On the Edge: Securing a Sustainable Future for Higher Education. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 7

As higher education has grown and state funding has been constrained, the financial sustainability of institutions of higher education (HE) has become an issue for policy makers and for those who govern and manage these institutions. The challenge for governments is to ensure that increasingly autonomous institutions respond to public interest agendas while taking a greater responsibility for their own financial sustainability. The challenge for institutions is to manage an increasingly complex portfolio of aims and funding. This report examines the conditions needed to secure financial sustainability for the future from the national (policy) and institutional (management) perspectives. (Two appendices are included: (1) Key Features of the HE Systems in Participating Countries; and (2) Characteristics of National Systems of Governance. Contains 4 footnotes and 3 tables.)