Department of Administrative and Policy Studies
John C. Weidman, PhD, Professor of Higher and
International Development Education / 5910 Wesley W. Posvar Hall
230 South Bouquet Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Phone: 412-648-1772
Email:
ADMPS 3136: Comparative Higher Education
Instructor’s Homepage:
http://www.education.pitt.edu/people/profile.aspx?f=JohnWeidman
Google Scholar Publications Profile:
http://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=AV29yF0AAAAJ
ResearchGate Profile:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/John_Weidman
Term: Fall, 2015 (2161); Thursday, 4:30-7:10 pm, 4321 WWPH.
Office Hours: Wednesday and Thursday, 2-4; also by appointment.
SYLLABUS
CATALOG DESCRIPTION
This seminar focuses on contemporary problems in post secondary education throughout the world. The seminar will begin with a brief historical introduction, followed by a review of case studies and other documents on higher education in the USA and other countries. Special attention will be given to an examination of comparative and contrasting policies and issues in higher education as they unfold in various developing regions and in the USA.
PURPOSE OF THE COURSE
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the study of higher education from a comparative, international, and development education perspective. It includes reviewing the dynamic historical, comparative, social, economic, political, and organizational aspects of this education subsector with a specific focus on contemporary issues in each of the world’s global regions. Those seeking credit for University Center for International Studies (UCIS) programs must focus their term papers on a country or region in the particular program’s geographical area.
OBJECTIVES
1. To study the purposes, basic concepts and methodological characteristics of comparative research in international higher education;
2. To learn the different philosophical and epistemological perspectives and disciplinary fields related to comparative higher education;
3. To recognize the innumerable issues and topics studied in international, comparative, and development higher education;
4. To understand the global, regional, national, local and institutional tensions and issues that influence higher education;
5. To learn about higher education systems of different nations, including an understanding of higher education governance, organizational structure, institutional relationships, challenges, differentiation, and integration; and
6. To become versed in the main literature in comparative, international, and development higher education.
DISABILITY SERVICES
If you have a disability that requires special testing accommodations or other classroom modifications, you need to notify both the instructor and Disability Resources and Services no later than the second week of the term. You may be asked to provide documentation of your disability to determine the appropriateness of accommodations. To notify Disability Resources and Services, call (412) 648-7890 (Voice or TTD) to schedule an appointment. The Disability Resources and Services office is located in 140 William Pitt Union on the Oakland campus.
STATEMENT ON CLASSROOM RECORDING
To ensure the free and open discussion of ideas, students may not record classroom lectures, discussion and/or activities without the advance written permission of the instructor, and any such recording properly approved in advance can be used solely for the student’s own private use.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Students in this course will be expected to comply with the University of Pittsburgh's Policy on Academic Integrity. Any student suspected of violating this obligation for any reason during the semester will be required to participate in the procedural process, initiated at the instructor level, as outlined in the University Guidelines on Academic Integrity. This may include, but is not limited to, the confiscation of the examination of any individual suspected of violating University Policy. Furthermore, no student may bring any unauthorized materials to an exam, including dictionaries and programmable calculators.
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
Academic Integrity Guidelines
Student Agreement
I. Student Obligations
A student has an obligation to exhibit honesty and to respect the ethical standards of the profession in carrying out his or her academic assignments. Without limiting the application of this principle, a student may be found to have violated this obligation if he or she:
1. Refers during an academic evaluation to materials or sources, or employs devices, not authorized by the faculty member.
2. Provides assistance during an academic evaluation to another person in a manner not authorized by the faculty member.
3. Receives assistance during an academic evaluation from another person in a manner not authorized by the faculty member.
4. Engages in unauthorized possession, buying, selling, obtaining, or use of any materials intended to be used as an instrument of academic evaluation in advance of its administration.
5. Acts as a substitute for another person in any academic evaluation process.
6. Utilizes a substitute in any academic evaluation proceeding.
7. Practices any form of deceit in an academic evaluation proceeding.
8. Depends on the aid of others in a manner expressly prohibited by the faculty member, in the research, preparation, creation, writing, performing, or publication of work to be submitted for academic credit or evaluation.
9. Provides aid to another person, knowing such aid is expressly prohibited by the instructor, in the research, preparation, creation, writing, performing, or publication of work to be submitted for academic credit or evaluation.
10. Presents as one’s own, for academic evaluation, the ideas, representations, or words of another person or persons without customary and proper acknowledgment of sources.
11. Submits the work of another person in a manner which represents the work to be one's own.
12. Knowingly permits one's work to be submitted by another person without the faculty member's authorization.
13. Attempts to influence or change one's academic evaluation or record for reasons other than achievement or merit.
14. Indulges, during a class (or examination) session in which one is a student, in conduct which is so disruptive as to infringe upon the rights of the faculty member or fellow students.
15. Fails to cooperate, if called upon, in the investigation or disposition of any allegation of dishonesty pertaining to another student.
16. Violates the canons of ethics of the student's professional discipline, as promulgated by professional organizations and/ or regulatory bodies (e.g., American College of Sports Medicine, American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and Pennsylvania Department of Education).
The alternative sanctions which may be imposed upon a finding that an offense related to academic integrity has been committed are the following:
1. Dismissal from the University without expectation of readmission.
2. Suspension from the University for a specific period of time.
3. Reduction in grade, or assignment of a failing grade, in the course in which the offending paper or examination was submitted.
4. Reduction in grade, or assignment of a failing grade, on the paper or examination in which the offense occurred.
I have read and agree to follow these academic integrity guidelines.
Signed:______Date:______
Printed Name:______
DEPARTMENTAL GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES
The purpose of grievance procedures is to ensure the rights and responsibilities of faculty and students in their relationships with each other. When a student in ADMPS believes that a faculty member has not met his or her obligations (as an instructor or in another capacity) as described in the Academic Integrity Guidelines, the student should follow the procedure described in the Guidelines by (1) first trying to resolve the matter with the faculty member directly; (2) then, if needed, attempting to resolve the matter through conversations with the chair/associate chair of the department; (3) if needed, next talking to the associate dean of the school; and (4) if needed, filing a written statement of charges with the school-level academic integrity officer. [Dr. Michael Gunzenhauser is the Associate Dean and Integrity Officer.]
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
I. Class Participation. Each student is required to participate fully in the seminar discussion and to take responsibility for leading a portion of at least one class session. This will include selecting a supplementary reading related to the topic for a class session, distributing it prior to class, and leading a 30-minute discussion of the reading and its implications for the study of comparative higher education.
II. Term Paper.
A 25-30 page (double spaced) term paper on a topic that includes a comparative dimension relevant for higher education. Some examples are comparing selected aspects of the higher education systems in at least two countries; assessing library and information needs of higher education for countries located in a particular geographic region; reviewing problems and prospects for the implementation of computer technology in the higher education systems of developing countries; comparing curricular structures of higher education systems in at least two countries, etc. Students are required to make a presentation in class on their term papers. The following list suggests several of the comparative factors that might be included in the analysis presented in the term paper:
1. Higher education system in cultural context: ethnic groups and dominance; popular languages spoken in order of prevalence.
2. Colonial or other antecedents of the higher education system.
3. Language(s) of instruction in higher education.
4. Purpose of the higher education system (official as well as actual).
5. Internal and external (international) influences.
6. Governance: location and use of authority and power; centralization; power of faculty/student/administrative groups; organization of higher education system; structural similarities and differences across types of institutions; internal and external influences; levels of control and lines of responsibility; role of alumni; role of political parties and degree of politicization; degree of institutional autonomy; role of private and voluntary organizations in higher education.
7. Numbers and types: of higher education institutions; of academic programs and degrees; of students by race/gender/language/social class; percentage of cohort group enrolled; rates of growth by institutional type.
8. Finance: budgeting process; sources of funds by percentage; proportion of national budget and of GNP/GDP devoted to higher education.
9. Admissions, transfer and graduation: processes for each, relationship to secondary education sector; retention, transfer, repeating, study length; elitist nature of admissions and matriculation; effect of higher education on the national social structure; equity; access of women and minority group members; massification of higher education.
10. Reform of higher education: planning alternatives; higher education in the nation’s service; models of reform approved, planned, and implemented.
WEIGHTING OF CLASS PARTICIPATION AND WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS IN FINAL GRADE:
a. First Written Assignment. Proposal (3-5 pages) (15%)
b. Class Participation including Identifying Supplemental Reading and Leading Class Discussion (25%)
c. Final Paper Comparing Selected Aspects of Two National Higher Education Systems/Institutions Using Appropriate Framework(s) (25-30 pages) (45%)
d. PowerPoint Presentation of Final Paper (15%)
REQUIRED READINGS [copies in CourseWeb]
Abdullah, D., Abd Aziz, M. I., & Mohd Ibrahim, A. L. (2014). A “research” into international student-related research: (Re)Visualising our stand? Higher Education, 67(3), 235–253.
Altbach, P. G., & Salmi, J. (Eds.). (2011). The road to academic excellence: Making of world-class research universities. Washington, DC: World Bank.
Arimoto, A. (2011). Japan : Effects of changing governance and management on the academic profession. In W. Locke, W. K. Cummings, & D. Fisher (Eds.), Changing Governance and Management in Higher Education (pp. 281–319). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer Science & Business Media B.V.
Asian Development Bank. (2014). Counting the cost: Financing Asian higher education for inclusive growth. Manila: Asian Development Bank.
Bat-Erdene, R., Sukhbaatar, J., Amarzaya, A., Chuluuntsetseg, D., & Byambatsogt, J. (2010). Current state of higher education in Mongolia. Beijing: UNESCO.
Bleiklie, I. (2014). Comparing university organizations across boundaries. Higher Education, 67(4), 381–391.
Carnoy, M., Froumin, I., Loyalka, P. K., & Tilak, J. B. G. (2014). The concept of public goods, the state, and higher education finance: A view from the BRICs. Higher Education, 68(3), 359–378.
Chapman, D. W., & Chien, C.-L. (Eds.). (2014). Higher education in Asia : Expanding out, expanding up. Montreal, Canada: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Finkelstein, M., Ju, M., & Cummings, W. K. (2011). The United States of America: Perspectives on faculty governance, 1992–2007. In W. Locke, W. K. Cummings, & D. Fisher (Eds.), Changing Governance and Management in Higher Education (pp. 199–222). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer Science & Business Media B.V.
Hoffman, D. M., Blasi, B., Ćulum, B., Dragšić, Ž., Ewen, A., Horta, H., Nokkala, T., & Rios-Aguilar, C. (2014). The methodological illumination of a blind spot: Information and communication technology and international research team dynamics in a higher education research program. Higher Education, 67(4), 473–495.
Jaramillo, A. (2012). Universities through the looking glass: Benchmarking university governance to enable higher education modernization in MENA. Washington, DC: World Bank.
Jaramillo, A. (2013). Benchmarking governance as a tool for promoting change. Washington, DC: World Bank MENA Regional Program.
Kosmützky, A., & Krücken, G. (2014). Growth or steady state? A bibliometric focus on international comparative higher education research. Higher Education, 67(4), 457–472.
Kosmützky, A., & Nokkala, T. (2014). Challenges and trends in comparative higher education: An editorial. Higher Education, 67(4), 369–380.
Locke, W. (2011). The international study of the “Changing Academic Profession:” A unique source for examining the academy’s perception of governance and management in comparative perspective. In Changing governance and management in higher education. In W. Locke, W. K. Cummings, & D. Fisher (Eds.), (pp. 381–383). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer Science & Business Media B.V.
Manzon, M. (2011a). Intellectual histories of comparative education. In Comparative education: The construction of a field (pp. 127–152). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer Science & Business Media B.V.
Manzon, M. (2011b). References and Index. In Comparative education: The construction of a field (pp. 231–295). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer Science & Business Media B.V.
Morphew, C. C., & Swanson, C. (2011). On the efficacy of raising your university’s rankings. In J. C. Shin, R. K. Toutkoushian, & U. Teichler (Eds.), University rankings (pp. 185–199). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer Science & Business Media B.V.
Oleksiyenko, A. (2014a). On the shoulders of Giants ? Global science, resource asymmetries, and repositioning of research universities in China and Russia. Comparative Education Review, 58(3), 482–508.
Oleksiyenko, A. (2014b). On the shoulders of giants? Global science, resource asymmetries, and repositioning of research universities in China and Russia [Appendix]. Comparative Education Review, 58(3), Online Appendix.