The 'Accreditation' Model: policy transfer in higher education in Austria and Britain

The introduction of this ‘accreditation model’ was remarkable in that it drew on experience of the Council for National Academic Awards and polytechnic policy in the United Kingdom – a country with a very different tradition in higher education and with a different political and constitutional context. The model was a radical departure from the Austrian tradition of central political control and was, controversially, favoured over more obvious alternatives.

This book reports on research (funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council) into this new approach to policy and control in higher education in Austria. It offers an unusual opportunity to explore this ‘policy transfer’ and to compare the use of similar institutional mechanisms in different contexts. It assesses the factors that led to the acceptance and success of the policy, and its impact on the higher education system more widely.