences of the structural problems as manifested in individual school types on local educational markets.     

从福利制度走向市场化——芬兰高等教育改革透视

芬兰高等教育长期秉承了北欧福利制度的特征,如政府办大学、教育平等和免学费政策等。从20世纪90年代以来,在新自由主义和全球化的影响下,芬兰逐步在高等教育中引入市场机制。特别是2010年新大学法的实施,把芬兰的高等教育改革推向了一个市场化的进程,其目的是给予大学更加充分的自主权,扩大社会参与,拓展经费来源,提高办学效率和效益。但其改革过程中出现了一些不确定的因素,芬兰高等教育改革的效果还需要进一步观察。     

新资本协议下金融机构操作风险管理初探

我国金融机构对其操作风险的认识及管理一直处于比较落后的水平．本文基于巴塞尔新资本协议的框架指引,总结现阶段我国金融机构在操作风险管理上存在的若干问题,提出相应的对策,以有利于我国金融机构操作风险管理尽旱与国际水平接轨。     

Higher education as a self‐guiding society

Abstract

Over the last two decades, there has been a significant change in the financing of higher education in the United States. A decrease in student and institutional support in real terms, tuition increases at all types of institutions, along with the view that students are the primary beneficiaries of higher education has resulted in policies that reduce the proportion of higher education costs borne by the federal and state governments. This paper will describe this financing shift in the United States, and analyse its impact on college participation with a particular focus on equity and opportunity. It will also provide an analysis of some questions that European countries should address as they implement their own policies that shift the burden of paying for college from the government to individuals, and as they consider various forms of financial assistance to help students pay for college.     

Changing Internal Governance: A Discussion of Leadership Roles and Management Structures in UK Universities

A series of reviews over the past six years – from Dearing ( NCIHE, 1997 ) to Lambert ( Lambert, 2003 ) – have addressed the question of whether the structure and process of ‘governance’ in higher education is fit for modern times. This is a proper question to ask as operating environments change and pressures on institutional resources increase. Indeed, it is not coincidental that both the recent government‐sponsored reports and those of the previous decade ( Jarratt, 1985 ; NAB, 1987 ) were associated with significant financial changes in the sector. There are further parallels in that both the reports of the 1980s and those of the later period heralded legislative changes that produced – or will produce – new patterns of higher education provision in the UK ( Education Reform Act, 1988 ; Further and Higher Education Act, 1992 ; Higher Education Act, 2004 ). The messages from the reports and White Papers ( DES, 1987 ; DES, 1991 ; DfES, 2003 ) published in this twenty‐year period have remained broadly similar, even though the wider environment has altered significantly. ‘Increase efficiency, find new sources of income and improve performance across an ever‐widening range of activities and services’ have been the watchwords of successive governments. Given the consistency of the message, it is useful to analyse the changes that universities have been making to meet these requirements and to consider what further changes may be needed in the light of new external challenges. The first part of the paper offers a historical perspective before addressing the evolution of leadership roles and management structures from the late 1980s. The second part considers some of the current drivers of internal and external change before discussing the kind of changes in internal governance that are emerging and that should be considered for the future. I conclude by arguing for a shift in focus from structure and roles to people and processes in the task of leading change in universities.     

AN OVERVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN A SAMPLE OF EUROPEAN COUNTRIES WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO PROVISIONS OF DISTANCE TEACHING

This article gives an overview of current provisions for environmental education in the context of distance education programmes in a sample of European countries. The methodology, that was employed by means of a postal survey aimed at identifying current trends in environmental education in relation to distance teaching, is described. The sample surveyed consisted of approximately 500 higher education institutions, members of the Association of European Universities (CRE), over 200 of which had signed the CRE‐Copernicus Universities Charter on Sustainable Development. The article presents a regional summary of the research findings that formed part of a larger enquiry into the status of environmental education in European countries, Commonwealth countries, and individual countries such as the United Kingdom and Pakistan.     

War and children in Finland during the Second World War

This article focuses on Finnish children during the Second World War, looking at children from two different points of view. First, it provides information on around 70,000 children who were transferred to Sweden and Denmark; so‐called “war children”. Second, it discusses the results of a survey of Finns born between 1927 and 1938 who stayed in Finland during the war years.

The majority of “war children” lived in private homes and many of them forgot their Finnish roots; around 15,000 emigrated permanently. Many of these transferred children do not feel at home in either country. Their educational level is lower than the average Finn’s, but their health is better owing to good medical care and nutrition during the war. The Finns who spent their childhood in Finland during the war suffered from hunger. Those in the countryside had better lives than those in cities or evacuees from the war zone. The children’s nightmares faded away with time and only a minority still see tanks and bombings in their dreams.

Compared with those from other European countries, Finnish children lived well and avoided seeing the horrors of war. However, they had to work and assist non‐governmental organisations more than did English children.