Hierarchy and Specialization. On Institutional Integration of Higher Education Systems

Over the last decades higher education systems in much of the Western world have become more integrated. Whilst public authorities have had to develop strategies for how higher education systems should be organized, higher education institution have been forced to clarify their preferences and develop strategies in order to position themselves in relation to other higher education institutions. The paper first sketches a conceptual point of departure for the analysis of the relationship between institutions in higher education systems. Then it discusses how recent attempts at integrating higher education systems may affect the relationship between the institutions along two dimensions: a) according to the degree of standardization and hierarchization, and b) according to the degree of specialization and functional division of labor. Thirdly the development is situated in a wider context where the relationship between different types of institutions are considered in relation to global trends in higher education: in particular the extension of the concept of knowledge, the developemnt of mass education and the universal proliferation of research based knowledge. Finally it discusses briefly a number of relevant topics for further studies in the field and considers briefly some possible future developments