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Understanding Romanian Higher Education. Adrian Miroiu MLW 1, 2 4 September 2009 Bucharest, ROMANIA. Two decades of deep changes. Is history relevant for understanding today’ s state of the art? Routines, practices, norms and rules resisted transformation - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Understanding Romanian Higher Education
Adrian MiroiuMLW1, 24 September 2009
Bucharest, ROMANIA
Two decades of deep changes
Is history relevant for understanding today’s state of the art?
Routines, practices, norms and rules resisted transformation(higher education is one of the most conservative domain of human endeavour)
Turning from contemplating the past to foresight Policies are not reactive, but tranforming and anticipatory
Is this ideal feasible?Is it theoretically grounded?Is it ideologically appropriate?Is it politically sound?
Existing views
Attempts to understand the state of HEWhite paper on Romanian Higher education (I. Mihăilescu, L. Vlăsceanu, C. Zamfir), 1994Romanian Education Today (A. Miroiu coordinator), 1998Review of National Policies for Education - Romania (OECD), 2003.Report of the Presidential Commission on Education (M. Miclea, coordinator), 2007
- However, short-term objectives: not prospective,- But sometimes with explicit policy focus. - Supportive for specific policy actions
Aims of the presentation
Based on the preliminary work of Panel 6, QL project
The purpose of the Panel is to elaborate a framework for understanding Romanian higher education:- To construct a framework for analyzing, explaining and predicting what happens in Romanian higher education within given or changing institutional arrangements- To provide instruments for constructing a methodology of evaluating alternative scenarios
A graphic representation
External drive: events, processes, institutions that affect higher educationActors: individual and institutionalInstitutions: sets of rules, norms and practices that constrain and motivate the individual and organizational actors
ActorsExternal drive
institutions
The external drive
political context
economic context
values
technological changes
European integration
globalization
political context The democratic turn:
University autonomy is a constitutional principleA steady move:
- From the state control model of HE - To the state supervising model of HE; and even - To the market based model of HE.
PrivatizationCompetitionEntrepreneurial university
economic context
The move to a market economy1990 – 2000: economic restructuring, and crisis2009 – a new financial and economic crisis
Severe lack of an adequate financing of RHEBut: decentralization, financial autonomy and entrepreneurial spirit
values University values and political values
Freedom: academicEqual opportunities, and the issue of social, gender, racial, etc. inequalities EquityMore communal values(preserving cultural identities, multilingualism, multiculturalism etc.)
European integration
Streams:Academic integrationCompetition and cooperationStudent flowsPolitical processes – the Bologna process
Actors
individual actors: students, faculty, administrative staff, university officials, public officials, other stakeholders organizational actors: universities, ministries (Education, Finance, Labor, etc.) parliament, buffer organizations, other providers of higher education
ActorsExternal drive
institutions
Individual actors: students. I
A much larger number of students:
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
354 361 408 453 533 582 644 686
The demographic issue(thousands)
1985 1989 1990 1992 1996 2002
359 369 315 260 231 210
(thousands, new-born)
Individual actors: students. IIDiversification of the status of students:
- Supported by the state/ not supported by the state- In private / public universities- Full time / part time
Fierce competition for attracting studentsThe immigration issueStudying abroad
Is there a much more student-oriented education?
Individual actors: faculty
Higher demand for teaching positions.Poor incentives for the teacher career, especially for young people
Academic freedom; study opportunitiesA non-competitive structure of the incentives for academic performanceFocus on teaching, less on researchParochial settings: weak cooperation with other universities
Organizational actors. I
universities Public universities: 56Private universities: 28Other providers of HE: Not yet accredited institutions: 26Branches of foreign providers
More structured organizations: integrated management, strategic planningInternal quality assurance proceduresHigher probability to experience external influencesDifferentiated by the fields in which they offer programmesNot differentiated in terms of mission, objectives assumedAiming to providing teaching and research, bachelor as well as doctoral programmes
Organizational actors. II
Ministries Ministry of Education:- From administration of RHE to regulating- Procedures to replace arbitrariness- Involvement of the academic community (for specific purposes)
Ministry of Labor: The qualification issueFeedback from the labor market
Ministry of FinanceThe Eternal Mistrust
Organizational actors. III
Buffer organizationsThe National University Research Council:the main Romanian funding organization for university and postgraduate research programmes
The National Council for Financing Higher Education: Develops procedures and instruments for distributing public funds to universities
The Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education(ARACIS)Provides accreditation of study programmes and institutional evaluations of universties
universities
Ministries and other
public authorities
Other providers of
higher education
Buffer organizations
ParliamentOther
organizations
Institutions
ActorsExternal drive
institutions
Institutions: sets of rules, norms and practices that constrain and motivate the individual and organizational actors
Institutions generate a set of incentives, behavioural patterns and specific institutional processes that are pivotal both for the understanding and the management of higher education
Types of rules
Boundary rules – who are the actors with whom one interacts, how are these actors allowed or certifiedPositions rules – which are the capabilities and responsibilities of those in positionAuthority rules – how the actions of the actors are affected, what the actors can do, are obliged or forbidden to doScope rules – what outcomes are permitted, mandated or forbiddenAggregation rules – how the individual actions and decisions are transformed into collective outcomesInformation rules – how is information accessible, distributed or permittedPayoff rules – how are costs and benefits assigned to actions and outcomes
Boundary rulesStudents: rules for enrolling students in university programesMain process: deregulationBut the need for monitoring
Faculty: rules for occupying a positionWeak deregulationBut a pressure for more deregulationQuality research indicators
Institutions: external evaluations in line with European lines
Programmes: external evaluation by ARACIS based on a national methodology (including input, process, outcome and output indicatiors)
who are the actors with whom one interacts, how are these actors allowed or certified
Position rulesStudents: a client oriented university?Access to higher education
The increasing role of university officialsStrategic management, financial management, relations with the business sector
Employers: new requirements for universities
Teaching staff: new role in research, new relations with the students, use of new educational technology
which are the capabilities and responsibilities of those in position
Aggregation rulesUniversities:Traditionally, a collegial decision –making structurePersons in university positions are electedAttempts to remain in office beyond the legal termsInterest groups, nepotism, patronage
Interests aggregation:Low aggregation of student and staff interest:Diminished role of student organizationsReduced role, if any ,of unions
Attempts to move to a more professionalized university management
how the individual actions and decisions are transformed into collective outcomes
Payoff rules
how are costs and benefits assigned to actions and outcomesFunding mechanism: a key component of the
institutional arrangements that define higher education in a country.
Initially, based on historical principles
Presently, formula-basedRole of quality indicators
Example:
Putting all together
Economic and technologic conditions
Attributes of the academic
community(historically established)
Rules in use: political, social values, aquis
communautaire
Action arena
Action situation
Actors
Patterns of interaction(institutions)
outcomes
Evaluative criteria
ConclusionRomanian Higher Education is a complex collection of interrelated components:1. External factors2. Individual and collective or organizational actors3. Rules which help define seven types of variables:
Participants; positions; outcomes; action-outcome linkages;the control that participants exercise; information; costs and benefits assigned to outcomes
Focus on these characteristics is aimed at analyzing, explaining and predicting what happens in Romanian higher education within given or changing institutional arrangements
Thank you!