The discussions and presentations in an international workshop on defining and implementing institutional mission are summarized. Focus was on the primary issues and the roles of leadership and government, using experiences of Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States as illustrations. (MSE)

The relationship between the national government and the universities in Switzerland is outlined. It is suggested that the state should acknowledge universities as the best judges of many educational issues, and should establish laws that merely outline university responsibilities. (MSE)

The background and development of "capacity planning," the procedure of reconciling social demand with government funding, in non-university-based professional education in the Netherlands is outlined. Issues arising from it are discussed. (MSE)

The report of an OECD IMHE Programme working group on institutional management in France is presented, focusing on four main themes: staff, diplomas and degrees, institutional administration, and relations with the central government. (Author/MSE)

Recommendations to improve the flexibility of university management, the division of labor and tasks among institutions of higher education, and the characteristics of the national methods for policy-making are discussed. The present crisis of higher education is explained as forthcoming from developments from the 1960s and 1970s. (Author/MLW)

The Danish experience with university democratization suggests that the process is irreversible and that its progress is determined by how the initial change was begun two decades ago. It is also proposed that government attempts to intervene and revoke traditional institutional autonomy threaten to invalidate the progress made. (Author/MSE)

The effects of Ontario's gradual reduction in university funding since the early 1970s on government-school relationships, accessibility, operating expenditures, interinstitutional cooperation, administrative functioning, and program development are examined and contrasted with the more abrupt financial declines of most other countries' university…

The European strategy of institutional self-regulation is a step back from the centralized control accompanying higher education's recent growth, requiring a new management approach, perhaps in strategic planning. Viewed through organizational theory, self-regulation combines two fundamentally different concepts, and a "new autonomy"…

Late twentieth-century growth in French universities that undermined centralization and the academic staff resulted in anarchic development until recent governments tried to control the system's evolution. For two years the government has tried to convince universities of the need for decentralization for responsiveness to outside stimulus.…

The two public agencies responsible for funding higher education in Great Britain are described and contrasted: the University Grants Committee responsible for all universities and the National Advisory Body for Local Authority Higher Education responsible for advice on funding for a much larger group of public institutions. (MSE)

Four separate but overlapping power centers in French universities are described and discussed: the state authority (minister), faculty, political and trade unions, and students. Confrontations between these powers have characterized French higher education in the last 15 years, and they have been at the root of the concept of autonomy. (MSE)

The problem of having two "cultures" (the scientific and the literary) that do not communicate with each other, resulting in difficulty in adapting to the scientific revolution, is discussed. Another gap in society is identified: universities are sources of innovative ideas, but society does not exploit them. (Author/MLW)

The emphasis of the planning process in higher education in the Netherlands is seen as having to shift from a mainly financially oriented to a content and discipline oriented approach. The approach of promoting higher education as a consumption good and not accepting manpower planning will cause serious problems. (Author/MLW)

The development of a planning system for the Dutch university system is described. Focus is on the characteristics of higher education and its influence on planning, a previous planning system attempt and its failure, a comparison of the previous and present systems, and problems concerning the present system. (Author/JMD)

Performance indicators can be significant tools for the Dutch government to focus attention on institutional output, define shared goals more exactly, and improve accountability while allowing for increased institutional autonomy. (MSE)