The first is the diversified competition model represented by the United States.
In the United States, the right of education management essentially belongs to each state, which has typical characteristics of decentralization.
(A) the basic characteristics of American higher education management system
In the United States, the right to education has long belonged to States, not the federal government. The degree of integration of state higher education management departments is not the same as that of state governments. Private universities occupy a large proportion in higher education institutions, so the decentralization and diversification of university management are typical.
Under the decentralized system, the national government does not exercise complete control over colleges and universities, but allows colleges and universities to face the market and directly participate in the competition in the student source market, science and technology market and labor market.
The board of directors of colleges and universities dominated by outsiders holds the ultimate right of the school, which avoids the development of the school from the needs of social development.
(B) Federal government funding for higher education
The federal government's funding for higher education is mainly student funding and research funding. Student financial aid is mainly realized by directly granting scholarships and loans to students or directly allocating funds to schools, and by granting scholarships and grants to students through schools. In addition, the federal government provides research and development funds to fund scientific research and reform and innovation activities of research universities, and most of the research funds are managed and used by several federal government agencies.
(C) state government funding for higher education
State governments provide 40% to 60% of the funds for public universities in the state, and state governments allocate funds through committees composed of specialized personnel, which play the role of "communication" and "buffer" between higher education departments and the government. The financial allocation methods of each state are not exactly the same, reflecting the characteristics of diversification. What they have in common is that they must be approved by the legislature.
The second is the local government-led model represented by Germany.
The main source of income of higher education institutions in Germany is basic funds, followed by additional research funds and administrative funds.
(a) the state government is responsible for the basic funds of colleges and universities.
German higher education funds mainly rely on public funds, and higher education institutions must abide by the budget law and accounting law. These laws and regulations are formulated by the States themselves, but they are basically similar among the States, and the funds allocated by the States to universities are listed in the annual budget. The main provisions on the use of higher education funds include: making a single project budget (expenditure category) before the fiscal year; Do not use funds across the project budget; Colleges and universities obtain personnel funds according to the establishment and may not use them for other purposes; The fund balance of this year shall not be transferred to the next fiscal year, and so on.
(2) The federal government and the state government are jointly responsible for the capital construction of institutions of higher learning.
According to the German Constitution, the federal government and the state government jointly formulate the overall plan for the development of colleges and universities, and the state government specifically organizes its implementation. When the development of higher education needs to be expanded, including land acquisition, capital construction and renovation of existing facilities, it should be jointly undertaken by the federal and state governments, but in general, the federal government will only invest when the required funds reach a certain amount.
In recent years, some German state governments have a tendency to change the budget allocation mode of higher education funds from project budget to "package" budget, and the determination of the amount has also begun to change to formulaic allocation mode. Some German states began to implement a "package" budget, excluding only personnel funds; In some states, higher education institutions are allowed to use funds across projects. In some states, the government has adopted formulaic funding methods to varying degrees, and some states have started to use contracts or target agreements, which are regarded as performance-based budgeting methods. In recent years, state governments tend to give universities more flexibility in the internal allocation of funds.