Higher education and attainment of policy goals: Interpretations for efficiency indicators in Israel

This study concerns identification of policy aims and goals in Israeli Higher Education (HE) and an analysis of efficiency indicators to determine the extent and nature of HE policy goal attainment at the Israeli universities. Overall, these indicators, be they quantitative or qualitative, point to major developments in the Israeli HE system in both national and international comparative terms. The aims and related efficiency performance indicators identified and used in this study are normative and their analysis follows conceptualizations of efficiency assessment. They are in line with orientations of quality as bound up with values and fundamental aims relating to fitness for purpose (Ball 1985; Williams 1991; Barnett 1989, 1992; vanVught 1994) and pertain mainly to the individual universities' perceptions and priorities. The analysis model also adopts conceptual approaches used in studies of HE quality by the Planning and Budgeting Committee of the Israeli HE Council, as well as those conducted in England, Scotland, and the Netherlands, and by the OECD. As such, the analysis model as well as the findings identified in this study lend themselves to comparative HE policy analysis in a global perspective.