Abstract
In recent years, Icelandic society has moved towards the free market, mainly in business and finance, but not so much in the health, education and social services. Privatization of these areas has been relatively minor. Nevertheless there are at least three Icelandic higher education institutions that have been categorised as private institutions. This state of affairs has been debated, in particular with reference to the fact that the private institutions in Iceland receive full per student state contributions for their teaching function, exactly as the public universities. The discussion has followed two tracks simultaneously. On the one hand it has posed question what are the essential differences between a public and a private institution of higher education and on other whether we should follow the lead of our Nordic neighbours in that they have apparently moved, if very slightly out of the traditional public domain.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Act on Public Universities no. 85/2008 (i. Lög um Opinbera Háskóla nr. 85/2008)
Act on Universities and Colleges no. 15/2005 (n. Lov om universiteter og høyskoler no. 15/2005)
Act on Universities no. 136/1997 (i. Lög um Háskóla nr. 136/1997)
Act on Universities no. 403/2003 (d. Lov om universiteter no. 403/2003)
Act on Universities no. 63/2006 (i. Lög um háskóla nr. 63/2006)
Act on Universities no. 280/2005 (d. Lov om universiteter no. 280/2005)
Act on University Colleges for continuing education no. 543/2008 (d. Lov om professionshøjskoler for videregående uddanning no. 543/2008)
Altbach, P. G., Reisberg, L., & Rumbley, L. E. (2009). Trends in global higher education: Tracking an academic revolution. Executive summary. A Report prepared for the UNESCO 2009 World Conference on Higher Education. Paris: UNESCO.
Amdam, P. R. (1996). Utdanning til salgs: Privat høyere utdanning i historisk og komparativt perspektiv. Forskningsraport. Sandvika: Handelshøyskolen BI.
Benveniste, L., Carnoy, M., & Rothstein, R. (2003). All else equal: Are public and private schools different? New York; London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Bergan, S. (2009). Higher education as a “public good and public responsibility”: What does it mean? In S. Bergan, R. Guarga, E. E. Polak, J. D. Sobrinho, R. Tandon, & J. B. G. Tilak (Eds.), Public responsibility for higher education (pp. 43–61). Paris: UNESCO.
Bill for the Act on Universities, 2003 (d. Forslag til lov om universiteter, 2003). Retrieved September 5, 2009, from http://www.folketinget.dk/doc.aspx?/samling/20081/menu/00000002.htm
Bjarnason, S., Cheng, K.-M., Fielden, J., Lemaitre, M.-J., Levy, D., & Varghese, N. V. (2009). A new dynamic: Private higher education. UNESCO.
Finansministeriet Danmark. (2009). Selvejende institutioner – styring, regulering og effektivitet. Report. Retrieved September 5, 2009, from http://www.fm.dk/Publikationer.aspx
Geiger, R. L. (1985). The private alternative in higher education. European Journal of Education, 20(4), 385–398.
Guarga, R. (2009). Higher education in the World Trade Organization (WTO): A threat to the future of higher education in the world. In S. Bergan, R. Guarga, E. E. Polak, J. D. Sobrinho, R. Tandon, & J. B. G. Tilak (Eds.), Public responsibility for higher education (pp. 81–97). Paris: UNESCO.
Hagstofa Íslands. (2008). Retrieved September 5, 2009, from http://www.hagstofa.is/Hagtolur/kolamal/askolar
Ikenberry, S. O. (2009). Privatizing the public research university. In C. C. Morphew & P. D. Eckel (Eds.), Privatizing the public university: Perspectives from across the academy (pp. 1–6). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Jónasson, J. T. (2008). Inventing tomorrow’s university. Who is to take the lead? Bologna: The Magna Charta Observatory.
Jónasson, J. T., & Jóhannsdóttir, G. (2008). Potential conflicts when defining and determining quality in HE and their effects. Paper presented at the CHER 20th annual conference.
Kunnskapsdepartementet. (2008). Tillstandsrapport for høyere private utdanningsinstitutioner. Retrieved September 6, 2009, from http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/kd/dok/rapporter_planer/apporter/008/tilstandsrapport-for-de-private-vitenska.html?id=533865
Kyvik, S. (2009). The dynamics of change in higher education. Expansion and contraction in an organisational field. Higher Education Dynamics, 27. UK: Springer.
Lög um sjálfseignarstofnanir sem stunda atvinnurekstur nr. 33/1999.
Lög um sjóði og stofnanir sem starfa samkvæmt staðfestri skipulagsskrá nr. 19/1988.
Menntamálaráðuneytið. (1999). Reglur nr. 646 um fjárveitingar til háskóla, skv.20. gr. laga nr. 136/1997 frá 5. október 1999.
Norwegian School of Management. (2008). Retrieved September 5, 2009, from http://www.bi.no/
Osipian, A. (2008). Corruption in higher education: Does it differ across the nations and why? Research in Comparative and International Education, 3(4), 345–365.
Slaughter, S., & Rhoades, G. (2004). Academic capitalism and the new economy: Markets, state, and higher education. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Statistics Norway. Retrieved September 7, 2009, from http://www.ssb.no/english/subjects/00/inifakta_n/en/ain_07.html
Tierney, W. G. (2006). Trust and the public good: Examining the cultural conditions of academic work. New York: Peter Lang.
Tierney, W. G., & Hentschke, G. C. (2007). New players, different game: Understanding the rise of for-profit colleges and universities. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Tilak, G. J. B. (2009). Higher education: A public good or a commodity for trade? Commitment to higher education or commitment of higher education to trade. In S. Bergan, R. Guarga, E. E. Polak, J. D. Sobrinho, R. Tandon, & J. B. G.Tilak (Eds.), Public responsibility for higher education (pp. 15–41). Paris: UNESCO.
Undervisningsminiteriet. (2007). Retrieved September 5, 2009, from http://statweb.uni-c.dk/vmDataeb/fullClient/Default.aspx?report=EAK-tilgang-vidudd&res=1003x404
Wright, S., Ørberg W. J. (2008). Autonomy and control: Danish university reform in the context of modern government. Learning and Teaching, 1(1), 27–57.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Sense Publishers
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jóhannsdóttir, G., Jónasson, J.T. (2011). What Characterises the Public-Private Distinction in He in a Nordic Perspective?. In: Teixeira, P.N., Dill, D.D. (eds) Public Vices, Private Virtues?. Issues in Higher Education, vol 2. SensePublishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-466-9_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-466-9_4
Publisher Name: SensePublishers
Online ISBN: 978-94-6091-466-9
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)