The University of North Carolina has been known to be one of the most efficient working systems of public higher education in the US. Many universities has followed it and evolved on the footsteps of the NC universities and colleges.
However, with time the NC university has also been influenced by national trends especially in higher education which is reflected in the policies followed by the NC University and likely to be followed by many other institutions in general. The trends have always been going in the future with respect to globalization, drastic demographic changes, changes evident in the knowledge economy, and whirlwind technological changes. The large trends have wide impact on the education sector and hence every university has had to consider their implications and their influence on broader developments.
The NC University has always focused on a specific level and many of the recent trends have overlapped with each other. The privatization of higher education has also been part of this approach.In order to meet the quality standards with private universities, public universities now have ventured to make certain changes to improve their standards. Universities have largely been competitors with public universities forsaking their image of doing public good for a more lucrative business. Nearly every college and university has witnessed a surge in the fees related to tuition and other aspects of higher education. The level of rise has been more than what the inflation suggests today.
Campuses in every college has increased pressure on the quality of faculty and staff for gathering external contracts and grants which would help their institution to survive. The privatization trend has started this and may well take charge in the coming future. Every educational institution has been forced to be cost-effective and accountable with sizeable importance attached to the market share with high visibility being the foremost aspect. Importance is attached to the vocationally-oriented programs which offer attractive avenues to students and their parents for their overall growth. Also consistent community programs and activities are important for acquiring market share. Research has also attracted state grants which is sure to impact the bottomline of universities and colleges.
Even though most educational institutions are working like businesses, the competition has helped many of them fare better by being distinctive and attractive to students. Many student-friendly services have come to the fore including well-organized dormitories, recreation centers, internal shopping centers and cafetarias.
The burden of paying for fees has shifted directly to the students and the families since the state has stopped helping the public educational institutions. Public universities are charging fees exorbitantly since they are stuck badly with limited resources and it has become difficult to withstand growing competition in the market. Hence public universities have turned to private fund raising for making up the deficiency in funding from the state. Large campaigns are carried out to build endowments, expansion of campus facilities, and boost in salaries of the professors and the rest of the faculty. The staff is being offered handsome returns for their retention in the organization.
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