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!