CHER 33rd Annual Conference

Paper and Poster Proposal

Note: Please fill in the information between squared brackets [ ]. Delete when not applicable.
The abstract itself should not exceed 500 words. Please send pdf document to proposal@cher2020.eu with the
email
subject “Paper Abstract: Your name” or “Poster Abstract: Your name”.
[Title]
Track 1 [ X ] Track 2 [ ] Track 3 [ ] Open Track [ X ]
Type of proposal: [paper]
[Salazar, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile]
[Rifo, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, Santiago, Chile]
NOTE: No further information or detail should be included. Add as many author lines as needed.
Corresponding author: [Salazar]
Corresponding author’s email: [jose.salazar@uv.cl]

Structured Abstract:

Purpose of this paper:

[The paper describes and analyses the application of New Public Management principles (Ferlie, Musselin &
Andresani 2008) in Chilean higher education between 1998 and 2013 through the MECESUP initiative
(Improving the Quality and Equity in Higher Education), supported by the World Bank. This initiative included
three main lines. By increasing resource bases and nurturing universities' strategic management systems, it
sought to nurture strategic management systems through quality enhancement grants distributed on a
competitive basis. Additionally, an independent public accreditation agency was launched to assess performance
in institutions and programs. Lastly, a new student loan scheme was created with the dual purpose of rapidly
expanding access across the sector and stimulating consumer choice. Instrumentally, these reforms brought
about a new mode of sector coordination, grounded in competition. Stakes were higher; here lay the foundations
of the nation’s future knowledge economy. Through more graduates and research, universities would contribute
to the economy and redefine the economic structure.]

Design/methodology/approach:

[Case study]

Findings:

[The case study demonstrates how reforms were conceived and would drift over time; a theme barely
investigated in new public management literature in higher education (Broucker & De Wit 2015). For all the
meticulousness and innovation of its initial design, the whole reform agenda fossilized quickly once regulations
were set out, leaving Little room for necessary adjustments. Interviews with higher education officials and
university leaders show how the reform narrative was first legitimized and then progressively abandoned.
Furthermore, they reflect a transition in the orientation of policy —from coaxing innovation to bureaucratic
containment— as the sector would experience broad reconfiguration.]

Research limitations/implications (if applicable):

[The case sheds some light on the complexities of introducing and sustaining change in universities from the
outside. It also documents university leaders' strategic behavior in regard to policy implementation and the use
of policy narratives. Finally, it suggests that protracted, innovative long-term reform attempts are likely to be
captured and undercut in the end by the sector’s inner dynamics.]

Practical implications (if applicable):

[Policy design in the sector may benefit from better diagnosis, clearer goals and realistic goal progression, while
policy implementation may require new forms of coordination and ongoing progress assessment to be effective.]

What is original/value of paper:

[It informs the difficulties of implementing NPM-inspired reforms in developing nations and the consequences
attached to the implementation process.]

Keywords:
[New Public Management – Higher Education Reforms]

References:

[Broucker, B., & De Wit, K. (2015). New public management in higher education. In J. Huisman, H. de Boer, D.
D.
Dill, & M. Souto-Otero (Eds.), The Palgrave international handbook of higher education policy and governance
(57-75). Hampshire: Palgrave MacMillan.
Ferlie, E., Musselin, C., & Andresani, G. (2008). The steering perspective of higher education systems: a public
management perspective. Higher Education 56(3), 325-348]

Acknowledgements (if applicable):

[This project was supported by FONDECYT Grant 11170011]

Biographical Details:

[PhD - Education, the University of Melbourne; Doctorado en Educación, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona