AUSTRIAN UNIVERSITIES IN TRANSITION: FROM MINISTERIAL CONTROL TO MARKET CO‐ORDINATION

The Austrian discussion on higher education does not use the term, buffer institutions; in fact, if one can generalize, the term is not used on the continent at all. If organizational elements of this kind do exist, they are not considered in this function. Nevertheless, the system of higher education of Austria is presently preparing a major transition in which institutional buffers will be the major organisational innovation The explicit intention of the reform is to move the system of universities in Austria from an increasingly geable bureaucratic steering to a more market‐oriented co‐ordination. This article describes and analyses this process in three steps: a short description of the history and the character of the Austrian university system (with some reference to the educational system in general), a presentation of theoretical reflections on the relationship between University and society including a definition of buffer institutions, and finally, a description of the ongoing developments in Austria including a discussion of possible effects and obstacles with regard to buffer institutions in this particular system of universities.