Drawing on comparative case studies of public higher education in Massachusetts and New York, examines recent policy initiatives to terminate academic programs, eliminate remedial education, and promote honors colleges. Describes how these policies contribute to increased stratification of programs and students within a state system as well as…

Proposes a utility maximization theory to explain the continuation of the growth process and describes the nature of the public policy which will be necessary to effect changes in resource allocation in higher education. (Editor/PG)

The Brazilian system of higher education is discussed, including its evolution, the 1968 reform and its unintended consequences, and the recommendations of the 1985 presidential commission on higher education. Issues of interinstitutional diversity, institutional autonomy, and the influence of special interest groups on policy are addressed.…

A broader form of cost recovery for higher education, repayment in-kind through national or community service is considered. Focus is on the experience of developing countries, where such programs for students and graduates emphasize personal development rather than potential contribution to society. Ways of redesigning programs to constitute a…

Changes in Mexico's higher education in the last two decades are examined, focusing on policy change since the late 1980s. Emerging processes and unresolved issues are identified. Two conflicting perspectives, that of traditional university governance with limited assessment and new policy demanding quality and accountability, are discussed.…

In 1987, major reform of New Zealand education at all levels was initiated. Several major reports have analyzed the need for change suggesting more dramatic changes are inevitable but are more likely to come from future economic and social changes than from government initiative. (MSE)

Evidence from Sweden's creation of Norrland University, which uses higher education for regional development, shows that allocation of higher education resources can be used to alter traditional patterns of centralization and that the activities of the outlying institution play as crucial a role as centrally formed policy. (Author/MSE)

A recently completed major study into the future of British higher education is an impressive analytical effort but may be criticized for its openness to bargaining and policy advocacy and for neglecting to outline a range of available options and to clearly spell out major value tradeoffs involved in the options. (MSE)

Events leading to Great Britain's substantial and differential cuts in student numbers and recurrent grants to universities are chronicled and related to the responses of nine universities. The universities' lack of preparation for the cuts and policy implications are discussed. (Author/MSE)

Management strategies used by higher education systems in three western industrialized societies (Quebec, France, and West Germany) and some of their consequences are described and some similarities and differences among them are examined, focusing on factors in the systems' environments. (Author/MSE)

It is argued that the modern university is under economic pressure to produce and transfer knowledge, that this shift to a market orientation alters the form of knowledge, that the current form of university governance mitigates against academic entrepreneurship, and that a new public policy for universities is needed. (MSE)

Competition and government regulation in the Netherlands' and U.S. higher education systems are compared, and policy options to inject competitive dynamics into a highly regulated system are discussed. Policy options include demand-oriented policies (e.g., price changes, enrollment limits) and supply-oriented policies (e.g., institutional autonomy…

Australian education is competing with other areas of government spending for funding, and its advocates must increasingly legitimize their claims. Education decision-makers must work to get as much funding as possible to its programs and ensure that program output accommodates the wishes of those producing them and those funding them. (MSE)

The policy-making and policy implementation processes used in Swedish higher education, the most comprehensive recent reform effort, are analyzed to illuminate the larger problem of higher education reform in general. It is concluded that the experiences do not fit the standard models of public choice, nor do they conform to prevailing ideas about…

Changes in the structure of Chile's higher education system resulting from major reforms in 1980-90 and a shift to elected government in 1990 are chronicled, and the major objectives and approaches of the new government are outlined. Establishing the nature of relationships between state, system, and society is currently a central issue.…