The Transfer of Cultural Assumptions About American Higher Education in a Global Society: Perceptions of Visiting Russian Scholars
C. Carney Strange, Advisor This study examined the transfer of ideas about higher education gleaned from Russian administrators and faculty members, who returned to home institutions in the former Soviet Union following an exchange visit to the United States to gain insight into the workings of our complex higher education model. At the core of this assessment were these Russian educators’ perceptions of institutional output and process goals attributed to the U.S. institutions that hosted them, and their comparative experiences and expectations in the Russian system. The instrument used in this study is an adaptation of the Institutional Goals Inventory (IGI), a 95-item, Likert-type measure (Peterson, 1970) that assesses the importance attributed to 13 institutional output and 9 institutional process goals. For purposes of this study each goal was evaluated by respondents, as they perceived its associated items to reflect what they observed in the U.S., what they experience in their home institutions, and what they idealize for institutional aspiration in the Russian system. Data were gathered on-line through a Web-based survey, offered both in English and Russian, with minor modifications for clearer cross-cultural understanding. Through a combination of program participant lists, electronic networks, and direct solicitation, this method yielded a usable sample of 70 respondents, all of whom were individuals with careers in various disciplines from colleges and universities in the former Soviet Union.
Higher Education in Transition to a Market Economy: A Case Study
This paper reports on the situation in Russian higher education since the start of transition, and presents a case study of the finance and budgetary arrangements at the University of Tomsk in some detail. It then illustrates some aspects of the situation in Tomsk with reference to four important issues facing Russia's incompletely reformed economy. These are: (1) ownership, property rights and governance issues; (2) funding issues and the state budget; (3) the tax regime; and (4) non-functioning of the market economy. The paper concludes by highlighting areas in which further reform progress is urgently needed in order to enable universities to function more normally.
Structure and Financing of Higher Education in Russia, Ukraine and the EU. Higher Education Policy Series 41.
Conceptual issues in the analysis of higher education to Russia and the Ukraine, Paul Hare the changing nature of higher education in Western Europe, Ulrich Teichler the funding of higher education in the UK, Geraint Johnes funding of higher education in Germany, Helmut Winkler structure and financing of higher education in Russia, Mikhail Lugachyov et al higher education in the Ukraine - structure and financing, Vladimir Savchuk et al.