Articulation and transfer: a symbiotic relationship with lifelong learning

The purpose of this paper is to identify and discussthe inter-relationships between the phenomenon called articulation of curricula and transfer of credits and lifelong learning. Examples feature discussions contained in the recently published APEC-HURDIT book, Lifelong Learning: Policies, Practices and Programs. As described by a number of authors in that book, three futures are predictable for short-cycle higher education systems: institutions essentially non-universities now in planning or developing stages worldwide are likely to modify courses and strengthen distance learning and prior learning delivery techniques for growing numbers of adult re-entry students; industry will become increasingly involved in the delivery of postsecondary education; and technology will expedite non-traditional and non-sponsored education. (Kintzer 1997: 69). Responses to major questions and final comments deal primarily with the three futures in the order mentioned. Illustrative material and interpretations related to experiences in the United States on short-cycle (community) colleges are also interspersed throughout the text. The three predictable futures discussed with particular reference to Pacific Rim countries may also be transferrable in policy planning and action to other nations where a symbiotic relationship between articulation and transfer, and lifelong learning is emerging. Other investigations are therefore strongly recommended. For example, continuing studies of relationships between Universities and the developing Colleges of Further Education in the UK would be very appropriate. In addition, major questions under discussion throughout Europe are: Should the German fachhochschulen- the postsecondary technical institutions so abundant in the former West Germany- become a pattern for other countries in Central and Eastern Europe? How should such short-cycle institutions be related to national universities in credit transfer and lifelong learning opportunities? Similar questions are being asked in Kenya where the well-established ‘Harambee’ technical institutes are gaining momentum. Testing and evaluation of the three futures discussed in this article should be continuous processes worldwide.     

The politics of innovation in French higher education: The university institutes of technology

The creation of the French university institutes of technology (IUTs) in 1966 is characteristic of attempts by a number of industrialized nations to establish institutions of higher education better adapted than the traditional university to new cohorts of post-secondary students. The IUTs provide intensive short-cycle programs to train middle-level personnel in technical and administrative fields. Although the courses are designed as terminal, over one-third of IUT graduates go on to higher education, including a disproportionate number of students from lower social strata. Their staff are drawn from the universities, technical secondary education and the professions. Administratively, the IUTs occupy an uneasy position partly connected with the universities and partly under direct ministerial authority; there is substantial involvement on the part of representatives of employers and trade unions as well. Despite this ambivalence of function and status, the IUTs are now well established as a modestly successful innovation. They represent a major aspect of the attempt by French policy-makers to introduce more effective methods of instruction and evaluation into the universities and to render them more responsive to the needs of the society and the economy.The first draft of this paper was originally presented at the 1974 Annual Meeting of the Northeastern Political Science Association, Saratoga Springs, N.Y., November 7–9, 1974. A similar version appears in: Ladislav Cerych, ed., Between School and Work. Paris: European Cultural Foundation, The Institute of Education, 1975.     

现代大学制度建设应体现法治精神

建设具有中国特色的现代大学制度既是我国高等教育事业发展的必然要求,也是对现代大学重新进行制度变迁与制度设计的再造,更是高等教育领域内的重建运动和制度选择.现代大学制度法治精神的重塑,应在现有法律框架下,依法调整高校与政府、社会的关系以及完善高校内部治理结构.高校与政府关系的良性运行,依赖于"有限政府"的"依法行政",政府对大学管理权限应集中在行政规划、行政监督、行政指导、经费分配等方面,其他事项则是高校办学自主权的范畴.而高校与社会的关系,则表现为公共教育权与社会教育权的博弈与平衡,通过"协调与张力模式"的整合,使二者的关系从索取走向支持、从非均衡走向均衡、从冲突走向融合,从而实现高校与社会关系的和谐发展.高校内部治理结构的完善,应彰显高校的学术逻辑,建构学术权力本位的高校内部治理结构.     

Issues in short cycle higher education

If a transition from elitist to mass higher education is to be brought about, traditional universities will not be able to do the job alone; new types of higher education will have to be developed to cope with increasing numbers and more diversified student needs. One possibility is expansion and appropriate reforms of short-cycle higher education and OECD's Education Committee has been exploring the problems involved in setting up such institutions or programmes and integrating them into the educational system and the society at large. These problems and some of the solutions envisaged are described in the following article.This article first appeared in the OECD Observer, February 1972.     

Global university rankings and their impact on the internationalisation of higher education

Global university rankings are a worldwide trend that emerged in times of the globalisation and internationalisation of higher education. Universities worldwide are now striving to become “world‐class” institutions and are constantly aiming to improve their ranking position. Global rankings of universities are thus perceived by many as an ultimate tool for assessing the level of internationalisation at individual higher education institutions. This article first discusses the meaning of and relationship between the globalisation and internationalisation of higher education, as their influence on the emergence of global rankings is undeniable. It then outlines the methodological designs of four main global university rankings which serve as key prerequisites for the subsequent analyses of both the international(‐isation) indicators that these rankings include and of the international ranking initiatives that focus exclusively on the international outlook of higher education institutions. In the concluding discussion, the article reveals that, due to the predominantly quantitative orientation of global university rankings (on the internationalisation of higher education), their results should not be generalised or understood as a means to improve the quality of (internationalisation of) higher education.     

University Rankings in Japan

Japan has a highly diversified mass higher education system, consisting mainly of private institutions. In their highly developed and matured "market", higher education institutions have been ranked in terms of selectivity for many years. However, the university rankings that began in the 1990s took a different approach, that is, showing multiple rankings in order to enrich the perspectives of university applicants. This article aims at tracing the development of university rankings in Japan and at explaining the link between rankings and the mature, but drastically changing, Japanese higher education market.     

高等学校法律地位变革的功能导向与风险因应

伴随着高等学校任务体系的持续扩张,高等学校法律地位变革的功能导向不断强化。在大陆法系国家,高等学校通常具有基本权主体、国家机构或公法设施以及民事主体或公法意义上的法人等“多重”且“交叠”的法律地位。在英美法系国家,高等学校作为“混合型机构”的特征日益凸显。经由普通法与成文法的持续发展,形塑出高等学校作为自治机构、公共当局、非营利性机构以及贸易实体或法人等不同类型且富有“张力”的法律地位。高等学校法律地位变革中功能导向的强化,既为高等教育治理中多元利益的整合提供了可能,也客观上导致高等学校作为学术机构本质的式微,并衍生出自治权限萎缩、利益冲突状况加剧、教师权利危机凸显等诸多风险。在此背景下,如何调整学术子系统与法律系统之间的复杂关系,如何在传统与现代之间保持必要的张力,构成大学法研究的前沿议题。     

Finnish adult students’ perspectives on short-cycle study programmes: motives and evaluations

ABSTRACT

We investigated how students in Finland perceive short-cycle higher education programmes. In line with the European trend, Finland has piloted short-cycle study programmes in order to attract adult students into higher education. We found that the students were mainly satisfied with their studies, and that their orientations to studies and learning were extrinsic in nature. The strengths of the programme were perceived as related to the flexibility of the studies, the variety of teaching methods, and the extensive contents of the studies. The main challenges were associated with difficulties in using information and communications technology (ICT) within the studies, and issues with time management. The study sheds light on how more open higher education structures and study processes can promote participation in higher education among adult students.     

我国研究生教育的效率分析

以大学为分析单元,将教育和研究作为研究生教育的产出,将导师数、具有高级职称的教师数和研究经费作为投入,通过DEA(数据包络分析)对我国66所大学的研究生教育的效率进行定量分析发现:31所大学的研究生教育是总体技术有效的,47所大学是纯技术有效的,而规模无效的大学中有32所处于规模收益递减阶段。从数量效率看,有33所大学处于规模收益递减阶段,从质量效率看,有39所大学处于规模收益递减阶段。提高我国研究生教育效率的当务之急是提高管理效率,消除规模无效。     

Indigenizing the Western concept of university: the Chinese experience

Modern universities are uniquely European in origin and characteristics. With the diffusion of the European model into the university throughout the world, the heritage of colonialism and the fact that contemporary universities are Western institutions without much linkage to their indigenous intellectual traditions are the fundamental reasons for the failure of non-Western societies to effectively establish their modern higher education systems. In China, the integration between the Chinese and Western ideas of a university remains unfinished despite many efforts to indigenize the Western concept since the nineteenth century. This article examines and compares the characteristics and development of medieval European universities and traditional Chinese higher learning institutions. In contrast to most existing studies on higher education, which have overwhelmingly portrayed the powerful influence of economic and political realities, this article adopts a cultural perspective on the development of Chinese higher education, calling for the return of culture in the analyses of higher education development and arguing that Chinese universities have considerably improved their hardware but not their software. In the current great leap forward of the Chinese higher education, attention to institutions and cultural establishments is usually absent.     

University Image:

The declining number of university age students, and decreases in state and federal funding for higher education contributed to the need for many institutions of higher education to create and maintain a distinctive image (a niche) in the marketplace. New trends already evident, as higher education copes with these changes, include the increasing use of advertising, promotion and other strategic marketing tools which are applied to position or reposition institutions. This article investigates the formation of university images by applying information processing theories in relation to consumer decision-making. The study takes the perspective reflecting interests of students whose major concern is their employability after graduation. It examines the number of attributes on which graduates are evaluated, composition of these attributes, the method of attribute processing, and the effect of the university overall image on the evaluation of its graduates.     

对普通高校体育若干问题的思考

认识与分析普通高校体育存在的若干问题，提出发展高校体育的几点对策，对普通高校体育探究改革之路，谋划生存与发展空间是个启迪。     

论高等学校定位

高等学校定位 ,包括高等学校在整个社会大系统中的定位 ,一所学校在整个高等教育系统中的定位 ,学校内部各要素在学校发展中的定位三个层面。当前应重点研究的是高等学校在高等教育系统中的定位 ,其实质是高等教育系统的分层。在对高等学校进行定位时 ,应综合考虑社会发展的需求、相关学校的状况以及自身具备的优势等各方面的因素 ,展其所长 ,要有大视野、大智慧和大手笔     

Informational capital and the transition to university: First‐in‐family students' experiences in Austrian higher education

The agenda for widening participation in higher education has led to increasing numbers of students with a broader range of education and family backgrounds. However, transitioning to the university landscape remains a highly complex negotiation process, especially for first‐in‐family students, who cannot draw on previous experience from higher education in their families. Gaining access to informational capital—a combination of cultural and social capital—plays a crucial role in managing education transitions. We draw on rich empirical data obtained from 26 autobiographical narrative interviews with first‐in‐family university students in Austria to investigate how transitions to university are affected by informational capital. We also explore how access to informational capital was influenced by (1) institutional practices, such as initiatives to support students, especially first‐year students; and (2) cultural fit—the extent to which a student's cultural capital corresponded with the dominant cultural capital in the field of their chosen discipline or higher education establishment. Our findings show that gaining access to informational capital was strongly affected by the institutional practices at universities within the different disciplines, thus highlighting the importance of higher education institutions in supporting their students during transition processes. We conclude with policy implications for how higher education institutions can assist first‐in‐family students to succeed at university.     

德国大学教师聘任制的现状与特征

德国高等教育机构有大学(综合大学、教育大学、神学大学、艺术大学等)和高等专科学校。大学一般是州立的,属于公共法人团体。大学的经营管理,主要由校长具体负责。州立大学的教师是公务员。德国大学对教授、准教授以及教师的招聘一般实行公开招聘制度,并有明确的程序要求以及任职条件。大学教授没有任期规定,经过一定的试用期,通常是作为终身官吏被任用,其他教师有任期规定。     

University Policy and Coordination Systems between Governments and Universities: The Experience of the Catalan University System

The co-ordination, control and financing mechanisms for higher education institutions have been the subject of ongoing political analysis and technical debate within university systems over recent years. The interrelationships between governments (as the ones in charge of university policy), universities and society have in recent years undergone a restatement process, due principally to the widespread changes that have occurred in the higher education environment. In this context, the university system of Catalonia (Spain's most advanced and dynamic autonomous region) has, since 1997, been undergoing a new co-ordination experience between the government and universities centred around the programme-based contract formula, which has opened the way to a new system of financing and control of academic outputs for universities. The object of this paper is to critically analyse this experience (completely new to the Spanish university scene) in order to draw conclusions from the debate in progress on higher education co-ordination, financing and university autonomy. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

University policy and coordination systems between governments and universities: The experience of the Catalan university system

Abstract

The co‐ordination, control and financing mechanisms for higher education institutions have been the subject of ongoing political analysis and technical debate within university systems over recent years. The interrelationships between governments (as the ones in charge of university policy), universities and society have in recent years undergone a restatement process, due principally to the widespread changes that have occurred in the higher education environment. In this context, the university system of Catalonia (Spain's most advanced and dynamic autonomous region) has, since 1997, been undergoing a new co‐ordination experience between the government and universities centred around the programme‐based contract formula, which has opened the way to a new system of financing and control of academic outputs for universities. The object of this paper is to critically analyse this experience (completely new to the Spanish university scene) in order to draw conclusions from the debate in progress on higher education co‐ordination, financing and university autonomy.     

Comparing the Open University Systems of China and India: Origins,Developments and Prospects

The national open universities of China and India are unique adaptations of the open university model that emanated from the UK. These institutions have expanded to become the largest universities in the world as measured by current enrollment of approximately four million each. This article comparatively analyzes how these open universities have differentiated themselves from the open university model and from each other amidst similarities of outcome and differences of approach. Historical contexts, national governance of higher education, institutional administration, curriculum and international operations are the foci of analysis. The article contributes to the literature on national and local forces that shape higher education systems and aims to spur collaborations between the institutions in question for mutual benefit.     

Being highly internationalised strengthens your reputation: an empirical investigation of top higher education institutions

In an educational context characterised by globalisation, reputation constitutes a crucial issue for today’s higher education institutions. Internationalisation of higher education is often seen as a potential response to globalisation and, consequently, higher education has become increasingly internationalised during the past decade. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between internationalisation and reputation in top higher education institutions. Results reveal that internationalisation positively influences a university’s reputation but also moderates the relationship between the institution’s reputation and its institutional performance with regard to research quality, teaching quality and graduate employability.     

Nationalisation, Localisation and Globalisation in Finnish Higher Education

This article analyses and discusses the interplay between the social processes of nationalisation, localisation and globalisation in a single European nation state. The view of nationalisation put forward draws on a national case study based on historical and sociological research findings. The second part of the article presents a case study of the nature of globalisation and localisation in an average Finnish university. The article shows that nationalisation of Finnish higher education has created a cultural understanding of higher education institutions important for competition with other nations. As for localisation, on the one hand higher education institutions support their local communities and provinces to gain social and economic benefits. On the other hand, local communities and provinces support their higher education institutions in the hope of benefiting from them. The case studies also suggest that economic globalisation creates new dynamics within higher education institutions both through strategic alliances between higher education and commercial enterprises and through the emergence of alternative new funding sources for research.