There has been much concern about standards in British higher education in the last few years, as the number and percentage of students graduating with good degrees has increased. In 1997, 53 per cent of graduating students were awarded 2:1 or 1st class degree; in 2008 the figure was 61 per cent. How then are standards maintained? There is, of…

In 1983, Burton Clark published a study that was to become a classic work on the organisation and government of higher education systems (Clark 1983). He constructed three "ideal types" of system--state system, market system and professional system, and summarised the way that national systems of higher education are dependent on the forms of…

Examines the implementation of the "Fachhochschule" policy in Austria since 1992 when an international policy review supported the Austrian government's decision to create a postsecondary sector alongside universities to offer vocationally oriented degree level courses relatively free from governmental regulation. The authors represent viewpoints…

Discusses the guidelines on the Diploma of Higher Education and the Bachelor of Education prepared by the transbinary working party, the policy of student grants, and polytechnic status. (Editor)

This description of the financing of higher education in the public sector raises critical questions of democratic control and financial accountability. Focus is on the Advanced Further Education Pool set up in England and Wales in 1958. (Editor/LBH)

The present and historical role of the University Grants Committee (UGC) in Britain are analyzed with the conclusion that the organization, which was originally thought of as a buffer to protect universities from interference by Government, is by its scale and mode of operation now indistinguishable from a department of state. (JT)

Discusses education in the European Economic Community, the housing of students, status in the polytechnics and the employment of graduates in Great Britain. (Editor/PG)

Approaches to policymaking and implementation during Great Britain's reforms of the colleges of education in the 1970s are discussed, along with their implications for higher education in the future, based on a recent study, are discussed. (MSE)

An educational planning exercise that increased centralization in Britain's public sector colleges in 1984-85 is described, and the issues it has raised about the relationship of government and institutions and the nature of educational policymaking are discussed. The responses of eight institutions to the changes are examined. (MSE)

A study of patterns of awarding public financial aid to women for higher education shows women are disadvantaged compared to men, but it does not establish that they are systematically discriminated against. Factors such as age, marital status, dependents, program level, and part-time enrollment or correspondence study are considered. (MSE)

Author looks at three little discussed issues which throw doubts on the basic philosophy underlying the White Paper. (Editor/RK)

An analysis of the Rothschild and Dainton report in Great Britain, entitled A Framework for Government Research and Development, that suggests there is no basis for decisions about government research. (Editor/PG)

The impact of the government-ordered reorganization of colleges of education in England and Wales since 1972 is examined in terms of the characteristics of students and the courses they were studying between 1972 and 1976. (JMF)

The article examines changes in British funding policies under the Education Reform Act of 1988 to stress competitive bidding by higher education institutions. The methodology and theory of the new approach are explained, as is the concept of equilibria in decision theory underlying the approach. Noted also are responses of institutions. (DB)

The feasibility of a university funding system for the United Kingdom that allocates resources based on institutional strategic plans is discussed. The plan is proposed as an alternative to current policy, which encourages uniformity rather than the institutional diversity mandated by the government. (MSE)