Whether university research can be organized and, if so, what organizational measures can be taken to make university research efficient is discussed. It is concluded that a university researcher requires freedom of action for his/her research work and the mass university must shrink to a university for the elite. (Author/MLW)

The University of Montpelier I's 1969 statutes permitting maximum autonomy for the faculties of law and economics, medicine, and pharmacology resulted in a well-established division between the university's constituent parts and an unwillingness to pool resources to effect savings. (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 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)

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 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"…

The system of external course evaluation in the nonuniversity sector of British higher education, currently under review as institutions seek greater autonomy and the state seeks better quality and control, is described. Implications of proposed system changes' implications for interinstitutional relationships and the balance of power are…

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.…

France's statutory requirements for continuing education and the University of Paris' solutions are described. Results of 10 years' experience as an autonomous system are discussed, including pros and cons of fiscal and program autonomy and problems presented by the university's increasing interest in the continuing education market. (Author/MSE)

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)

Problems and failures in the use of performance indicators are examined, and it is concluded that problems of organization and reluctance to use the measures will not be solved by introduction of new indicators, but by construction of appropriate management and organizational structures. British and German experiences are discussed. (MSE)

The current structure of governance and decision making in Swedish higher education and the effects of recent national reform on perceived and actual autonomy at the central, regional, and local levels are discussed. An initial desire for more decentralized decision making has turned to increasing demand for more guidance by central organizations.…

Recent tendencies that are likely to endanger free and creative research in Austria are discussed. It is suggested that the danger to free, autonomous research may stem from negligence of the state to provide an adequate organizational framework for research. (Author/SF)

Autonomy in Swedish universities is investigated. A new approach to the analysis of the concept of university autonomy and an outline of a theory on university autonomy are presented. Autonomy is viewed as a vital characteristic of higher education; its role in Swedish education throughout history is analyzed. (Author/SF)

The composition, mandate, and activities of the Council of Universities of Quebec since its origin in 1969 as an advisory board to the department of education are described and characterized in terms of university autonomy and government responsibility. It is found to be, by its nature, unstable in its authority. (MSE)