Less government control means more red tape, says report

New research shows that reduced government management of universities in Sweden has increased bureaucracy

Reforms carried out in the 1990s to reduce government oversight of universities in Sweden have backfired, leading to more paperwork and less freedom, according to a report from the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions (SUHF).

“Swedish universities and colleges are under increasingly heavy administrative burdens,” said Hans Adolfsson, chairman of SUHF, in a foreword to the report. “The governance of the higher education institutions needs to be increasingly based on a trust that the higher education institutions do what needs to be done without earmarked investments and increased control.”