Korean Educational Development Institute(KEDI)

The purpose of this study is to classify various patterns of governance in national higher education systems using a cross-national perspective. Using the quadrant of higher education systems as a framework for analysis, the study employed factor analysis and cluster analysis to capture dominant modes of governance in higher education across 46 selected countries. The results point to four patterns underlying the relationship between states and higher education institutions, based on three primary measurements: government regulation, financial support, and institutional autonomy. The four distinct patterns that this study identifies as governance models may serve as predictors of countries’ propensities toward academic capitalism, in view of the argument that marketization of higher education depends on shifts in public funding.