Strengths and Weaknesses of Private and Public Universities
Of the leading twenty universities in the world more than half are private institutions.
It will therefore be interesting to identify the special characteristics of public and
private universities and to learn more about their respective strengths and
weaknesses.
- Can it be said that public universities offer a broader variety of studies
compared to private universities, which may concentrate on a few disciplines?
- Which type of institution leads to more dependence on the outside?
- Is the ethical or values orientation of many private institutions
preferable to the
ideological neutrality of public universities?
- Does diversity of income (endowments, funds, fees, grants etc.) – a
characteristic
of private universities – contribute to better
higher education?
- Do private universities, with their smaller faculty-student ratio (e.g.
1:10) care more
for students and their success?
- Does the spirit of corporate identity strengthen private
universities in comparison
to public universities?
- Are there models of higher education institutions which combine the
advantages of
private and public universities?
I.C.H.E. offers a forum to exchange views and experiences with the above-
mentioned questions as well as any others which
may be brought to the floor.
This Conference will be of particular
interest to those academics and
administrators who are currently debating a
suitable legal form for their institutions.
