Higher Education as A Competitive Enterprise - An Overview

An academic revolution has taken place in higher education in the past half century marked by transformations unprecedented in scope and diversity. Comprehending this ongoing and dynamic process while being in the midst of it is not an easy task. The academic changes of the late 20th and early 21st centuries are more extensive due to their global nature and the number of institutions and people they affect. In the early 21st century, higher education has become a competitive enterprise. In many countries students must compete for scarce places in universities and in all countries admission to the top institutions has become more difficult. Universities compete for status and ranking, and generally for funding from governmental or private sources. While competition has always been a force in academe and can help produce excellence, it can also contribute to a decline in a sense of academic community, mission and traditional values. The global economy is promoted as being a ‘knowledge economy’, which is used to justify ongoing attempts to increase participation rates in higher education. But if governments continue to move away from the ‘higher education as public good’ approach, higher education will continue to become more marketised and less research focused.

Higher education has been placed at the centre of public debate as a result of the 2008 financial collapse and the ongoing economic crisis. The main thrust of the issue centres around a rejustification of the role of higher education and a redefinition of its funding relationship with government. It is important because the economic crisis has changed higher education at both the micro and macro levels. The immediate shorter-term impact of the economic crisis has been at the institutional micro level where as it is more important in the longer-term impact of the economic crisis on macro planning and policy of higher education. The economic crisis has legitimized the long-existing argument that higher education should be treated the same as any other service in the economy and, as such, should be subject to ever-more accountability and managerialist practices.