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Vice Chancellor
We can and will influence higher education policy S c i e n ti fi c r e s e a rc h and higher education is receiving increasing attention from policy makers, the general public, and the private sector. This is gratifying, but at the same time also means that more and more people want to participate and influence the activities of the higher education sector. Meanwhile competition for resources and students increases, nationally as well as internationally. Against this background, it is important that we who work at universities and other institutions of higher education articulate together the issues that can contribute to a positive development of the higher education sector and Sweden as a knowledge nation. In autumn 2013, the Association of Swedish Higher Education (SUHF), adopted a program plan describing how universities and other institutions of higher education develop and contribute to sustainable community development. With this as a foundation along with a consensus on the critical issues, we can vigorously pursue higher education policy issues.
on the need for taking a long-term view in the governmental allocation of resources for higher education. The constant change in the number of student slots gives us unpredictable fits and starts. As an example, we received cutbacks in the number of student slots due to “paying students” and inactive students, but even before this was implemented, a hasty decision was made that we would get an additional approximately 10,000 places, primarily for teacher training. That we take our social responsibility for the need for skills and expertise is a given, but the lack of longrange planning complicates things. There is also a consensus that the public resources for education and research should be given as one single subvention. That the Government of Sweden will have a number of bases of calculation associated with responsibilities both for research and teaching is natural, but like the situation in most other countries, we should be free to manage the resources within the framework of our responsibilities. This would be in line with that research and higher education must go hand in hand, and that higher education should be based on scientific grounds. Furthermore, within the higher education sector there is strong support for the position that we should be able to have a balance between resources coming in and our operating expenditures over the course of a year. T h e r e i s a co n s e n s u s
T h e st r e n gt h o f b e i n g a united sector became clear regarding a fundamental issue – the evaluation of the quality of our educational program. The current system for quality assessment of higher education has been criticised not only by all Swedish institutions of higher education. It has also led to Sweden being suspended from the
A magazine for employees of the Universit y of Gothenburg
May 2014 E d i to r - i n C h i e f a n d P u b l i s h e r
Allan Eriksson 031 - 786 10 21 allan.eriksson@gu.se E d i to r a n d V i c e P u b l i s h e r
Eva Lundgren 031 - 786 10 81 eva.lundgren@gu.se P h oto g r a p h y a n d R e p r o d u c t i o n
Johan Wingborg 031 - 786 29 29 johan.wingborg@gu.se G r a p h i c F o r m a n d L ayo u t
Anders Eurén 031 - 786 43 81 anders.euren@gu.se
T r a n s l at i o n
Charles Philps, Semantix a d D r e ss
Foto: Johan Wingborg
European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), which aroused some astonishment internationally. All of the country’s Vice-Chancellors along with the Chairperson of the Swedish National Union of Students (SFS) recently signed a debate article published in the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, where we invited others to participate in a dialogue on a new system of evaluation. It is probably the first time I’ve seen a united sector go out with a common message at the same time. A program platform that a few days later was followed by the Swedish government establishing two different official investigations related to the issue. T h e r e a r e o f co u r s e many ways to exert influence, and many different venues for advocacy. One of the biggest and most talked about is the annual Almedalen Week. With autumn’s general election in sight, this year Almedalen Week is expected to be especially significant. Instead of each educational institution bringing up “their” questions, we have together collectively decided on a specific higher education policy day, Wednesday the 2nd of July. Then we – with SUHF as the sender – will have a common program where we highlight four key questions:
• The resource allocation system • Increased autonomy • Educational program, knowledge and matching • Gender equality and diversity It is hoped that the higher education policy debate that we choose to conduct will be reflected in a future university government bill to the Riksdag. The objective of this must be a long-term plan for research and higher education.
Pam Fredman
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