International Higher Education, Spring 1998
New Publications
Efficiency in Higher Education: A Comparative Analysis on Sectoral and Institutional Level, by Mark J. C. Vink. Maarssen, Netherlands: Elsevier/De Tijdstroom, 1997. 298 pp. f75 ISBN 90 352 1944 9. Address: Elsevier, Postbus 1110, 3600 BC Maarssen, Netherlands.
This volume examines the efficiency of academic systems in Germany, Britain, and the Netherlands on a variety of measures. The author is concerned with developing theoretical models for measuring efficiency as well as determining how efficient these systems are. He found, for example, that the sciences are less efficient in terms of cost of student output than the social sciences, and that there are economies of scale in higher education. The three countries rank as more efficient on different scales. (PGA)
Fact Book on Higher Education, 1997 Edition, by Charles J. Andersen. Phoenix, Ariz.: Oryx Press, 1997. 254 pp. $49.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-89774-820-4. Address: Oryx Press, POB 33889, Phoenix, AZ 85067, USA.
Everything statistical you want to know about American higher education can be found in this bookÑincluding numbers of students, faculty, and institutions. Demographic breakdowns by state, and by economic status can be looked up. What is being studied and how many students are studying is provided, as is information concerning the academic profession, the financing of institutions, and numbers of degrees earned. In short, information about a large number of topics in American higher education is available in this standard reference volume. (PGA)
The African Experience with Higher Education, by J. F. Ade Ajayi, Lameck K. H. Goma, and G. Ampah Johnson. Accra, Ghana: Association of African Universities, 1996. 276 pp. $19.95 (paper). ISBN 0-85255-733-7. Address: James Currey Publishers, 54b Thornhill Sq. London N1 1BE, UK.
This volume, commissioned by the Association of African Universities for its 25th anniversary, is written by three former African vice chancellors. They cover the entire range of the development of African higher education, including the colonial period, the decolonization of higher education between 1945 and 1960, developments during the independence period in the 1960s, and developments in the recent period. Special attention is paid to the problems of the 1990s and the prospects for the future. The authors argue for the importance of the African university and fully understand the depth of the problems faced in the 1990s. (PGA)
Cartels of the Mind: Japan's Intellectual Closed Shop, by Ivan P. Hall. New York: W. W. Norton, 1998. 208 pp. $25. ISBN 0-393-04537-4. Address: W. W. Norton, 500 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10110, USA.
Ivan Hall, who has spent three decades in Japan as a journalist, professor, and researcher, argues that Japan has a closed intellectual system that keeps foreigners out of its universities, makes research difficult, and limits research by foreigners about all aspects of Japanese society. He points to restrictive policies in the universities as well as in government and to a web of bureaucratic regulations that prevent access. He calls these restrictions, formal and informal, a "cartel" that functions to deter access. HallÕs analysis is detailed and provides insights into how the Japanese academic and intellectual systems work. (PGA)
Lobbying for Higher Education: How Colleges and Universities Influence Federal Policy, by Constance Ewing Cook. Nashville, Tenn.: Vanderbilt University Press, 1998. 272 pp. $45 (cloth), $19.95 (paper). ISBN 0-8265-1317-4. Address: Box 1813, Station B, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.
Few outside the United States, and not many within the country, fully understand how American higher education is represented in Washington, D.C. and how the higher education community presents its views to the federal government and tries to influence policy. This book provides a detailed discussion of these topics. The focus is on the lobbying function of American higher education, and especially the national associations, such as the American Council on Education, the Association of American Universities, the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, and others. The author looks at how specific legislation is influenced and discusses the various organizations and their roles. (PGA)
The Responsive University: Restructuring for High Performance, edited by William G. Tierney. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. 182 pp. $29.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-8018-5715-5. Address: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2715 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
A series of essays concerning the issue of restructuring higher education to meet the challenges of the current period in the United States, this volume deals with such topics as tenure, governance and the changing environment, and improving the performance of academic institutions. (PGA)
Scaling the Ivory Tower: Merit and Its Limits in Academic Careers, by Lionel S. Lewis. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction, 1998. 238 pp. $24.95 (paper). ISBN 1-56000-958-6.
The author, sociologist Lionel Lewis, argues that academic careers are shaped by a variety of factors and that traditional "merit" and "publish or perish" in the American academic system are not the sole factors in determining success. Lewis discusses the process of appointment to academic posts, the role of teaching and publication, and academic freedom, as they relate to academic careers. This book, originally published in 1975, includes a new introduction by the author.
Open Doors, 1996Ð1997: Report on International Educational Exchange, by Todd M. Davis. New York: Institute for International Education, 1997. 208 pp. $42.95 (paper). ISBN 0-87206-243-0. Address: IIE, 809 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA
The major annual statistical summary of the status of international education in the United States, Open Doors provides information on foreign students studying in the United States, U.S. students studying abroad, visiting scholars, funding of international students, location of international students, and related topics. Trends in international education are discussed, and useful essays relating to international education are provided. (PGA)
All the Essential Half-truths About Higher Education, by George Dennis O'Brien. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998. 243 pp. $19.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-226-61654-1. Address: University of Chicago Press, 5801 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Former university president O'Brien argues that the American university has lost its way and must be reformed. He argues against widely held views about the universityÑhe believes faculty "power" has gone too far and must be reined in and that tenure must be reevaluated, that a new perspective on tuition policy is needed, that universities need more management, not less. This is a provocative view of American higher education. (PGA)
The Political University: Policy, Politics, and Presidential in the American Research University, by Robert M. Rosenzweig. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998). 201 pp., $31.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-8018-5721-X. Address: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2715 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
This insightful volume by a senior former university administrator and former president of the Association of American Universities, provides an analysis of both the internal and external politics of American higher education. Author Rosenzweig brings together the views of a number of top former presidents as well as his own perspectives on such issues as federal research policies, and the role of the federal government, the governance of universities, and the role of leadership. (PGA)
Liberal Education and the Small University in Canada, by Christine Storm. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press, 1996. 233 pp., $42.95 (cloth), $19.95 (paper). ISBN 0-7735-1512-7.
This is a collection of essays on the problems of liberal arts in small Canadian universities. The chapters discuss such topics as student views about liberal education, science and the curriculum, and financial problems facing Canadian universities. (PGA)
For-Profit Higher Education: Developing a World-Class Workforce, by John Sperling and Robert W. Tucker. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction, 1997. 134 pp. ISBN 1-56000-306-5. Address: Transaction Publishers, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903.
The authors of this book know their subject. They are the guiding lights of the University of Phoenix, a highly successful for-profit university with campuses throughout the western United States that is now the largest private university in the United States. The University of Phoenix focuses on vocationally oriented adult education. This book makes an argument in favor of profit-making higher education to meet the vocational needs of adults. It criticizes government spending and government regulation of higher education. Not surprisingly, the book is favorable toward the University of Phoenix. It describes the institution and argues for its importance in contemporary American higher education. (PGA)
European Dimensions: Education, Training and the European Union, by John Field. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1998. 215 pp. $39.95 (paperback). ISBN 1853024325. Address: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 116 Pentonville Rd., London N1 9JB, England.
This book provides a discussion of the European Union's educational policies and the tensions that underlie these policies. (PGA)
Managing Higher Education as a Business, by Robert L. Lenington. Phoenix, Ariz.: Oryx Press, 1996. 190 pp. ISBN 1-57356-023-5. Address: Oryx Press, 4041 North Central, Phoenix, AZ 85012.
This volume provides a brief introduction to the subject of maximizing revenue resources and managing higher education institutions. The author, a retired chief financial officer at Bentley College, in Massachusetts, also worked in private industry. Chapters deal with revenue sources, including external fund raising, strategic planning, and major expenditure areas, and on how to control them. The book is a "handbook" rather than a scholarly study of the topic. (PGA)
The Polytechnic Experiment, 19651992, by John Pratt. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press, 1997. 358 pp. $125. ISBN: 0-33519564-4. Address: Taylor & Francis Publishers, 1900 Frost Rd., Bristol, PA 19007.
In 1965, as part of the reforms introduced by the Robbins Report, the British government introduced a new sector of postsecondary education aimed at providing a vocationally oriented preparation to students. The polytechnics, built on older technical colleges, became a central part of British higher education. By 1992, when the polytechnics were given the title of university and the binary system was abolished by the Thatcher government, there were 34 such institutions. This volume provides a full-scale analysis of the polytechnics, discussing students, funding issues, governance, and related topics. It provides a worthwhile analysis of one of the most important innovations in postwar British higher education. (PGA)
Contemporary Higher Education: Issues for the 21st Century, general editor, Philip G. Altbach. New York: Garland Publishing, 1997. 7 volumes. $547. ISBN 0-8153-2659-9. Address: Garland Publishing, 1000A Sherman Ave., Hamden, CT 06514, USA. Individual volumes are also available separately.
This set of seven volumes deals with key aspects of higher education in the United States and internationally. The volume editors have selected important book chapters and journal articles for inclusion in each of the theme-based books included in the series. Thus, the reader has access to many of the most important recent writings relating to contemporary higher education. The series is an important contribution to the literature on higher education and a convenient information source for individuals who may not have easy access to the main research literature. The specific volumes in the series are:
1. The Academic Profession: The Professoriate in Crisis, edited by Philip G. Altbach and Martin J. Finkelstein. 393 pp. $80. Coverage includes the history of the academic profession, the structure of academic careers, academic culture and socialization, rewards in the academic marketplace, and the working patterns of the professoriate.
2. Graduate Education in the United States, edited by Maresi Nerad, with Raymond June and Debra Sands Miller. 375 pp. $80. Coverage includes the history and development of graduate education in the United States, recurrent issues in graduate education, graduate and professional degrees, and changing graduate student populations.
3. Organizational Studies in Higher Education, edited by Ted K. Youn and Patricia Murphy. 375 pp. $80. Coverage includes theories and models of academic organization, cultures and institutional histories, power in academic organizations, leadership and decision making, environments and strategic choice, and organizational change.
4. College Student Development and Academic Life, edited by Karen Arnold and Ilda Carreiro King. 350 pp. $75. Coverage includes personal growth and the college student, cognitive and ethical development, identity, and the student in context.
5. Catholic Education at the Turn of the New Century, edited by Joseph OÕKeefe, S.J. 385 pp. $80. Coverage includes contextual and historical background, official perspectives, and considerations of faith, and justice.
6. Higher Education in Latin America, edited by Lewis A. Tyler, Maria Helena de Mahilhaes Castro, Hernan Courard Bull, Daniel Levy, Marcela Mollis, and Jan Carlos Navarro. 340 pp. $77. Coverage includes contemporary issues and trends, and illustrative country cases.
7. Higher Education in Europe, edited by Peter Darvas. 305 pp. $75. Coverage includes contemporary issues and themes, including inequality, financial issues, higher education and work, patterns of choice, and others, and country-specific studies.
National Policies for the Internationalization of Higher Education, edited by Torsten Kalvemark and Marijk van der Wende. Stockholm: Hsgskoleverket, 1997. 271 pp. ISSN 1400-9498.
The Swedish National Agency for Higher Education has published a book called National Policies for the Internationalization of Higher Education, based on a study by the Academic Cooperation Association, an association of European national agencies dedicated to the promotion of international academic cooperation, such as the German DAAD, the Dutch NUFFIC, the British Council, and the Finnish CIMO. The theme of the study and publication is interesting because in the past 10 years, the internationalization of higher education in Europe has been much more identified with European Commission policy and institutional responses to that policy than with national policies.
The study seeks to analyze national policies for internationalization, their rationales, and their implementation strategies, and also tries to study the link between such policies and changes in national higher education systems. Co-editor Marijk van der Wende of NUFFIC states in her introductory chapter, "The Missing Link: The Relationship between National Policies for Internationalization and those for Higher Education in General," that the issue of internationalization as a domain or context of higher education policymaking has not yet been addressed. (Hans de Wit, Vice President, University of Amsterdam)
A NEW JOURNAL, Education and Ethos: Studies in Religiously Affiliated Schools, Colleges and Universities, has been established. A refereed multidisciplinary journal focusing on studies of religiously affiliated educational institutions at all levels, it will be published twice a year. Subscriptions rates are $36 per year. The journal welcomes the submission of articles. For further information, please contact Rev. Professor Leslie J. Francis, Centre for Theology and Education, Trinity College, Carmarthen SA31 3EP, Wales, UK.