Exploring the Determinants of Higher Education Performance in Western Europe: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis Capano, G., & Pritoni, A. (2020). Exploring the determinants of higher education performance in Western Europe: A qualitative comparative analysis. Regulation & Governance, 14(4), 764-786. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=bth&AN=146319842&site=eds-live&scope=site&custid=natuniv
Many higher education systems (HESs) in Europe have undergone structural changes over the last 30 years. These changes have been made primarily to enhance the overall performance – defined as students' access, quality of teaching, and excellence in research – of universities. As such, almost all the countries that participated in this study decided to adopt policy strategies to foster institutional autonomy and differentiation, and greater managerial steering. However, although similar policy patterns have been replicated, performance indicators are remarkably variable across Western European countries. The study results suggest that when considering the performance of university systems (i.e. teaching), it is important to identify the most effective combination of institutional autonomy, evaluation, internal governance, and public funding. The study includes twelve universities in Western Europe: Austria, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden. The results suggest that evaluation, generous public funding, and verticalized governance emerge as more relevant to university success.