The paper compares institutional, legal, and political structures of adult residential colleges in Britain and Denmark and concludes that there are inadequate institutional safeguards in Britain, allowing the state to dominate nominally independent institutions. Danish folk high schools enjoy institutional safeguards against state power but suffer…

The historical path that led to the American system of institutional diversity in higher education is examined, and its positive (e.g., institutional autonomy, flexibility) and negative (e.g., possible over-responsiveness to short-term pressures) consequences are discussed. Issues in the privatization of higher education systems in other countries…

In Greece, universities do not have great autonomy. Areas of responsibility and authority of the state and the institutions are not clearly defined. Universities are always under the political supervision of the ministries of education. (MSE)

John Stuart Mill's principle of liberty is discussed with the view that it needs to be revised to guide moral judgments in higher education. Three key elements need to be modified: the action that is constrained; the constraint on the action; and the agent whose action is constrained. (MLW)

The evolution of the current relationship between state governments and institutions of higher education is chronicled, focusing on the oversight role taken on by the state in the interest of providing services and facilities for the public good. The place of student outcomes assessment in this relationship is examined. (MSE)

Local management of special schools (LMSS) in England is designed to increase school autonomy concerning staffing and resource allocation. However, special schools are constrained by the National Curriculum requirements, children's statements of special educational needs, compliance with governmental models for staffing levels, and the high…

Saint Mary's College (Maryland) is a small state liberal arts institution that has extensive control over its budget, property and assets, and decisions about borrowing money. These conditions, in effect since 1992, affords it substantial freedom from regulation, efficient spending, and greater opportunity to fulfill its mission as an honors…

Discussion of British university autonomy distinguishes between institutional autonomy and that of their academic staff. It is argued that, in the past decade, decline in professorial autonomy has been matched by enhancement of institutional autonomy and that universities exercise this autonomy within the funding parameters the government has…

The quality assessment process for Australian universities is examined, including its impact on quality improvement, whether judging quality at the institutional level is too coarse a measure to give accurate results, some alternatives, and whether the whole institution approach may lead to greater external interference in institutional affairs.…

Finnish higher education has begun to develop decentralization of decision making together with evaluation and negotiation in higher education. This article notes the risk that economic recession will bring about renewed centralization before self-regulatory mechanisms are set in place. (Author/JDD)

New Jersey's decentralization of governance in public higher education is examined after one year. The discussion looks at the evolution of the change, its goals, the extent to which increased autonomy in institutional governance serves the public interest, and the ways in which the restructuring affects trustees' views and their exercise of…

During the 1980s, the higher education systems of China and Taiwan were reformed as part of selective social transformations driven by different domestic forces: economic in China and political in Taiwan. Common to both reforms was devolution of institutional powers to colleges and universities, but within institutional and curricular limits…

The feasibility of using contracts rather than grants to fund higher education institutions in Australia is examined. The theoretical basis, nature of the contractual relationship, and likely effects of such a policy are discussed. Conditions necessary for success in achieving government objectives and maintaining university autonomy are…

In both Senegal and Uganda, higher education reform will occur only if the universities have more administrative and fiscal autonomy. A shift from government participation in governance, enrollment, and use of resources in favor of more indirect control is recommended. However, the specific policy approaches recommended for the two countries…

Discusses changes occurring in New Jersey's 19 community colleges since the State Board of Higher Education was abolished in 1994. At campus level, colleges have found less state regulation and much more autonomy, enabling them to respond more quickly and effectively to local needs; capital and state funding have also increased. Long-term success…