A New Model for Comprehensive Administration of University Budgets in Lower Saxon

Summary

Many reformers of higher education expect that global budgets overcome the deficiencies of the typical state model of higher education financing. In Lower Saxon a project has been running since 1995 on three universities, which were excluded from the budget and since then have been running as enterprises of a Land with commercial accountancy. This article discusses the first experiences of this project from the perspective of the scientific advisory board which accompanies the project. It debates whether there exist the basic conditions for a material autonomy, the encouragement, the legitimization and the formation of will within the universities, which are the preconditions for a higher cost efficiency.