Chiang mai pres khunying suchada kiranandana

Autonomy from the State vsAutonomy from the Market

Professor Khunying Suchada KiranandanaPresident, Chulalongkorn University

[email protected]

Magna Charta Universitatum

“The university is an autonomous institution at the heart of societies.”“To meet the needs of the world around it, its research and teaching must be morally and intellectually independent of all political authority and economic power.”

Autonomy from the State vsAutonomy from the Market

Role of state in higher educationConcept of autonomyUniversities in the 21st centuryAutonomy from the state University autonomy in ThailandTrend of public fundingAutonomy from the marketAutonomy from the state vs autonomy from the market

Chulalongkorn University

Role of state in public higher education

Ownership and supportGuidance and goal settingRegulation and GovernanceFunding


Concept of autonomy

Autonomy• Self-governance or independence in running and decision

making of an organization• For university, particularly in

• Academic affairs- academic freedom• Personnel affairs- independent personnel

management system• Financial affairs- independence in financial

management


University in the 21st century

Globalization and free trade agreementIncrease in demand for University educationAdvancement in knowledge and new ICT technology Change in government policy in University funding


Globalization and free trade agreement on education

Borderless education- Mobility of • Workers (graduates)• Educational programs/ services• Cross border academic institutions and

campuses• Students


Demand for University education

Increase in Demand for University education in most countriesMass higher education increase in proportion of university educated populationNew target group of university education Life long learners/workersCross border demand


Advancement in knowledge and ICT

Speed and volume of new knowledgeNew technology: ICT new opportunity in teaching and learningVirtual campuses


Change in University funding

Trend of decreasing public funding of UniversityUniversity has to be more financially self sustainedEntrepreneurial university– pros and cons??


Autonomy from the state

Freedom from state governanceSelf-governance for• Academic freedom• Autonomy from government rules and

regulations in the use of funds and personnel management

Good governance- compulsory• Transparency and accountability• Public participation

Public funding


University autonomy in Thailand

Thai universities in generalAutonomous universities in Thailand• Existing autonomous universities: lessons

to be learned• Trend for future autonomous universities


Thai Universities in general

78 public universities and around 50 private universities 6 autonomous universities: 5 new and one from public universityIncreasing domestic demand for HE• Undergraduate level: still increasing high schools

graduates for the next 4-5 years• Graduate level: both from new graduates and workforce

National standard on operation requirements of degree programs


Thai Universities in general (cont.)

Quality assurance enforcedDiversity in characteristics and status of HE institutions: • research, teaching or both • quality of faculty and students• closed and open universities• face to face and e-learning• etc

Limited research funds


Thai Universities in general (cont.)

Diversified revenueChange in budget allocation system for public u.More collaboration with national research institutes and private sectorsDifferent level of internationalization


Autonomous universities in Thailand

6 universities (2 are for Buddhist monks)Still belong to state but not state agenciesLump sum budget provided by governmentSelf-governance in terms of personnel management and using of fundAcademic freedom --normally no problem in general


Impact of decrease in funding

Government in many countries around the world tends to decrease overall funding for public higher educationNew regulations and allocation schemes –performance basedDemand on quality of education– world class universities


Funding: higher education dilemma

Demand for higher quality–world class universities– needs more fundingBasic research needs large funding Decreasing public funding means university will have to be more self sustained in financeHow to be financially self-sustained ?


How to be more financially self sustained?

Sources of university revenue• Tuition and fees• Academic services and training• Continuing education services• Grants• Donation• commercialized Intellectual property from

research• etc


Academic services

Trend of Academic services: aims to cater to market demand • Training in public and private organizations• Many degree programs offered to fulfill the needs of

customers more than academic excellence

Market demand vs academic excellenceFor faculty members: research or service?How far should one go?


Autonomy from the marketIndependence from market force on both demand and supply for • graduates • Research• Academic services

Independence from market interference in decision making and operation of university in• Academic• Financial• Administrative affairs

University has to consider market demand but not to be governed by market demand


Autonomy from the state vsautonomy from the marketUniversity desires autonomy from the state in order to have• academic freedom-- to be able to decide what is best

academically for the public: what programs to offer, how to offer, what teaching and learning methods to be used, what are the standards of teaching and learning and research, etc

• Personnel management– to be able to have one’s own personnel management system that assures the recruitment, retention, development and performance of personnel able to deliver the desired academic outcome

• Financial management– to be able to administer the use of fund in order to efficiently and effectively attain the desired academic outcome


Autonomy from the state vsautonomy from the market

University desires autonomy from the market in order to have as main objective• academic freedom-- to be able to decide what is best

academically for the public: what programs to offer, how to offer, what teaching and learning methods to be used, what are the standards of teaching and learning and research, etc

With academic freedom, university can aim towards • creating knowledge• disseminating knowledge • educating the next generation of graduates in a way deemed suitable to serve its own vision and mission


Autonomy from the state vsautonomy from the market

With insufficient funding, university now face a very difficult situation–• Market demand may not go in line with academic

excellence or the mission of the university• Increasing revenue is necessary for the sustainability

of the university• How to balance between quality and serving market

demand?• How far should one travel the path of entrepreneurial

university?


Final remarks

Autonomy from the state is the trend in many countries, including Thailand, aiming for academic freedom and self governance in personnel and financial affairsTrend in public funding is decreasingPublic funding is a key factor to determine autonomy from the marketIf university depends too much on the market for revenue, it is losing autonomy from the market Without autonomy from the market, academic freedom is affected


Final remarks

Therefore, autonomy from the state and autonomy from the market are both desired by universityHowever, autonomy from the state should not come with less public fundingFinancial independence is necessary for obtaining autonomy from the market


Chiang mai pres khunying suchada kiranandana

Education

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