International Perspectives On Financing Higher Education

Higher education is increasingly important to the labor market success of individuals and the prosperity of nations, yet, as this book shows, public funding for higher education is declining. It presents innovative approaches to increasing funding for universities through closer ties with business and through privatization of universities.

"Higher education in the United States has reached a turning point," write Jason Delisle and Alex Usher in their introduction to this thoughtfully conceived volume on international lessons for US higher ed reform. Once considered the greatest higher education system in the world, US postsecondary institutions now face increasing criticism. Rising costs drive tuition hikes, limiting student access to education, contributing to high dropout rates, and saddling graduates with burdensome loan payments. Students, parents, and policy makers are beginning to question the value of postsecondary education relative to lifetime earnings. In light of these concerns, policymakers, researchers, and advocates are increasingly curious about how higher education systems in other countries address the complex and interrelated issues of access, equity, quality, affordability, and cost, and what institutions in the United States can learn from these countries' experience. To address these questions, Delisle and Usher have assembled a diverse group of experts to investigate specific policy questions salient to this debate - notably free tuition policies, cost-sharing arrangements, restricted vs. unrestricted access, and the structure of student loans - drawing out similarities and differences across countries. To complement this cross-country approach, the volume also offers a series of case studies, examining the implications of free tuition in Chile; the labor market and financial impact of expanded access in Australia; and the role of the private sector in Brazilian higher education.--

The underlying theory of cost-sharing as well as the description of its worldwide reach were developed from 1986 through 2006 mainly by the works of Johnstone and his Ford Foundation financed International Higher Education Finance and Accessibility Project at the State University of New York at Buffalo. The principal papers from this project are reproduced in this volume. They examine the worldwide shift in the burden of higher education costs from governments and taxpayers to parents and students, and the policies of grants, loans and other governmental interventions designed to maintain higher educational accessibility in the face of this shift.

The financing of higher education is undergoing great change in many countries around the world. In recent years many countries are moving from a system where the costs of funding higher education are shouldered primarily by taxpayers, through government subsidies, to one where students pay a larger share of the costs. There are a number of factors driving these trends, including: A push for massification of higher education, in the recognition that additional revenue streams are required above and beyond those funds available from governments in order to achieve higher participation rates Macroeconomic factors, which lead to constraints on overall government revenues Political factors, which manifest in demands for funding of over services, thus restricting the funding available for higher (tertiary) education A concern that the returns to higher education accrue primarily to the individual, rather than to society, and thus students should bear more of the burden of paying for it This volume will help to contribute to an understanding of how these trends occur in various countries and regions around the world, and the impact they have on higher education institutions, students, and society as a whole. With contributions for the UK, USA, South Africa and China this vital new book gives a truly global picture of the rapidly changing situation

Listen to the podcast! Is the university contributing to our global crises or does it offer stories of hope? Much recent debate about higher education has focussed upon rankings, quality, financing and student mobility. The COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, the calls for decolonisation, the persistence of gender violence, the rise of authoritarian nationalism, and the challenge of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals have taken on new urgency and given rise to larger questions about the social relevance of higher education. In this new era of uncertainty, and perhaps opportunity, higher education institutions can play a vital role in a great transition or civilisational shift to a newly imagined world. Socially Responsible Higher Education: International Perspectives on Knowledge Democracy shares the experiences of a broadly representative and globally dispersed set of writers on higher education and social responsibility, broadening perspectives on the democratisation of knowledge. The editors have deliberately sought examples and viewpoints from parts of the world that are seldom heard in the international literature. Importantly, they have intentionally chosen to achieve a gender and diversity balance among the contributors. The stories in this book call us to take back the right to imagine, and ‘reclaim’ the public purposes of higher education.

This insightful collection of essays explores the ways in which open education can democratise access to education for all. It is a rich resource that offers both research and case studies to relate the application of open technologies and approaches in education settings around the world. A must-read for practitioners, policy-makers, scholars and students in the field of education.

This volume provides an original and powerful contribution to debates about the civic purpose of higher education. It suggests that universities can best realize their civic mission by making it central to their policy and practice. Bringing together researchers from three continents, the book offers an international perspective based primarily upon first-hand pedagogical experience. A transatlantic overview of the purpose, place and practice of one such pedagogy (service learning) is provided and its potential as a foundation for civic engagement assessed. In its last section the book moves from the theory of citizenship to practical considerations. In doing so, the book offers advice on establishing civic engagement to all those involved in teaching and learning within higher education.

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.