• Background: Widener Library, Harvard University, postcard 1916

    A workshop within the framework of ‘Universities: Past—Present—Future’, at the Mahindra Humanities Center Seminar

    Organized by Anja-Silvia Goeing on September 12, 2019, 5-7pm

  • The Funding of Higher Education: Course (2020)

    The Funding of Higher Education: Course (2020)

    University of Zurich

 

 Now available                                                   
Roundtable Video Podcast--
The Funding of Higher Education (2019)
 

 

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What is or should be the relationship between a democratic polity and its educational institutions and places of higher learning?  

Contemporary discussions of curricula place great stress on utility, on the value of learning skills as they apply not just to the employability of students, but to the economic and political well-being of a state or nation.

Older, more humanist notions of education as a process of self-fulfillment, of making a better moral person, have been challenged by such technocratic ideals and are often seen as outmoded.

At the same time the question of what values inform democratic education raises the issue of who decides on what should be studied and how. 

How much autonomy should educators have, and to what extent should funders  – whether the state and politicians, grant giving agencies, private gift-givers and donors or voters and ‘the public’, however defined – affect or influence university policy, academic curricula or research objectives. 

There is a tension at the heart of this issue, one between the public good of material well-being and the democratic value of free critical thinking, one that raises the question of how independent and autonomous educational institutions should or can be in a democratic society. Learn more

 

Recent Publications

2018. Higher Education Funding and Access in International Perspective. Bingley: Emerald Publishing Limited.Abstract
This book explores the way in which the twin pressures of globalisation and localisation play out in higher education across the developed world, often reflected in more specific debates on fees regimes, access and culture..
Front Cover -- Higher Education Funding and Access in International Perspective -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Notes on Contributors -- Chapter 1 Introduction: Higher Education Funding and Access in International Perspective -- Introduction -- Undergraduate Student Funding across the UK -- Individual Chapters and Common Themes -- References -- Chapter 2 Student Support in Wales: A Case of Progressive Universalism? -- Introduction -- Progressive Universalism -- Policy and Political Context -- Powers and Process -- The Structure of Student Funding in Wales after Political Devolution -- Policy Explanations -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 3 Higher Education Decision-Making and Young People’s Horizons for Action in Scotland -- Introduction: The Scottish Context -- Young People’s HE Decision-Making Within the Family Context -- Methodology -- Family Case Studies -- Family Stories -- The Coopers, East School -- The Campbells, West School -- Discussion -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 4 Can the Techniques of New Public Management be Used to Promote Wider Access to Higher Education? -- Introduction -- The Ethos and Methods of New Public Management -- Regulating Access to Higher Education: Some UK Comparisons -- What Is the Likelihood That the New Targets Will Be Met? -- What Barriers are Likely to Arise? -- Institutional Inertia and Resistance -- Surface Compliance -- Gaming and Cherry-picking -- Conclusion -- Acknowledgement -- References -- Chapter 5 Higher Fees, Higher Debts: Unequal Graduate Transitions in England? -- Introduction -- Research Methods -- Comparing Graduates’ Perspectives across the 2014 and 2015 Sample -- The ‘Winners’? Graduating Students from Lower Socio-economic Backgrounds at the Russell Group University in 2015 -- They Were Able to Build Financial Savings during Study -- Fewer Were Seeking Non-graduate Employment -- More Were Starting Full-time Postgraduate Study -- The ‘Losers’? Graduating Students from Lower and Average Socio-economic Backgrounds at the Post-1992 University in 2015 -- Experiencing Financial Hardship -- High Levels of Anxiety about Entering the Graduate Labour Market -- Actively Seeking Non-graduate Employment after Graduation -- Discussion -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 6 The Implications of HE Funding and Provision Differences for Students Crossing Borders in the UK -- Introduction -- Policy and Provision Factors Relevant to Cross-Border Study Mobility -- Fees and Number Control Policies -- Sectoral Differences -- Characteristics of Cross-Border Movers -- The Implications of and for Policies that Affect Cross-Border Movers -- Fee Differences -- The Role of Mobility in Widening Participation -- Policy Changes That Could Affect the Availability and Accessibility of Places -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 7 Widening Access to Higher Education: Balancing Supply and Demand in Ireland -- Introduction: The Structure of Irish Higher Education -- The Funding Regime and Student Support -- Policy on Access to HE -- Trends in HE Participation and Differences by Social Background -- Current Policy Debates: A Crisis in Funding? -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 8 Widening Access to Higher Education in Sweden: Changing Political Ideologies, Changing Tactics? -- Introduction -- Higher Education in Sweden -- School and Higher Education Reform -- Widening Access to Higher Education 2000 Onwards -- Sweden in European Context -- Access Routes to Higher Education -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 9 Widening Participation in Higher Education: Policies and Outcomes in Germany -- Introduction -- The Education System and Access to Higher Education -- Widening Participation: Policies in German (Higher) Education -- Student Fees and Funding Systems -- Funding for Less Advantaged Students -- Outcomes: Reducing or Reinforcing Social Inequality? -- Conclusions -- Glossary -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 10 Higher Education Funding and Student Activism in Québec: The Printemps Érable and its Aftermath -- Introduction -- The Printemps Érable and the Québec Higher Education System -- The Student Movement in Québec: A Historical Perspective -- From 1990 to the Printemps Érable: 20 Years of History -- The Printemps Érable -- Judiciarising the Conflict -- To What Extent Were the Student Protests Successful? -- References -- Chapter 11 The Price of University: Economic Capital and the Experience of Underrepresented Students in an Elite US University -- US Funding Structure -- Cost and Types of Financial Support for Underrepresented Students -- Case Study of One Elite US University -- Economic Capital and the Student Experience -- Brandon: The Experience of Guilt -- Jessica: Experiencing the Economic Divide -- Kayla: Balancing Work and Study -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 12 Student Tuition Fees in Australian Higher Education: A Litany of Public Issues and Personal Troubles -- Introduction -- The Rise of University Tuition Fees as a Public Issue -- The Demise of University Tuition Fees as a Public Issue -- The Equity Credentials of Income-Contingent Loans: When Public Issue Meets Personal Trouble -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 13 Higher Education in the Developed World: Common Challenges and Local Solutions -- Introduction -- Globalisation and Higher Education -- Power Struggles between Governments and Universities -- The Construction of the Student and the Impact of Student Activism -- International Patterns of Convergence and Divergence -- References -- Index -- .
Stefan Collini. 2017. Speaking of universities. London ; New York: Verso.Abstract
"A devastating analysis of what is happening to our universities In recent decades there has been an immense global surge in the numbers both of universities and of students. In the UK alone there are now over 140 institutions teaching more subjects to nearly 2.5 million students. New technology offers new ways of learning and teaching. Globalization forces institutions to consider a new economic horizon. At the same time governments have systematically imposed new procedures regulating funding, governance, and assessment. Universities are being forced to behave more like business enterprises in a commercial marketplace than centres of learning. In Speaking of Universities, historian and critic Stefan Collini analyses these changes and challenges the assumptions of policy-makers and commentators. He asks: does 'marketization' threaten to destroy what we most value about education; does this new era of 'accountability' distort what it purports to measure; and who does the modern university belong to? Responding to recent policies and their underlying ideology, the book is a call to 'focus on what is actually happening and the cliches behind which it hides; an incitement to think again, think more clearly, and then to press for something better'"– Provided by publisher., "In recent decades there has been an immense global surge in the numbers both of universities and of students. In the UK alone there are now over 140 institutions teaching more subjects to nearly 2.5 million students. New technology offers new ways of learning and teaching. Globalisation forces institutions to consider a new economic horizon. At the same governments have systematically imposed new procedures regulating funding, governance, and assessment. Universities are being forced to behave more like business enterprises in a commercial marketplace than centres of learning. In Speaking of Universities, historian and critic Stefan Collini analyses these changes and challenges the assumptions of policy-makers and commentators. He asks: does 'marketisation' threaten to destroy what we most value about education; does this new era of 'accountability' distort what it purports to measure; and who does the modern university 'belong to'? Responding to recent policies and their underlying ideology, the book is a call to 'focus on what is actually happening and the clich behind which it hides; an incitement to think again, think more clearly, and then to press for something better'"– Provided by publisher.
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