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Legitimating the Difference: Private Higher Education Institutions in Central and Eastern Europe

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Private Higher Education in Post-Communist Europe

Part of the book series: Issues in Higher Education ((IHIGHER))

Abstract

Ever since their recent establishment, private higher education institutions in Central and Eastern Europe have had to justify their existence on the higher education landscape. Paradoxically, private institutions in the region appeared in a particular historical moment in response to a legitimation crisis of post-communist public higher education institutions. State colleges and universities failed to respond effectively enough to the new challenges posed by two main sets of factors: on the one hand, the transition to democratic societies and market economies after the fall of the totalitarian regimes and, on the other hand, the powerful trends of globalization that involve economic restructuring, a changing role of the state, shifting demographics, new technologies, and increased international interdependence, which have affected higher education systems throughout the world.

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Authors
  1. Snejana Slantcheva
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Central and Eastern Europe, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria

    Snejana Slantcheva (Head of the Center for Research on Higher Education, Head of PROPHE’s Regional Center for Central and Eastern Europe) (Head of the Center for Research on Higher Education, Head of PROPHE’s Regional Center for Central and Eastern Europe)

  2. SUNY, USA

    Daniel C. Levy (Distinguished Professor) (Distinguished Professor)

Copyright information

© 2007 Snejana Slantcheva and Daniel C. Levy

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Slantcheva, S. (2007). Legitimating the Difference: Private Higher Education Institutions in Central and Eastern Europe. In: Slantcheva, S., Levy, D.C. (eds) Private Higher Education in Post-Communist Europe. Issues in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230604391_3

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