Many of our models of the university espouse a monolithic concept of autonomy. The Kantian model, based on specific realms of state intervention and nonintervention, should be explored more thoroughly because it allows for intervention while maintaining some notion of autonomy. (Author/MSE)

Assesses the "evaluative state"--the historic background, the process and procedures used to evaluate institutions of public higher education in European Union countries. Reviews various types of evaluation used, changes in the concept and purpose of evaluation, and looks at some of the basic and long-term issues for the future, from its…

European higher education policies that were first developed as an empirical, short-term response to financial difficulties at the start of the decade have now assumed a long-term strategic character that affects the relationships between government and higher education and between society and higher education. (MSE)

The issues of academic freedom, institutional autonomy, government involvement in higher education, and students' part in the power structure are analyzed for several European countries. Recent influences, political and economic, are reviewed. (MSE)

Examines nonuniversity higher education in Europe. Describes the development of the system as separate from the university system and present trends toward the integration of the two. Explores the systems of four countries as representational of a multipurpose model, specialist model, or a binary model. Discusses admission criteria, degrees, and…

Western Europe's demand for quality higher education at lower cost is discussed. It is argued that the criteria for quality are determined by external interests, including governments looking for economic development through an improved labor market. The situations in Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom are considered.…

A review of trends in European higher education policy leads to these conclusions: (1) government response to economic crises has been either to strengthen expenditure-driven policies or to continue demand-based policies; (2) central government oversight has been strengthened; and (3) commitment to linking education and industry has become clear.…

In Western Europe, the advent of higher education as a self-sustaining field of research began two decades ago. The place of higher education research in academia, government policy formulation, and the type of inquiry undertaken in Sweden in comparison with counterparts in France and Britain are examined. (Author/MLW)