Federal finance, fiscal imbalance and educational inequality
This paper discusses the practice and problems associated with the financing of education in federal political systems as a way of highlighting issues involved in the diversification of the sources of educational financing. The major imbalances between the finances and responsibilities of a federal government and the combined units of a lower level of government, and of the individual units of a lower level of government are concentrated on in general and with regard to education in particular. The experiences of six federal countries in dealing with these imbalances are then described and the lessons learned discussed.
Centralization Versus Decentralization in Educational Administration: Regional Issues
Reduction of regional imbalances is an explicit goal of a wide range of governments. In general, it is more difficult to reduce imbalances in decentralized systems than in centralized ones. Decentralization may still be desirable for political and other reasons, however, in which case national administrators have to devise ways to work within decentralized frameworks but still achieve overall goals. This article outlines strategies employed in a number of countries, paying particular attention to the distribution of financial and human resources. Also addressed are issues of diversity and conformity in education systems. Reduction of regional imbalances does not necessarily require imposition of uniformity, but the diversity encouraged by decentralization is not always desirable.
The New ‘U’
Today's talk about tenure must be framed within broader discussions about the role of the university. Our university system is now over one hundred years old, the “Old-Time College” is gone, the “cold war” university is no longer viable, and the foundations of the modern “multiversity” are cracking, so it is time to talk about change. But change is not necessarily reform, and resisting change probably will not keep things the way they are, so academics must understand the forces reshaping the university. Whenever I listen to colleagues defend the status quo by saying that the United States has a university system that is the envy of the world, I hear echoes of the Detroit automobile industry's casual dismissal of foreign competitors in the early 1960s. The decision not to change did not preserve the auto industry, and it is unlikely to preserve public universities as we know them. The current debates about tenure began with ideological attacks on “tenured radicals” who used their secure jobs to subvert conservative cultural values. The attack on tenure gathered steam as fiscal hawks in financially-strapped states looked for ways to save money and found huge state university systems with budgets to match. When asked why he robbed banks, the legendary Willie Sutton replied, “Because that's where the money is.” When asked why they are robbing tenure, legislators, regents, and administrators reply, “Because that's where the money is.” Personnel costs are a large share of university budgets and tenure ties the hands of administrators and legislators accustomed to using purse strings to control universities.