Lucia Brajkovic
Lucia Brajkovic is a higher education expert with seventeen years of experience in the sector. She currently works as an Education Specialist with the Education Global Practice at the World Bank, based in Croatia. She is also a Guest Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (Penn GSE) and serves as the executive director of Higher Education Initiative for Southeastern Europe (HEISEE). Prior to joining the World Bank she worked as the Senior Research Specialist with the American Council on Education (ACE) in Washington, DC. Her research focuses on political economy and higher education systems in post-socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. She is also exploring higher education finance models, internationalization of higher education, and education in lagging regions.
Lucia completed her doctoral degree at the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education, University of Georgia, USA, where she served as a Fulbright Fellow. She also holds a Master’s degree in philosophy and sociology from the University of Zagreb, and a diploma in public relations management.
Specialties: global and international higher education; education finance; educational research and policy analysis; institutional capacity building; higher education organization, governance and administration; strategic management.
Address: Zagreb, Croatia
Lucia completed her doctoral degree at the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education, University of Georgia, USA, where she served as a Fulbright Fellow. She also holds a Master’s degree in philosophy and sociology from the University of Zagreb, and a diploma in public relations management.
Specialties: global and international higher education; education finance; educational research and policy analysis; institutional capacity building; higher education organization, governance and administration; strategic management.
Address: Zagreb, Croatia
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open-ended interviews with university leaders and government
officials in a post-socialist and a recent European Union entrant
country, Croatia. The study seeks to provide a comprehensive
overview of the Croatian academic sector, as well as to unpack
the top academic officials’ perceptions of the state, importance,
and role of research and higher education (HE) in the social and
economic development of the nation. The main theoretical
contribution of the study is a new use of the traditional
marginalism concept in the theory of economics. This study
argues that marginalism can be applied to the HE setting, where
it can be particularly helpful in explaining issues related to HE
systems in the countries that have transitioned from socialist
regimes to market economy. The new theoretical framework is
termed academic marginalism.
develop cumulative knowledge to inform institutional strategy.
Research reports
and how each approach relates to equity and attainment. This analysis provides a frame of reference for
policymakers to use appropriate funding policies to improve equity and ensure completion.
The report begins with an analysis of cost-sharing funding approaches—policies that determine who pays for
higher education. We break national funding policies worldwide into four categories: 1) free tuition (both
open and restricted access), 2) low tuition fees, 3) high tuition fees supported by loan schemes (mortgage-style
and income-contingent), and 4) dual-track policies.
We then turn to funding approaches designed to improve equity or foster completion and discuss whether
these approaches are working. Throughout the report, we draw on examples from many different national
systems and look for patterns linking these policies to equity and attainment outcomes for students.
In the conclusion, we consider the future of these policies worldwide and how governments can best use
limited resources to ensure that disadvantaged students not only enroll in universities but also complete their
degrees.
colleges and universities—and often find their interest strongly reciprocated by U.S. counterparts. While the
motivations and activities of these partnerships vary substantially, their potential for success is always enhanced
when collaborators have a mutual understanding about the national higher education landscape in
which each of the partners operate. Because the U.S. higher education system is an anomaly—unique among
national education systems worldwide—gaining a sense of the broad U.S. higher education landscape is an
essential first step in establishing collaborative initiatives.
This guide provides the most important information non-U.S. institutions need in order to pursue and develop
successful partnerships with U.S. colleges and universities. It may also be useful for people in the U.S.
interested in learning more about the country’s higher education system.
colleges and universities, policy-makers, and other stakeholders—for ways to enhance bilateral ties between individual institutions and the broader higher education communities of which they are a part.
open-ended interviews with university leaders and government
officials in a post-socialist and a recent European Union entrant
country, Croatia. The study seeks to provide a comprehensive
overview of the Croatian academic sector, as well as to unpack
the top academic officials’ perceptions of the state, importance,
and role of research and higher education (HE) in the social and
economic development of the nation. The main theoretical
contribution of the study is a new use of the traditional
marginalism concept in the theory of economics. This study
argues that marginalism can be applied to the HE setting, where
it can be particularly helpful in explaining issues related to HE
systems in the countries that have transitioned from socialist
regimes to market economy. The new theoretical framework is
termed academic marginalism.
develop cumulative knowledge to inform institutional strategy.
and how each approach relates to equity and attainment. This analysis provides a frame of reference for
policymakers to use appropriate funding policies to improve equity and ensure completion.
The report begins with an analysis of cost-sharing funding approaches—policies that determine who pays for
higher education. We break national funding policies worldwide into four categories: 1) free tuition (both
open and restricted access), 2) low tuition fees, 3) high tuition fees supported by loan schemes (mortgage-style
and income-contingent), and 4) dual-track policies.
We then turn to funding approaches designed to improve equity or foster completion and discuss whether
these approaches are working. Throughout the report, we draw on examples from many different national
systems and look for patterns linking these policies to equity and attainment outcomes for students.
In the conclusion, we consider the future of these policies worldwide and how governments can best use
limited resources to ensure that disadvantaged students not only enroll in universities but also complete their
degrees.
colleges and universities—and often find their interest strongly reciprocated by U.S. counterparts. While the
motivations and activities of these partnerships vary substantially, their potential for success is always enhanced
when collaborators have a mutual understanding about the national higher education landscape in
which each of the partners operate. Because the U.S. higher education system is an anomaly—unique among
national education systems worldwide—gaining a sense of the broad U.S. higher education landscape is an
essential first step in establishing collaborative initiatives.
This guide provides the most important information non-U.S. institutions need in order to pursue and develop
successful partnerships with U.S. colleges and universities. It may also be useful for people in the U.S.
interested in learning more about the country’s higher education system.
colleges and universities, policy-makers, and other stakeholders—for ways to enhance bilateral ties between individual institutions and the broader higher education communities of which they are a part.
In the contemporary knowledge economy higher education has become an integral part of national innovation systems in order to help attract globally mobile capital. From this perspective, the key organizational actors of the knowledge economy are universities and transnational corporations (TNCs). We seek to identify the connections of TNCs with the prestigious Association of American Universities’ (AAU) institutions through the university trustees who simultaneously serve on the university boards and hold executive positions at TNCs. Furthermore, we test whether connections with TNCs influence the university prestige as measured by Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s ARWU international rankings and find a positive impact. Finally, we use academic capitalism and the Matthew effect as theoretical lenses for exploring this phenomenon.
Under socialist regimes university education was mostly reserved for government and industrial elites. As a consequence, higher education in post-transition European countries did not contribute to the development of an educationally conscious middle class that would have been able to recognize the close connection between individual prosperity and higher education attainment. This study is using Difference-in Differences statistical estimation to test whether a transition from the socialist to democratic political regime impacted government spending on higher education in these countries. Findings confirm that the impact is negative and significant. The concept of academic marginalism is used as a framework for understanding the government perception of the role and value of higher education in post-transition countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
A case study of the higher education system in Croatia is conducted through interviews with participants holding the most influential positions in the government, academia and non-profit organizations in the country. The interview themes provide interesting insights into discrepancy between the declared goals and the actual reality regarding academic sector.