On Diversity by Degrees in the Non-University Sector: A Comparative Perspective

Harry de BoerCHEPS, Twente, The Netherlands

Glen A. JonesOISE, Toronto, Canada

Organization of the Presentation

• Objectives• Methodology• The development and evolution of the

hogescholen (HBO) sector in the Netherlands• The development and evolution of the Colleges

of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT) sector in Ontario, Canada

• Analysis and Conclusions

Objectives

• to analyze and compare the evolution of the non-university sector in two, high-access higher education systems in order to illuminate a number of key governance challenges

associated with binary systems.

Methodology

• The theoretical foundation for our study draws on two, complementary bodies of literature:– System-level diversity and institutional differentiation

(e.g. Codling and Meek, 2006)– Analysis of the non-university sector and its changing

role in widening access (Taylor, Brites Ferreira, de Lourdes Machado, and Santiago, 2008)

Methodology (2)

• Comparative policy analysis– Each author has conducted studies of the

development and evolution of the non-university sector within “their” system

– Project was facilitated by a Dutch Government study tour of the Ontario system

– Cross-case analysis focusing on similarities and differences in policy trends.

Methodology (3)

• Why The Netherlands and Ontario?– These higher education systems have quite different

historical foundations– Both high access systems with clear binary structures– Roughly comparable in size of population and size of

higher education system

The hogescholen (HBO) sector in The Netherlands

• Public Binary system: 13 universities and 41 hogescholen (universities of applied sciences)

• Two-thirds of the HE students (2008: 384,000)• Offering about 500 programmes, including part-

time and ‘sandwich’ constructions (80% of students are full-time)

The hogescholen (HBO) sector: Mandate / mission (1):

• ‘highest’ level of vocational training; • offering theoretical instruction and developing

skills required for practical application for a particular profession;

• responsive to the technical/vocational needs of industry and the province

• (regional – national) knowledge centers

The hogescholen (HBO) sector: Mandate / mission (2)

• High Access • Degree programmes:

• Bachelors (4-yr), • 2-yr Associate degrees (pilot – currently there are

57 Ad programmes)• (limited number of) Masters (selective government

funded)12,000 Masters students (3%) studying at 21 hogescholen

The hogescholen (HBO) sector:Mandate / mission (3)

• No basic research function; no PhD degree• Applied research – contributing to innovation

and knowledge transfer (e.g. SMEs)• Transfer function to some extent (for university

Masters)

The hogescholen (HBO) sector:Brief history (1)

• Different histories / variety: emerged from guild system / second half 19th century technical-economic vocational training (‘industrial state’) / second half 20th century ‘socio-economic’ vocational training and humanities (‘welfare state’)

• 1682: Arts Academy in The Hague (first Dutch “HBO-programme’)

• 1919: Domestic Science and Technical Education Act (first legal act)

• 1963 – 1968: Law on Secondary Education: HBO as a separate education sector and funded by government – HBO was extremely divers, fragmented and state-regulated

The hogescholen (HBO) sector:Brief history (2)

• 1975: founding of HBO-raad: institutionalization interest representation

• 1983: Scale enlargement, Task allocation and Concentration (STC): mergers in HBO-sector: from 375 (1983) to 88 (1987) to 41 (2008) hogescholen – institutional restructuring is ‘still going on’

• 1984/1985/1986: HOAK white paper and Act on Higher Vocational Training (‘hogescholen’) – HBO out of the realm of secondary education and formalizing the binary HE system

The hogescholen (HBO) sector: Brief history (3)

• 1989: introduction of external system of quality assurance (with external site visits)

• 1993: one national Act on Higher Education – WO and HBO

• 2001: introduction of lectorate – new staff category / leaders of so-called knowledge circles, aiming at enhancing contracts and strengthening knowledge exchange with industry and business, developing networks and generating third party income, and stimulating professional development of staff – currently there are just over 300 lectorates

The hogescholen (HBO) sector: Brief history (4)

• 2002: introduction of Ba-Ma system, including introduction of ECTS and accreditation system (2003) – HBO offers some Masters programmes, non-state and state-funded (dependent on labor market and societal needs)

The hogescholen (HBO) sector: trends (1)

• Strong growth in student numbers since the 1970s (e.g. 187,000 (1995); 270,000 (1993); 384,000 (2008)) as a result of economic, labor market demand (‘need for highly qualified labor force’)

• Strong growth in ‘maturity’ and autonomy (less detailed state regulation regarding curricula and exams, employer of staff, ownership of buildings, lump sum budgets)

• Expansion raised two issues in particular: internal structure and relationship with university sector

The hogescholen (HBO) sector: trends (2)

• Pressures on the binary divide– differentiation, flexibility, competition, demand for

tailor-made programmes ‘cause’ blurring boundaries– accreditation: HBO can apply for Ba and Ma

programmes – approval depends on decisions of national accreditation agency and ministry

– collaborations between universities and hogescholen: networks, joint ventures, joint use of facilities, student counseling and advice, development of credit transfer across the binary divide, transfer pathways (bridging courses)

The hogescholen (HBO) sector: Ambitions and goals (1)

• Increasing quality of education and expanding programmes offered (e.g. (publicly funded) Masters)

• Increasing staff’s quality and qualifications (more staff with PhD; lectorate)

• Contribution to solve labor market needs via life long learning

• Strengthening knowledge transfer and contribution to innovation (e.g. more applied research for SMEs)

The hogescholen (HBO) sector:Ambitions and goals (2)

• Trying to replace or avoid ‘teaching only’ image - expanding (applied) research function of hogescholen

• Reducing number of drop outs (graduation rate (completion after 5-yr) is just under 60%)

The Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology in Ontario• Development:

– Emerged in 1965 when government integrated existing technical training institutes and created an “overnight system” of comprehensive colleges.

– Emphasis on technical/vocational education at the sub-bachelors level (trades to 3 yr diploma programs)

– By 1967 there 19 CAATs geographically dispersed throughout the province

CAATs

• Mandate:– High Access– Responsive to the technical/vocational needs of

industry and the province– Originally designed to serve specific geographic

regions– Sub-Bachelor credentials (certificates, diplomas)– No research function– No transfer function (unlike US community colleges)

CAATs

• Student mobility between sectors (credit transfer/recognition) became a recurring policy problem

• Concerns within the sector of declining status in the face of global recognition of “degree”

• Desire on the part of some CAATs to increase differentiation within the sector

CAATs

• Government provides limited authority for “degrees in applied fields” subject to new quality control mechanism

• Following university pressure – new credentials become “applied degrees” that must be unique and not duplicate university offerings

• CAATs move quickly to create new programs, with quite mixed results

CAATs

• Government renames selected CAATs as Institutes of Technology and Applied Learning as an attempt to increase differentiation

• Selected institutions lobby for “polytechnic” status with applied research function as a mechanisms for further differentiation

• Government approves new charter – modest increase in institutional autonomy

Analysis and Conclusions

• The Dutch hogescholen and Ontario CAATs have been, and continue to be, very different institutional types

• Boundaries of the binary divide in these two systems have shifted in response to demands for increasing access

• Credential types and levels play a central role in policy discussions (creating diversity by degrees?)

Analysis and Conclusions (2)

• Research is playing an increasing role in the non-university sector policy discourse

• Greater cooperation between and within sectors

• Universities strive to maintain their monopoly on elite credentials and argue for institutional differentiation that maintains this monopoly

Analysis and Conclusions (3)

• Governments face a key policy challenge:– Increasing institutional autonomy in order to

facilitate increased responsiveness to rapidly changing labour requirements

– Limiting academic drift in order to continue to benefit from a binary system with differentiated institutional types