UNIVERSITY REFORMS AS A REFLECTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS IN FINLAND: A MARATHON TO THE EDGE OF GIANT LEAP?

Abstract

In most cases European universities have been created as part of public sector.
Their reforms and developments reflect the reforms and developments of the
public sector in each country. Taking Finland as a case in focus, we will show
how administrative reform policies are reflected in the changes of the governance of universities. Administrative reform policies of the 1990s are
described, first, as general trends, second, as changing structures and practices
in the development of Finnish university governance. The objectives set by the
government in the mid 1980s to reform universities have been mostly
achieved. They reflect the policies of performance-oriented budgeting, independence and flexibility in resource allocation, performance accounting, and
efficiency. The strategic reallocation of existing resources and inertia in completing studies continue to be problems. The gradual changes have now
amounted to a phase where a more radical reform of universities' institutional and legal status is being designed and implemented.