Paradoxes in Higher Education: universities versus academic colleges

Transcription

1 Research in Comparative and International Education Volume 8 Number Paradoxes in Higher Education: universities versus academic colleges NITZA DAVIDOVITCH Ariel University, Israel ZILLA SINUANY-STERN Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel YAACOV IRAM Bar Ilan University, Israel ABSTRACT This article deals with paradoxical relationships between Israeli universities and colleges and their effect on the system of higher education. The article analyzes the history of the highereducation discourse, ranging from patronizing and domineering relations to collaboration based on the recognition that Israel s entire system of higher education is headed in the same direction. Dialogue between the different types of academic schools in Israel is examined in light of the historicalorganizational evolution of both universities and colleges. Paradoxical relationships are examined in light of the goals of the various schools, distinctive features of their student populations, their curricula, and their organizational structure. The article illuminates one of the most dynamic and paradoxical dialogues in Israel in the past decade and suggests a potential scenario encompassing the impact of this dialogue on Israel s entire system of higher education. The authors believe that the case of Israel can contribute to at least two important discussions in the field of international and comparative education: (1) the influence of local and global forces on education policy; and (2) policy implementation and the connection between policy and practice. Discussion of the case of Israel and the paradigmatic transformation of higher education may shed light on implications for the field of higher education worldwide. I. Introduction The need to increase access to higher education in Israel developed in response to the enormous wave of immigration to Israel from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) in the early 1990s: an immigration in which the proportion of academic graduates was significantly higher than in the general Israeli population. Other population groups also became more aware of the significance of higher education and its role in socio-economic mobility. Due to the limited resources of the higher-education system, no new universities were established, but new models of highereducation institutions developed: some were already in existence, operating at a limited scope (the Open University, the academic teacher-training colleges, and the private colleges), while others evolved in the field with no institutional intervention (such as the regional colleges that operated under the sponsorship of universities, and local extensions of overseas universities). In response to the spontaneous developments in the field, which were not proceeding in a positive direction in terms of quality, the education system promoted the establishment of new academic colleges to satisfy the growing need for higher education (Swirski & Swirksi, 1997; Tamir, 2002). The watershed year was 1995, when the Council for Higher Education Law (CHE) was passed by the Knesset. This law created an equality between the academic degrees awarded by colleges and universities. Nonetheless, budgetary support for colleges was significantly lower 132

2 Paradoxes in Higher Education compared to the government support for universities, mainly due to the absence of research activities in the colleges. According to the CHE s Planning and Budgeting Committee, senior faculty in the budgeted colleges were required to carry a teaching load that was double the scope of senior faculty in universities. The Planning and Budgeting Committee had no expectations that the faculty in the colleges would engage in research and therefore it expected that advanced research degrees would continue to be awarded by universities (Council for Higher Education, 2007). This policy created access to higher education for the masses, at a low cost, but the question was whether the quality of such education was also inferior. In Israel, universities are a brand that evokes prestige and, therefore, several colleges have aspired to make the transition into universities. The dichotomous structure of universities and academic colleges is the primary feature of Israel s higher-education system in the first decade of the twenty-first century, where close to two thirds of all undergraduate students study in colleges (Yogev, 1992, 2010; Ayalon & Yogev, 2006; Ayalon et al, 2008). A historical review of the development of Israeli schools of higher education reveals the paradoxical relationships that have evolved between different types of academic schools (universities and colleges), all established after the first university, emerging in its shadow and under its influence. Development trends typified by nuances and uniqueness on the one hand and uniformity and assimilation on the other show that the Israeli system of higher education is gradually converging into a monistic system, with academic institutions of all types growing more similar (Davidovitch & Iram, 2006). The direction of this evolving discourse between the various types of academic institutions in Israel raises the need to examine the dialogue that developed between universities and colleges in the course of over four decades. Did universities, by sponsoring colleges and charting their course of action, affect the development of the latter, whether consciously or unconsciously, and to what degree? Were universities influenced by the colleges that were attentive to their target populations and curricula and, above all, to the spirit of the times? And, if so, to what degree? The paradoxical relationship is examined in this paper from a historical-comparative perspective in reference to contemporary needs (Miller, 1990), as manifested in the designation of the two types of academic institutions colleges and universities which are both involved in research, teaching, and community service. In addition, we examine distinctive features of the students, curricula, and organizational structure of the various institutions. We consider the historical-comparative analysis, examining developing relationships between the various types of Israeli schools of higher education, to be an important key for evaluating major prospective scenarios for the future development of Israel s system of higher education. Since 1990, higher education in Israel as a whole tripled in size in the academic year, 305,000 students attended a higher-education institution, including the Open University yet the student population in the academic colleges increased twenty-fold. The academic colleges constitute a dominant factor in increasing access to higher education, as planned. Nonetheless, all types of higher-education institutions expanded and flourished in the last two decades, including teaching colleges and the Open University (Table II). II. Role Division between Schools of Higher Education We examine the paradox of role division between universities and colleges in light of their goals. The differential development of schools of higher education led to diverse goals and paradigmatic changes in the perception of universities and their academic role versus colleges. The United States has two ideal types of colleges: (1) elite colleges for undergraduate students, with a first-rate faculty engaged in research and teaching, whose students are handpicked as in elite universities, and prepared for advanced degrees and professional careers; and (2) popular colleges with an emphasis on popular service. The latter provide a response to the mass demand for a general tertiary education as well as professional academic training courses. According to Trow (1970), universities should focus on performing their autonomous functions, that is, instilling high culture, promoting science through research, and shaping and certifying the elite, while colleges should focus on providing popular functions, i.e. exposing new sectors of the population to high culture; awarding certificates necessary to ensure proper 133

3 Nitza Davidovitch et al employment; and providing the community with practical knowledge- and information-based practical services. This approach was supported by the recommendation of Avraham Shochat, then Minister of Finance, who stated in his report on the Israeli system of higher education that research functions should be concentrated at the universities (CHE, 2007). In contrast, Luria and Luria (1970) claim that in today s complex technological society, universities popular functions, aimed at serving society, have gathered enormous momentum and are growing closer to autonomous functions. They estimate that it has become impossible to operate universities with purely autonomous functions and therefore the differentiation between autonomous universities and popular colleges seems unrealistic. The desire to achieve high social status has created competition for slots in higher education, which are the main key for acquiring status in modern society (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2005; Volansky, 2005, 2012) in general, and in Israel in particular. The foundations of Israeli higher education were laid in the 1920s, with the establishment of the Technion (1924) and the Hebrew University (1925). When the State of Israel was founded, these were the only two local schools of higher education. Population growth and socioeconomic developments created a demand for higher education, and consequently, in the 1950s and 1960s, five universities were established: The Weizmann Institute and the Tel Aviv, Bar Ilan, Haifa, and Ben Gurion universities. In the 1970s Israel s academic system continued to branch out and develop. The Open University was founded and expanded its activities throughout Israel, and teacher training underwent a process of academization. Amendment No. 10 of The Higher Education Law (adopted in the 1990s) equates the quality of college-awarded academic degrees with university degrees. The Planning and Budgeting Committee (PBC) (Planning and Budgeting Committee, 2009, 2012) originally conceived of the system of higher education as consisting of two levels: universities, with a focus on research and graduate studies; and colleges, with a focus on undergraduate studies, which serve as instruments of equality and social justice for students from the periphery by means of academic studies. Leaders of Israeli higher education set out to create a dual system, with a division of labor between universities engaged in research and colleges engaged in academic teaching as a social response. However in practice, the goals of research, teaching, and community service remained common to both universities and colleges. Universities are continuing to energetically pursue undergraduate students, while in colleges, research is considered a crucial consideration affecting academic appointments based on research achievements, despite the fact that the heavy teaching load does not leave time for research, and research is accorded extremely limited facilities and resources. Furthermore, it has become increasingly necessary to navigate between the different emphases in the goals of academic institutions, as in practice all academic schools have opened their gates and become heavily populated, a transition that has diminished the special aura of higher education, which currently serves more as a means of social climbing and professional advancement beyond the ivory tower than for research and scientific promotion (Soen, 1999). The general aims of Israeli higher education were influenced by three dominant outlooks: those prevalent in Germany, England, and the United States (Iram, 1978). The effect of these outlooks is evident in the goals of the entire academic system and the relative significance attributed to research, teaching, and public service. Paradoxically, despite the US impact on the Israeli concept of higher education, manifested in the establishment of colleges as an essentially social response (Israeli, 1997), it seems that organization of the future system of higher education was guided by the concept of research universities (Iram, 1978). Only at a later stage did the professional-training function of academic schools become an integral part of the system. In fact, the difference between the various institutions is in the weight given to each of their traditional roles but not in their essence, as all institutions established after the first university continued on the course it had initially outlined, with different emphases as demanded by place and need. A possible explanation for the source of legitimacy of the new higher-education institutions may be found in institutional theory (Meyer & Rowan, 1977). According to this theory, educational institutions are sometimes required to symbolically adopt behaviors, policies, and roles in order to satisfy the expectations and demands of the environment that provides legitimacy, support, and resources, even though such adoption may generate confrontations and inconsistencies in the organization s efforts to achieve its goals (Meyer & Rowan, 1977). Consequently, we may state that 134

4 Paradoxes in Higher Education the new institutions inclination to imitate the first universities primarily expresses their symbolic assimilation of the role functions that the new institutions assumed for themselves. Israeli colleges have developed at such a fast pace over the past decade (Table I) that in the last five years, over half of all undergraduate students in the country were college educated (64% in 2012). School year Undergraduate students Graduate students Total Universities Regional colleges Teaching colleges Academic colleges , ,289 4,269 22,440 80, ,716 7,374 19,646 37,325 40, , ,315 8,259 21,955 91,665 64, ,760 Cumulative growth rate 36% 315% 2047% 187% 213% Note: (1) Excluding the Open University. Table I. Students at higher education institutions, by degree program (1991, 2001, 2012). Source: Central Bureau of Statistics (2011). III. The Paradox of Israel s Dual Structure The research orientation typical of the first university was manifested in the academic administration s organizational structure as well: 1. The academic administration followed the German model and was based on the principle of unrestricted teaching and study, whereby the entire academic administration is managed by academic bodies: the Faculty Council and the Senate (Iram, 1987, 1998). 2. Universities organizational alignment included many unplanned processes, mainly due to their original circumstances. The question is to what degree, if at all, was the construction or absence of academic infrastructure harmful for their development. Universities expanded despite the nearly chronic lack of physical infrastructure (Hadari & Tal, 1979). In general, universities academic development may be said to have constantly surpassed their physical development, and the lack of infrastructure did not hamper the development of academic institutions. 3. The colleges undergo organizational processes that involve planning, budgeting, and control. From small colleges that operated independently, within a short period they created something out of nothing in their respective regions, and transformed into academic colleges, including all the necessary changes this entails. Higher-education institutions established after the State of Israel was founded began as universities, institutes, seminars, or colleges (Klein, 2006), their initiation justified by local needs. Such initial terms always had the effect of devaluing the prospective institution. Colleges often began with non-academic programs, e.g. pre-academic programs, schools of practical engineering and vocational training programs, while academic programs emerged at a later stage, once the colleges had become entrenched in public consciousness as university equivalents. This created an organizational structure in which academic administration and procedures became established at a later stage of their development. Currently, non-academic programs are offered by universities as well, alongside their academic units. The organizational difference between colleges and universities is in their academic point of departure and in the weight given to each component. Changes also occurred in the organizational structure of regional colleges that began their academic course under the patronage of a university with which they were affiliated but from which they are now becoming more independent. Leaders of most colleges see the transition to independence as inevitable, and this is also the policy of the CHE (Israeli, 1997). Initially, college leaders understood that the affiliation of colleges with patron universities was important for the prestige and status of young academic institutions. Aside from the academic prestige, this association gave students a sense of security and served as a guarantee of the quality of academic 135

5 Nitza Davidovitch et al degrees awarded. The affiliation also helped colleges become independent. However as their status gradually grew, leaders sensed that the academic prestige thus granted was a double-edged sword: the university, as a veteran, well-established institution, tightened its hold and dictated the college s direction and rate of development, expecting the college to shape itself in its own image. The first decade of the twenty-first century has seen a call for the breakdown of university monopolies, with the government s decision on May 2, 2005 to establish a university in the Galilee and a university in Ariel. There is currently a demand to open the list of Israeli universities which has remained unchanged for the past 40 years to new members. Four main areas characterize universities in contrast to colleges: 1. Universities offer advanced programs for master s and doctoral degrees while colleges are supposed to concentrate on undergraduate programs. 2. Universities have extensive research activities that are financed by the Planning and Budgeting Committee. 3. Colleges generally focus on academic teaching in a limited number of disciplinary departments. In contrast, universities offer programs in a broad range of faculties and departments. 4. Universities rely on a large foundation of tenured instructors whose main activities are directed to research and teaching, while in colleges, a large part of teaching is conducted by adjunct instructors who work in the colleges as a supplement to their academic and other work outside the college. The demands of some colleges to become accredited as universities, and the potential of these demands to undermine the hegemony of existing universities, raises the question of whether a college can evolve into a university. Moreover, what, in fact, is a university? Some colleges claim that they are de facto universities: From their inception they combined teaching and research on the highest level, as most college heads and founding faculty members originated from universities. Academic institutions that combine teaching and research perform all the functions of a university, and thus, in practice, these college campuses feature a university-type environment. Others argue that while there is no practical justification to object to the colleges demands, current budgetary constraints do not allow such a transformation. Research budgets and human resources are limited and such a process would reduce available resources even further, with an increasing number of academic institutions competing for doctoral students, reduced budgets, and donations. Colleges, however, claim that universities are using the budgetary excuse as one of many efforts to maintain their monopoly and prevent competition by other organizations. Their argument is highlighted by the fact that some colleges have neither requested nor received government funding, in order to maintain their autonomy. Although the appeals of three colleges to the CHE (Council for Higher Education, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2007), requesting that they be recognized as universities or defined as research institutions, have been rejected, the CHE nonetheless decided to develop a definition of universities, a term not previously legally defined in Israel. At the instigation of Minister of Education Limor Livnat, whose duties included chairperson of the CHE, a decision was made to establish a committee charged with formulating procedures whereby colleges could become universities. Thus, even before a legal definition of universities was developed, a committee was established to determine the necessary procedures for accrediting new universities. All these steps were taken notwithstanding the CHE s decision that no new publicly funded universities would be established. A review of the evolution of Israeli institutions of higher education shows that each new academic institution had its opponents. For example, in the case of Ben Gurion University, the Faculty of the Sciences in Jerusalem voiced its objection, claiming that there are only a small number of teachers ; How can we guarantee a proper level of studies? (Hadari & Tal, 1979). In summary, the dialogue between universities and colleges on the issue of role division shows that the upheaval experienced by colleges had an effect on universities as well. Organizational contents were determined by current demand, which created changes and invigorated the system. Universities contributed to the training of an academic leadership, created faculty reserves utilized by colleges, and led the transformation of curricula and academic teaching methods (Kaveh, 2000). 136

6 Paradoxes in Higher Education Regional colleges also underwent organizational processes and embraced national and international academic standards. The Israeli system of higher education is presently in a state of conflict. On the one hand an amendment to the Higher Education Law determined the status of colleges as academic institutions and ruled that their degree is the official equivalent of a university degree, thus requiring colleges to adapt themselves to university-standard considerations. On the other hand we find attempts to preserve the existing format of universities. Moreover, the colleges development and their compliance with academic standards creates a dialectic turn toward the colleges commitment to their respective regions, which were their foundation. This ethical conflict dictates organizational and academic methods of action in colleges, creating a dual game in which the leaders of universities and academic colleges are also collaborators. Today, the Planning and Budgeting Committee (Planning & Budgeting Committee of the CHE, 2012) is already talking about a third layer of university centers as an interim layer between colleges and universities that will satisfy the aspirations of colleges that push toward research activities. IV. The Paradox of Theory versus Practice in Academic Institutions The field of higher education has known many transitions, from imparting higher education for its own sake to teaching a profession, from perceiving education as an ends to perceiving education as a means, from the value of studies per se to widening one s mind and the value of study and discovery, to technological studies and practical-applied science (Pazi, 2002; Shmida, 1987). Many questions have arisen regarding types of training provided at academic institutions, and the need for all or some of them. Some see the shift of education to practical tracks and its recognition as such by society as the ultimate victory (Reichman, 2000). In contrast, others claim that the only justification of a practical education is its practical benefits, while education as knowledge has enduring significance. Thus universities represent an entity that is not primarily social or vocational. The word university symbolizes the supreme and the unique, exemption from the obligation to use knowledge for practical needs, and unreserved loyalty to theory per se (Dror, 1996). The conflict between universities, with their inclination to the abstract, and society which searches for solutions to its urgent problems, gradually subsided as universities began using their forces to respond to social needs. At present, society has developed expectations of institutions of higher education and academic faculty: expectations for involvement in society s predicaments and for relevant studies and research, expectations for a system that answers national needs, calling for the training of professionals to help the country advance and provide necessary professional, technological, and intellectual foundations for courses of action promoting efficiency, economy, and administrative modernism. To various degrees, Israeli universities and colleges have accepted this outlook, which advocates knowledge for practical purposes. The Hebrew University s insistence on the inclusion and position of vocational-applied disciplines, upon its establishment in 1925 (Iram, 1978), reflected differences of opinion between those advocating expansion of the university s roles, as in US higher education, and those advocating the classical-scientific curriculum and its traditional roles in the field of knowledge expansion, similar to German universities (Mizrachi, 1994). Judging by British, and more significantly US, educational traditions, serving society and vocational training were perceived as necessary functions of universities, side by side with their role in research (Iram, 1978). In fact, the first university, with its initial formative outline that was to have a crucial effect on academic institutions in all times, had a say regarding the place of vocational schools as part of universities as well. In contrast, the Technion (1924) was originally established with a more practical purpose in mind: to train engineers and architects to physically build Israel, and thus realize the technological needs of the emerging state. Nonetheless, the Technion as well was designed in the spirit of the Hebrew University (Mizrachi, 1994), and in the 1950s and 1960s the Technion accepted full national responsibility for engineering studies (Tadmor, 1996). This was the main paradigmatic shift of the Technion in the 1990s, and it had many consequences for practical policy by determining its size, the quality of teaching, student characterization, the structure of engineering studies, research topics and their administration, continuing education, international relations, and faculty 137

7 Nitza Davidovitch et al employment. Haifa University and Ben Gurion University, opened in the 1970s, serve as additional landmarks in the development of institutions of higher education as vocational schools, as charted by the need-fulfillment approach (Miller, 1990). Integration between academia and the field increased (Dror, 1996). Currently, Israeli universities engage in all domains simultaneously. They offer a popular higher education, including professional training in semi-professional fields, and they also serve as centers of scholarship and research in all academic fields (see Table II). Policy makers reasoned that this division between the university s two roles could perhaps be manifested in the division of roles between universities and colleges as well. However, in practice, the differentiation between universities and colleges is growing, with more and more students seeking to complete their undergraduate studies at colleges, with their practice-oriented academic programs. Universities are not ignorant of the need for vocationalization and high-quality vocational study programs, such as pharmacy and speech therapy, are being promoted there as well. Subjects that were once theoretical, such as mathematics, chemistry, and physics, seem currently to be more practical, serving as basic courses for essentially practical subjects, such as engineering, architecture, and physiotherapy. Universities and colleges currently serve a population of students with different and varied educational and occupational plans, including some who are research inclined, some with welldefined professional aims, and some seeking a general education. The difference between the institutions is in the relative space given to science and to vocational aspects. The character of each institution is defined by these proportions. CBS data (Table II) shows that most undergraduate students, even those studying at universities, wish to acquire a profession rather than focus exclusively on research. Only about onethird of all university students opt for the humanities, natural sciences, and mathematics (14.1% at colleges in 2008/9). In recent years, universities have been extending their programs for vocational training and competing with colleges. The number of undergraduate students in the humanities has diminished nominally from a high of 20,000 in 1995 to a low of 14,500 in In business administration and engineering, which are practical subjects, universities have experienced a rise over the past decade. In contrast, colleges have been gradually increasing their students of the humanities, from 1900 in 1995 to 6900 in In natural sciences and mathematics as well, the number of college students has grown from none in 1995 to 5000 in This is the paradox inherent in indistinct boundaries between universities and colleges. Table IV shows that the average psychometric score of first-year university students of the humanities is lower than that of students at publicly funded academic colleges: 523 versus 552, respectively. At universities At academic colleges Humanities 9,732 12,047 12,851 19,939 14,513 14,048 1,912 6,901 7,627 Social sciences 7,792 10,099 12,349 17,941 21,424 21, ,916 19,730 Business and 1,476 1,265 1,822 2,375 2,342 3,745 16,341 18,559 management Law 1,703 1,807 2,060 3,361 3,143 2,997 1,948 12,395 12,793 Medicine and 1,047 1,961 3,037 6,099 7,299 7,454 1,849 2,188 paramedical Natural sciences and mathematics 3,375 4,581 6,356 12,459 11,463 11,322 5,075 7,627 Agriculture 395 1, ,730 Engineering 4,009 6,131 7,579 11,802 14,425 14,809 1,750 16,049 18,559 and architecture Education and teacher training 16,726 24,363 12,793 Table II. Undergraduate students in higher education institutions, by field of study. Source: Central Bureau of Statistics (2010). 138

8 Paradoxes in Higher Education To a certain degree, the shortfall in the humanities is supplemented by yeshivas (religious schools) teaching Talmud and Jewish studies, but these studies do not award credits towards an academic degree, although some US universities (such as Johns Hopkins) recognize yeshiva studies as a Bachelors of General Studies degree in theology and the humanities. These students may proceed to graduate studies in the United States, even at prestigious universities teaching professional subjects such as law, accounting, business administration, and computing. Many even complete their graduate degrees with honors. The paradox is that the Jewish state does not recognize yeshiva studies as a bachelor s degree. Moreover, despite the scarcity of students of the humanities at universities, public opinion favors the referral of yeshiva students to colleges and to the disciplines of engineering and computers, which are saturated to begin with. V. The Paradox of Admission Thresholds and Student Profiles As seen in previous sections, the dual system typical of Israeli higher education has provided new opportunities to students who, without the reform in higher education, could not have entered its gates. In order to maintain equal standing within the academic system, colleges adopted the orientation maintained since the first university was established, and endeavored to replicate its elitist model while also attempting to provide an appropriate response for different and new populations. Some claimed that universities are not prepared to absorb tens of thousands of students, most of whom are not interested in developing a career in research, and that their attempts to fill the varied needs of the growing student population might have a negative effect on their level of studies (Shapira & Etzioni, 1973). In contrast, diversification of the system and differentiation of the functions of various constituent institutions might in fact preserve the research level at universities. The policy of the CHE (Lev Zion, 2000) was to represent all sectors of the population at all academic institutions. However by decelerating university expansion and referring most of the overflow to regional colleges, this policy only raised competition for the few slots available at universities in general and in fields in demand in particular. Despite efforts by the Ministry of Education to improve matriculation pass rates (Flexer, 2001), the rate of those eligible for matriculation certificates by the next winter s exams in proportion to the number of those who took the exams has been in constant decline, from 68.12% in 2002/3 to 62.31% in 2007/8. When considering the pass rate in proportion to all 18 year olds, the figure is even lower as it includes the ultra-orthodox who normally do not take the exams for ideological reasons. From Table III we see that in the decade that elapsed from 1998/9 to 2008/9 there is a drop in the rate of undergraduate first-year students at universities and colleges who took the psychometric exam, with the exception of teacher colleges, where it rose. At non-publicly funded academic colleges the drop was drastic, from 85.4% to 58.5%. Examinees Mean score Total for universities General humanities Business and management Law Medicine Paramedical professions Total budgeted academic colleges Total non-budgeted academic colleges Total academic colleges of education Table III. First-year undergraduate students who took the psychometric exam, by type of institution and field of study. 139

9 Nitza Davidovitch et al Significantly, some academic colleges require a different entry-screening test instead of the psychometric exam (for example the Shamoon College of Engineering and the Jerusalem College of Technology). In addition, over the years colleges have continued to use aggregate scores, which are an average of matriculation and psychometric scores, as entry criteria (for example the Ariel University Center). Therefore it is important to analyze the average psychometric score, which rose at universities and teacher colleges during this decade while dropping at other academic colleges. Despite the drop in the rate of those who took the psychometric exam at universities, the average score there rose, while in academic colleges it dropped. Once again, the most drastic drop was noted at non-publicly funded colleges. Surprisingly, first-year students at university faculties of the humanities have a lower admission profile than students at academic colleges. Ideally, we would expect to find many good students applying for academic subjects, of whom the very best are accepted. However this is not the actual state of affairs. If a higher ratio of candidates to students would seem to indicate a higher demand for the profession and its prestige, Table IV shows that at universities it is precisely the theoretical fields that demonstrate the lowest ratio: in the humanities and physical science 1.4, and in the natural sciences and mathematics 1.7. In contrast, in business administration and paramedical professions, the ratio is greater than 2. Field Candidate/ student ratio Medicine 3.7 Law 1.8 Paramedical professions 2.1 Business and management studies 2.0 Engineering and architecture 1.9 Natural sciences and mathematics 3.9 Social sciences 1.7 Education and teacher training 1.6 Physical science 1.8 The humanities 1.3 Total 1.7 Table IV. University candidate/student ratio by field of study for 2007/8. Source: Central Bureau of Statistics (2010). VI. Excess Access Devalues Higher Education The accessibility of higher education is a major issue on the agenda of higher education in recent decades (Guri-Rosenblit, 2000). Since the first university was established in the eleventh century, universities have been known as ivory towers to which very few were admitted. For centuries universities maintained an elitist status, preserving social inequality. Universities served as institutions for training social and political elites, and created groups with distinct features. This state of affairs, in which higher education was the hegemony of the elite, reached its demise 900 years after the first university was declared. The end of World War II symbolized a transition to democratic, open institutions of higher education. In most Western countries this process occurred at an accelerated rate over the twentieth century and led to the massification of undergraduate degrees. In less than half a century, student numbers doubled and tripled. In 1950s Europe, the percentage of undergraduate students ranged from 3-5% of their relevant age group. In the late 1990s, this figure reached 36-53%. Today the figure has topped 60% in most European countries (Lindberg, 2007). In the United States as well a similar trend is evident, with figures reaching nearly 65% of the relevant population (ibid.). Canada (Finnie & Usher, 2007) and Australia have demonstrated a similar process, and the number of undergraduate students from among this population has risen above 50%. Israel too has joined this global trend and it is taking part in the international revolution of higher education. In a matter of two decades the number of students has multiplied many times over: from 23% in the early 1990s to 50% by 2012 (Council for Higher Education, 2012). 140

10 Paradoxes in Higher Education In view of these figures, undergraduate studies may certainly be portrayed as a type of degree for the masses. Admission to undergraduate programs has become widely accessible and most students seeking to acquire a bachelor s degree are able to locate a suitable school for their purposes. The bachelor s degree, once the lot of a select elite, is today a legacy of the masses. This process has been the subject of many studies that seek to examine its implications. The concept of credentialism was defined by Dore as students or employers who are concerned not with mastery, but with being certified as having mastered (1976, p. 8). The tendency to attribute greater significance to the certificate than to the skills themselves produces a type of vicious circle that requires one to pursue more advanced degrees in an attempt to compensate for the devaluation of certificates. This process occurs mainly due to employers belief that schooling improves workers and that they will be receiving a better return on their money if they employ someone with a more advanced degree than that normally required. This belief has led employers to demand bachelor s and master s degrees of their employees. If employers can employ someone with a master s instead of a bachelor s degree they will begin demanding master s degrees more educated employees for the same fee. When employers show preference for more qualified employees the result is credentialism as defined by Brown (2001). For many jobs, a bachelor s degree is a precondition for employment. In the absence of any other information on candidates, academic degrees provide employers with an evaluation of the quality and potential of prospective employees. Tyler (1982) claims that according to the theory of human capital, employers use credentials for screening, to predict employee efficiency and productivity. Brown (2001) explains this trend and claims that in the bureaucratic world credentials provide information on one s ability to perform tasks in accordance with required bureaucracy. One possible explanation is that higher-education credentials help distinguish between the capable and the incapable and give employers a means of screening and classifying (Bills, 1998). In the labor market, having an academic degree represents something else, more significant, such as knowledge, skills, loyalty, and so on (Brown, 2001). According to this explanation, the market demands academic degrees, perceived as essential for evaluating employees skills although ultimately not required for the job. Bills (1988) explains why academic degrees specifically have come to be considered a measure of competency, and contends that they have become a type of employment asset. The problems inherent in this process grow once the labor market becomes saturated with well-educated people who are unable to find employment (Sinuany-Stern, 1991). For example, people who have earned Master of Business Administration degrees (MBAs), known for their prevalence among other advanced degrees, may compromise and settle for jobs that do not normally require an advanced degree. Employers, on their part, will be aware that for the same salary they can employ someone with a master s degree and will change their job description. Thus, MBAs will become requisite for lower-level jobs for which an advanced degree was not previously required. More senior posts, for which an MBA had previously been sufficient, will now require higher schooling. This self-sustaining cycle has an inevitable effect on teaching methods, studies, and funding aspects. In 2012, the Israeli academic system currently comprises 67 institutions: 7 research universities and an Open University; 21 officially recognized academic colleges; 23 academic teacher training colleges; 14 non-publicly funded colleges, and 18 schools of higher education affiliated with foreign institutions (Planning and Budgeting Committee of the CHE, 2012, p. 12). Presumably, in the absence of intentional initiatives most of the student population at universities probably originates from the more established parts of Israeli society. This situation might lead to wider social gaps, in contrast to CHE policy, and not contribute to ongoing processes at both universities and colleges. We have also seen in Table I that the number of students in Israel also tripled in the last two decades following the rise in the number of higher-education institutions. The CBS published data indicating an excess supply of academic graduates, stating: The rate of over-qualified Israeli employees with bachelor s degrees had reached 37% two years after graduation... over the years there has been a disparity between the salaries of employees who are sufficiently qualified for their jobs and those who are over-qualified, in favor of the former (Planning and Budgeting Committee, 2008). 141

11 Nitza Davidovitch et al Geographic Accessibility In regard to geographical distribution between peripheral and central regions, the policy of increasing accessibility of academic studies to undergraduate students has proved successful. According to Table V, the proportion of students from southern Israel increased between 1990 and 2002 from 9.7% to 14.9%; the proportion of students from northern Israel increased in the same period from 0% to 9.7% and the proportion of students in the central region outside the three major cities increased from 4.1% to 17.56%. In all three regions, there was a nominal growth in the number of students. In total, the proportion of students from peripheral regions increased from 12.8% to 41.9% (see Table V). However the qualitative disparity at new schools that opened in the periphery and center remained constant, since degrees earned at new schools that emerged in the periphery during this period are on a lower level: college rather than university degrees. Table V. Geographic distribution of undergraduate students ( ). Source: Central Bureau of Statistics (2010). Social Accessibility As for socioeconomic status, when comparing the various deciles of students in proportion to the entire year-old age group in 2006 a disparity is evident in favor of the higher socioeconomic deciles, and it is even more acute than the disparity evident among those taking matriculation exams or among psychometric scores. The fact that most undergraduate students attend colleges has increased the number of second-rate academic degrees in Israel. As many employers still give preference to university versus college graduates, students from the periphery and disadvantaged populations are those most negatively affected. 142 VII. The Master s Degree As massification of bachelor s degrees increases, it is beginning to affect advanced degrees as well. Data show that master s degrees have long ceased serving as an intermediate stage on the way to an academic career. The number of graduate students in Israel is constantly on the rise and has effectively tripled over time. The increase in PhD students is even greater (see Table I). These statistics indicate that access to higher education has expanded to advanced studies. These new circumstances may have enormous consequences for the future of academic research. Over the past 20 years, master s programs have undergone several changes, facilitating a rise in the number of students as portrayed above. At first, private colleges were authorized to award master s degrees, followed by programs for non-thesis master s degrees at both colleges and universities. These institutional changes were accompanied by diverse study programs, new departments, flexible schedules, accelerated study courses, and non-publicly funded programs. All these contributed to a rise in the number of graduate students, who now enjoy a degree of accessibility previously unknown in Israel: a wide range of admission options, schools, study programs, and program durations. This trend raises the question of whether quantity is to be preferred over quality. What is the meaning of studying for a non-thesis master s degree? What are the consequences of a non-thesis master s degree on the PhD program? As early as 1996/7, non-thesis master s degrees had managed to surpass the thesis option.

12 Paradoxes in Higher Education Up until the 1990s, master s degrees were research degrees that required up to two years work on a dissertation. Only universities were authorized to grant master s degrees (excluding the Open University). From 1948 until the 1990s, the entire system of higher education was a restricted elitist system. The 1990s saw the expansion of higher education to include undergraduate degrees. This trend slowly reached graduate degrees as well: some 39% of all bachelor s degree recipients continue to postgraduate studies. The dramatic rise in numbers reflects policy changes implemented several years earlier. These changes facilitated the beginning of the massification in advanced degrees as well, previously acknowledged as a stage in the development of a research career. At first, the CHE authorized nonuniversity schools to award master s degrees. The College of Management was the first to award a master s degree in business administration. This point in time symbolized a perceptual shift and a breaching of the university ivory tower. Later, this privilege was expanded to many other colleges. Where previously six schools were permitted to award master s degrees, in 2009 it is possible to study for a master s degree at some 35 schools, and there are 298 departments and courses of study. Colleges capacity to award advanced degrees put an end to the monopoly previously enjoyed by universities and made graduate degrees much more accessible. Israeli higher education was a small elitist system until the 1990s, but in 1999 a decision was made to let colleges open non-thesis theoretical master s tracks. This decision revolutionized the accessibility of graduate degrees. The transition was so significant that in 2003 some 68% of all master s degree recipients had completed a non-thesis track. In comparison, in the early 1990s only 27% received non-thesis master s degrees (Knesset, 2006). The addition of a non-thesis master s program had a deleterious effect on the status of Israeli universities, and they experienced a series of budgetary cuts, estimated at some NIS 1.2 billion, together with a concurrent dramatic rise in the number of undergraduate students, creating a budgetary overload. Universities had no choice but to join the new trend and open theoretical tracks with the aim of attracting students and indirectly sustaining their continued existence. In 2005 even universities that had traditionally focused on research as their raison d etre opened nonthesis graduate tracks. Paradoxically, the dialogue between universities and colleges fostered reciprocal relations in regards to their master s degree curriculum while universities developed a non-thesis track with applied features side by side with their thesis track, colleges were authorized to award researchoriented master s degrees (Planning and Budgeting Committee, 2003; Davidovitch, 2004). This authorization was a significant landmark in the development of Israeli colleges, which could previously award only non-research-oriented master s degrees. As expected, the proportion of undergraduate students who continue their graduate studies is highest among university students (39.1%, versus 19.1% at publicly funded colleges and 15.8% at non-publicly funded colleges). Colleges justification for opening master s programs is partly a result of the obstacles placed at times by universities to block college students seeking admission to graduate studies. This is a problem inherent in transferring from one type of school to another. In the United States the problem was solved by means of entry exams for graduate studies. In Israel regular entrance exams are customary in the fields of business management and psychology. In other fields there are no entry exams for master s programs. In lieu of entry exams universities require college graduates to complete supplementary courses in an attempt to circumvent the law determining that all degrees are equal. Even in engineering, after the transition from B.Tech to B.Sc. in engineering colleges, most universities still require college graduates to complete supplementary courses. Master s students PhD students Total Total Colleges Universities , ,100 3,910 20, , ,085 7,025 38, ,670 13,595 39,070 10,615 63,285 Table VI. Students in advanced degree programs in colleges and universities, Source: Central Bureau of Statistics (2010). 143