This paper aims to investigate the possible framework for encouraging the presence of local dimensions in an internationalised and globally competitive system by using Taiwan's higher education system as a case. It begins by discussing the notion of internationalisation and its implications for higher education. It then turns to look at Taiwan's…

Vietnam has recently accepted the need for a comprehensive transformation of its higher education system. In 2005, the Ministry of Education and Training developed a Higher Education Reform Agenda (HERA), a blueprint for reform of the system by 2020. The Government of Vietnam recently approved the main elements of the Agenda, including a proposal…

People, especially people in Washington, are worried about the state of American higher education. Last September a report by the Spellings Commission on the Future of Higher Education expressed grave concern about the quality and purpose of colleges and universities. The report cited statistics that implied that higher-education institutions are…

Over the past 2 decades, a large number of countries have been engaged in the decentralization of decision-making to schools. Although the motives and incentives for school autonomy are often diverse, it is commonly believed that decentralization will enhance the quality of schooling. Based on a secondary analysis of data from OECD's Programme for…

In recent years, Swedish higher education institutions have experienced reduced regulation while at the same time more authority has been given to the boards of the institutions. Paradoxically, this situation has neither been experienced as an increase in autonomy nor as increased--or maintained--academic freedom. On the contrary, dependency on…

Since President Bush named Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the Supreme Court, speculation has run high as to where the new court may be headed. Citing three recent cases ("Morse v. Frederick", "Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, Inc." and "Garcetti v.…

To spearhead increased emphasis on admissions, the British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT) formed an Admissions Committee in Fall 2003. The committee recognized the importance of institutional autonomy in determining admissions policies and processes at each institution. Following initiation of the Student Transitions Project…

In a number of European countries, the recognition of the university's key role in the evolution of the knowledge society--and in the identification and solving of political, socioeconomic, environmental, and cultural problems--has led to radical reforms of higher education systems. Denmark has implemented the most radical reforms of the region in…

Charter schools emerged in the early 1990s as a strategy for improving student learning and increasing quality educational options, often for underserved students and communities. The charter school idea centers on the promise of increased autonomy for accountability for results. Thus, the charter movement has helped to lead the charge--and has…

The legal terrain regarding institutions' rights for use of major charitable gifts has clarified somewhat in recent months. While this may encourage institutional fundraisers, it is also clear that extreme care still must be taken about the acceptance and terms set for use of transformational gifts. As recent lawsuits demonstrate, careful planning…

In Lower Saxony, the legal status of universities as foundations under public law is offered because increased autonomy is a core condition for effective and economical management of resources and can attract increased private and public funding and improve corporate identity. A university senate can apply to receive this status. The university…

Describes how Florida's public liberal arts college, New College, is becoming a freestanding institution separated from the University of South Florida, but that independence may force a change in its mission. (EV)

Educational inequalities are evident even before children start school. Some educational achievement gaps widen out as individuals progress further through the education sequence and into the labour market, especially those connected to disadvantaged students. Thus, there is a significant need for careful evaluation of educational policies that…

Since the middle of the twentieth century in England and Canada responsibility for the design and delivery of pre-service teacher programmes has been located primarily in universities and their Faculties/Schools of Education. Operating within a tradition of university autonomy, the governance of these programmes is nonetheless constrained by the…

"The Autonomy Gap," a recent study by the American Institute for Research and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, found that many public elementary school principals feel constrained by a bureaucracy that impedes their ability to raise student achievement. Unfortunately, those principals are still held accountable for their school's results--even…