Report 2006:3 R

Higher education and research 1945-2005 - a survey

After the end of the Second World War higher education and research have developed in many ways and increasingly attracted governmental interest. A long series of public inquiries have submitted proposals on different issues. More and more higher education institutions have been established and today there is at least one in every county. Undergraduate studies were reformed in 1977 and 1993 and today´s doctoral programmes can trace their inception to the 1969 reform of postgraduate studies. Educational expansion in Sweden and other countries has enabled increasing numbers to pursue studies in higher education. The number of undergraduate students in Sweden has risen from 14,000 in the mid-1940s at the universities and colleges of the day to 340,000 today and postgraduate studies have been expanded considerably. The requirements for enrolment to higher education have been the subject of a number of enquiries and reforms. Recruitment to higher education has been broadened and the proportion of women has risen. Student influence is now a statutory requirement. Monitoring and evaluation have developed and quality has become a central issue. Increasing focus has been given to the international perspective. Adaptation to the “Bologna" process means that we are now facing yet another reform.

During the period there has been a progressive shift from detailed central planning at a national level to management by objectives and results. This applies, for instance, to the funding of undergraduate programmes and also research and postgraduate programmes. External funding agencies have acquired greater influence over the resources available for research at the higher education institutions. Cooperation between the institutions and the commercial sector and the community at large has developed and assumed different forms. Decisions on the focus and organisation of programmes offered have to a large extent been devolved from central level to the higher education institutions themselves. Today the institutions also decide on their own internal organisation, subject to certain framework regulations.