Working Paper #2010-01 – A Comparison of the Organization of Higher Education Systems in France and the USA

Department of Economics
University of Delaware

Working Paper #2010-01

A Comparison of the Organization of Higher Education Systems in France and the USA

Alan Alcouffe and Jeffery B. Miller

ABSTRACT

Countries have many different ways of organizing higher education. Because of the high costs of higher education, reform efforts, of which the Bologna Process in Europe is an example, are underway in many places. Even where explicit governmental reform processes are less important, economic pressures are bringing about changes. This paper compares the higher education systems in the USA and France. They have been chosen for our study because the problems of high achievement, reasonable economic costs and accessibility are shared values, but their systems are organized very differently.

JEL Codes: I21, I22, I23

Keywords: Organization of Higher Education Systems, Economics of Higher Education, Goals of National Systems of Higher Education, Autonomy of Universities, Enrollment in Higher Education, Higher Education in France, Higher Education in the US