The costs of attending four-year colleges and universities in the United States have steadily increased over four decades leading to high levels of student debt and many obstacles for low-income students. The analysis presented appraises the extent of the cost and affordability problems, debunking the sensationalistic claims that are common in…

This article describes the emergence of higher education as a field of research, scholarship and study. In the first part, the meaning of higher education as a field of research is defined contrasting Europe and the US. Then, the institutional basis of higher education research in Europe is analysed (learned societies, institutes and centres,…

The main objective of this article is to analyse the importance given to student guidance and diversity in the standards and criteria used in the quality accreditation and evaluation processes in Europe and the US. Agencies selected in this study are the members of ENQA (European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education), EQAR…

In Western Europe, especially in Germany, private higher education is generally perceived as an alternative to public higher education for students from relatively affluent families; more broadly, there is a general perception that attending a private higher education institution is correlated to wealth. This perception is influenced by private…

What accounts for the rapid growth in the For-Profit (FP) higher education sector in the US? How will its growth influence educational opportunity and degree attainment rates in a country that first pioneered a mass higher education built largely on expanding public colleges and universities? The current US experience is a version of what I call…

The roads of incoming information to the US higher education system about the Bologna Process are varied and numerous. They include not only the on-line and traditional trade press, but also conferences of national organisations. Whether anyone remembers much of that information, on the other hand, is an open question, as a limited survey…

The West German debate over state-controlled higher education planning versus market-oriented competition is examined in the context of recent West German educational history, actions taken by the federal government and science council, institutional reactions, and research on the use of performance indicators. (MSE)

The variety of conventional and creative responses of U.S. higher education institutions to declining enrollments and related educational change is outlined, and the shift in the role of state governments in higher education is discussed. (MSE)

The meaning and dimensions of "leadership" in universities are examined, the role of the American college president is contrasted with that of his European counterparts, and the historical sources of the American university president's unique role are traced. (MSE)

A review of the state of computer use in education includes elementary and secondary education, teacher training, the computer and publishing industries' responses, higher education, home computer use, state and federal policies and programs, current federal projects and trends, and computer use in education as part of a larger social context.…

International education in the United States is a cluster of concepts in a variety of institutional patterns: technical assistance, comparative education, cultural exchange, languages, area studies, and education for global understanding. The idealistic side will have little legislative support in the 1980s, but the pragmatic side promises to…

A study examined patterns in college student mobility between the United States and European countries, including size and direction of flow and patterns in student characteristics. Emphasis is on differences between American and European sides of the system. Development and significance of a new program for cooperation and mobility in…

The emergence of interest in the quantitative, structural, and administrative aspects of higher education as a field of study is chronicled, and comparisons are made in the ways the institutional research field developed in the United States and Western Europe. (MSE)

A review of vocational education trends in Western Europe and Japan covers the following: curriculum and program structure, alternatives, cooperative education, on-the-job training, enrollments, admission, curriculum content, skills other than strictly occupational, mechanisms for curriculum development, and efficiency of training. (MSE)

The paper looks at part-time higher educational services for students in the educational systems of Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. A comparative examination of the nature and importance of part-time higher education is then presented. (DB)