Changing Governance in Universities

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vi

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2. Introduction

   • Giliberto Capano, Marino Regini, Matteo Turri

   Pages 1-7

3. The Theoretical Framework

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 9-11

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   2. The Unintended Consequences of University Governance Reforms

      • Giliberto Capano, Marino Regini, Matteo Turri

      Pages 13-30

   3. Poor Policy Design and Implementation

      • Giliberto Capano, Marino Regini, Matteo Turri

      Pages 31-50

4. The Historical Evolution of Italian Higher Education

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 51-52

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   2. From the Post-Second World War Period to the 1980 Modernization Law

      • Giliberto Capano, Marino Regini, Matteo Turri

      Pages 53-64

   3. Autonomy and Funding: The Reforms of the Late 1980s to the Mid-1990s

      • Giliberto Capano, Marino Regini, Matteo Turri

      Pages 65-79

   4. Leading the Change in Europe: Early Implementation of the ‘Bologna Process’

      • Giliberto Capano, Marino Regini, Matteo Turri

      Pages 81-97

   5. Catching up on Institutional Governance and Assessment: The 2010 Reform and Its Aftermath

      • Giliberto Capano, Marino Regini, Matteo Turri

      Pages 99-115

5. Changing Governance in Italian Universities

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 117-117

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   2. Changes in Funding and Assessment

      • Giliberto Capano, Marino Regini, Matteo Turri

      Pages 119-139

   3. The Transformation of Systemic and Institutional Governance

      • Giliberto Capano, Marino Regini, Matteo Turri

      Pages 141-162

   4. Conclusions: Is the Italian Case Paradigmatic or Atypical, and to What Extent?

      • Giliberto Capano, Marino Regini, Matteo Turri

      Pages 163-174

6. Back Matter

   Pages 175-192

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This book critically examines the ramifications of reforms to higher education institutions. All of the higher education system reforms implemented in western countries over the last three decades have had one fundamentally important aim: namely, that of changing the existing institutional and system governance arrangements. This book argues that within this general framework, Italy is a relative latecomer to a scenario where attempts at university reform have been characterized by considerable difficulties, and have been blighted by the arguably poor quality of policy design. By focusing on the Italian reform trajectory as an emblematic case, and providing a comprehensive of the historical evolution of higher education in Italy and further afield, this book adopts a comparative perspective to show how reforms of governance in higher education may achieve different degrees of success depending on the characteristics of their policy design, and why these reforms inevitably lead to a series of unintended consequences. It will be vital reading for those interested in education policy and the history of education. 

• education
• governance
• higher education
• university
• education policy
• europe
• educational reform

“This book is one of the very few analyses to carry out a comparison between the evolution of the Italian higher education system and other European systems. … this monograph analyzes with great accuracy and from an original viewpoint the basic weaknesses of a not so atypical case, which might suggest useful reflections for other HE systems at a general level.” (Roberto Moscati, European Journal of Higher Education, August, 2017)

• Scuola Normale Superiore, Firenze, Italy

  Giliberto Capano

• Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy

  Marino Regini, Matteo Turri

Giliberto Capano is Professor of Public Policy at the Scuola Normale Superiore, Florence, Italy, where he is the coordinator of the PhD programme in Political Science and Sociology. He is the director of the Italian Centre for Research on Universities and Higher Education Systems (UNIRES). Recently he has co-edited (with M. Howlett and M. Ramesh) Varieties of Governance.


Marino Regini is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Milan, Italy, where he has served as Dean and Vice-Rector. He has been a Visiting Professor at several US universities including Harvard, MIT, Johns Hopkins, and Duke. Among his recent volumes are European Universities and the Challenge of the Market.


Matteo Turri is Associate Professor of Public Management at the University of Milan, Italy. He has extensively published in journals including Research Policy, Higher Education, and Higher Education Policy.

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