Examines the policy relevance of assertions that hypothetical social benefits generated by higher education satisfy normal public investment criteria and the question of whether even the existence of social benefits is a sufficient condition for subsidization. The need for examination of alternative funding systems is highlighted. (Editor/JT)

The flow of developing country students to developed countries is examined from the perspective of the sending authorities in developing countries and the loss of foreign exchange to developing nations. The implications for expansion of higher education in developing nations are discussed. (MSE)

The case of the University of Dar es Salaam illustrates how the concept of community education has been adapted to meet the needs of a university in a developing society. Community-orientation in terms of teaching, research, and other activities is described, and problems of access, admission, control, and participation are considered. (Author/LBH)

A study sought to identify, within the context of Indonesia, broad indicators of institutional effectiveness and efficiency felt to be important by the faculty surveyed, and assess whether these indicators reflect the characteristics of the institutions employing them. Seven criteria for such indicators are outlined, each addressing a different…

The work of universities in developing countries is reviewed. Closer links between the school and university systems are recommended with a view to improving teacher education, the creation of school curricula more relevant to current needs, and flexibility in relation to admission to postsecondary education. (Author/MLW)

This introductory article describes current research on student loans in developing countries and concludes that student loans in these countries are feasible, can promote wider cost sharing, and can help to generate additional resources for higher education but only if loan programs are well designed and efficiently managed. (Author/DB)

An overview of recent history of Nigerian higher education chronicles periods of phenomenal expansion, economic downturn and retrenchment, monitoring of efficiency and academic standards, continued uncontrolled expansion in the absence of basic facilities, recently improved fiscal management, revival of student aid, and proposals for the opening…

The principal characteristics and problems of financing higher education in a developing nation like Colombia are discussed, and several attempts to solve them are reviewed. Differences between the burgeoning private sector and the public sector, areas of inefficiency, and effects of public policy on tuition levels and payment are examined.…

The Venezuelan higher education system is described, and the principal efficiency, equity, and management issues are examined, especially for public universities. A pattern of explosive growth followed by recurrent funding crises has been a recent development. Strong resistance to change despite evident current shortcomings is characteristic.…

The development of a higher education system in India based on three imported models is outlined. Problems arising from application of the "MIT model" of technological institutes are discussed specifically, including isolation of the elite from reality, mediocrity, and irrelevance of curriculum and system. (MSE)

The role of the university in Japan's technological and industrial development is discussed. Problems including the westernization of a non-Western society, coordination between education and industry, the government and freedom of the university, and nationalism and internationalism are described. (Author/MLW)

Experiences of different countries in establishing mechanisms to coordinate development of higher education systems, diversify institutional financing, and increase efficiency of public investments are examined. Attention is drawn to the need for effective policy structures to manage higher education, link reform costs to benefits, acknowledge…

An examination of student loan programs to finance college education in developing nations finds that in Asia and Latin America the potential rate of cost recovery is better than for francophone and anglophone Africa, but that in Africa the approach would still permit a shift toward greater private financing of higher education. (MSE)

African university research is rarely used by policy-makers in the development planning process because there is mutual suspicion between the university and government, there is a dichotomy between university-based researchers and the rural populations intended as the beneficiaries of development, and research is seriously underfunded. (Author/MSE)

A discussion of growing international student mobility looks at the flow of students from Third World countries to industrialized nations, the impact of foreign students on academic institutions, the impact of foreign study on the students, and related policies in host and source countries. Available research literature is reviewed. (Author/MSE)