The Higher Education Managerial Revolution?

Changed government perspectives on their role in system steering, changed community perceptions on the purpose of higher education, and changed economic conditions have impacted higher education institutions nearly everywhere. These developments have been studied and documented widely, both from a national as well as a cross-national perspective (Amaral, Jones and Karseth 2002; Goedegebuure et al. 1994; Marginson and Considine 2000; Meek et al. 1996; Neave and Van Vught 1991; Teichler 1988), focusing predominantly on the macro level. There is some agreement that the changing relationship between government and higher education is characterised by a common trend whereby governments increasingly refrain from detailed steering of their respective higher education systems in favour of more global policies that determine the boundary conditions under which institutions may operate.Much less, however, is known about the effects of these shifts in governmental steering paradigms at the institutional level. Although claims are abundant that the academic ethos has been negatively affected through the imposition of corporate ideologies and bureaucratic reporting procedures, very little systematic study has been undertaken on the actual effects of these changes at the institutional (meso) or basic unit (micro) level.