The purpose of this paper is to identify the special features of the governance structures of research universities in four western countries: the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and France. Conceptual framework was laid out as groundwork of the paper. Scholarly work of known authors in higher education governance was reviewed with…

Drawing on 45 semi-structured interviews conducted in four public universities as part of an international comparative project, we examine the cultural, political, social and economic forces at play in the way the 'public good' is perceived, translated and debated within the French higher education context. Our findings indicate that a variety of…

The results of a comparative study on the influences of state regulation on the behavior of higher education institutions in the design and implementation of innovations in their curricula are presented. Three case studies in the Federal Republic of Germany, France and the Netherlands are described. (Author/MLW)

The implementation of reforms of institutional governance in France, Sweden, and the United Kingdom is reviewed. The analysis is focused on reform goals associated with autonomy and participation. These goals have only partly been achieved, due to unrealistic assumptions and to the continuation of interest group politics during policy…