ABSTRACT
Pressure to reform the financing of higher education has mounted in virtually every part of the world. The problems compelling change have been developing for decades, but the economic stringency of the 1980s has exacerbated the need for reform, bringing many institutions to the brink of collapse. The crisis confronting higher education systems is not simply financial. There are justified concerns about quality, relevance, equity and specific missions of institutions. In many countries, developing and developed, all these issues need to be addressed. However, it is clear that putting the financial structures of higher education onto a more solid footing is essential before many of these other problems can be resolved. As we shall argue, it is not only a question of more resources, but the framework within which institutions operate that needs to be improved.
