The higher education systems and financing mechanisms in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland are described. In each, enrollment and productivity, in terms of student flow, are important financing factors. A new budget model developed for Norway is outlined, and efforts to create a cooperative community for higher education in the Nordic countries…

Change in the financing of Danish higher education is traced, from item budgeting by the education ministry to a system of institutional block grants. While institutions gain autonomy in academic and resource allocation, they are required to abolish governing boards and place more responsibility on rectors and academic deans. This requires new…

Evolution of the relationship between academic and administrative functions in Swedish universities is traced over 30 years. Attention is given to a shift toward administrative power during a period of university democratization, and partial restoration of academic leadership in the 1990s. Two distinct patterns of administrative structure are…