POLITICIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN BRITAIN AND FRANCE

The more highly politicized nature of French, as compared to British universities can be explained only partially in terms of such cultural and Political differences as the greater strength of the revolutionary tradition in France and the more conservative tenor of French governments in the l960's and 1970's. Political tensions in French higher education are also in Dart the result of policy choices, notably the greater speed of expansion of enrollments in France as compared to Britain and the form of French university elections, which strengthened politicized unions.     

BRINGING THE INDEPENDENT SECTOR INTO STATEWIDE HIGHER EDUCATION PLANNING

The ideal of a comprehensive higher education planning agency was only partially fulfilled in the 1970's. It was especially limited in its ability to bring independent colleges and universities into statewide planning. The unfulfilled comprehensive statewide planning model makes an attractive case for decentralised decision–making. State planning, usually characterized by the so–called “bureaucratic model,” might be balanced by increased use of an “incentive model.” The work of the state agency would be to encourage and reward fair market competition among the institutions and segments of higher education. Such an approach is based on the conviction that “…intelligent planning can diminish the role of government in the academic and administrative affairs of all sectors, while improving accountability to the public and to the diverse constituencies our institutions serve.”