Since the implementation of the 2012 fee and funding regime in England, that notably increased the maximum undergraduate tuition fees to £9000, the focus of policymakers and those in the higher education sector has been on student participation rates. Thus, to date little is known about the extent to which the 2012 fee and funding changes have affected students’ higher education decision-making. The purpose of this research was to explore students’ study mode, subject and institution choices under the 2012 fee regime, with the aim of contributing new knowledge in this area. To this end, a comprehensive approach to mixed methods was used to generate quantitative and qualitative data on students’ decision-making (Hesse-Biber, 2010a). Two methods were used to generate the data, which were questionnaires completed by 550 students and follow-up interviews with a sub-sample of 30 students. The students, aged 17 to 21, were from six schools and colleges across Greater London and in the final year of their level 3 qualifications (NQF/QCF). The timing of the fieldwork was pivotal to the research and generated data at a specific moment in students’ decisionmaking, after they had submitted a UCAS application (January 2013) and prior to the publication of their level three qualifications (August 2013), which has provided new knowledge of students’ responses to the increased costs of higher education. Informed by Hodkinson and colleagues’ theory of pragmatically rational decision-making (Hodkinson, Sparkes and Hodkinson, 1996), this research provides evidence that the 2012 fee and funding regime has altered and constrained students’ higher education choices. In terms of students’ study mode choices, despite policymakers expectations of increased diversification, the traditional mode of three years of full-time study towards a bachelor degree qualification in a face-to-face teaching and learning environment remains as highly, if not more highly, favoured, with some students avoiding four year courses (typically sandwich courses) to minimise costs. Over half of the students in this research reconsidered and altered their subject choices to those they perceived as improving their graduate employability. This decision was taken by students to ensure that the costs of participating in higher education were beneficial to their future career. The increased costs of higher education has also caused students to live at home whilst studying to reduce their debt and expenses, which was a decision disproportionately made by black and minority ethnic students from all social classes. The findings from this research provide new insights into students’ decision-making that contrast with prior literature, particularly in relation to trends by social class (Bates, Pollard, Usher and Oakley, 2009; Callender and Jackson, 2008; Reay, David and Ball, 2005; Usher, Baldwin, Munro, Pollard and Sumption, 2010). The research argues that the 2012 fee and funding ‘reforms’ have been counterproductive; as opposed to putting financial power into the hands of learners” (BIS, 2010, p.5), the ‘reforms’ have disempowered students by limiting their choices to those that are perceived as affordable.

The paper sheds some light on the education returns in Germany in the post war period. After describing higher education in Germany the current stand of higher education financing within the single states is presented. In six states tuition fees will be introduced in 2007/08 and discussions are going on in even some more. In the second part of the paper an empirical analysis is done using longitudinal data from the German social pension system. The analysis over the whole lifecycle renders results which proof that the higher education advantages are quite remarkable and might be a justification for more intensified financing by tuition fees. But all this has to be embedded into an encompassing strategy of tax and social policy, especially to prevent a strengthened process of social selection, which would be counterproductive for an increased and highly qualified human capital in Germany.

Der vorgestellte Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über die gegenwärtige Hochschulfinanzierung in Deutschland; kürzlich haben einige Bundesländer Studiengebühren eingeführt, die zu einer teilweisen Finanzierung der Studienkosten beitragen sollen. Im II. Kapitel werden außerdem kurz die finanziellen Strukturen der tertiären Ausbildung in den OECD-Ländern beschrieben. Dabei geht es vor allem um die Kostenaufteilung zwischen öffentlichem und privatem Sektor. Im III. Kapitel werden dann die Verteilungswirkungen des gegenwärtigen Finanzierungssystems kritisch hinterfragt. Dabei wird auch auf den Lebenseinkommensvorteil einer Hochschulausbildung im Detail eingegangen, bevor dann mögliche Auswirkungen einer Gebührenfinanzierung diskutiert werden. Es wird deutlich hervor gehoben, dass die Einführung von Studiengebühren in eine umfassende hochschul- und bildungspolitische Strategie eingebettet sein muss, damit eine negative Selektionswirkung auf die Jugendlichen aus Haushalten mit prekären Einkommen vermieden wird. / The paper sheds some light on the financial structures of higher education in Germany. Recently in several member states of Germany tuition fees have been introduced. Chapter II describes the current situation in Germany, the financial structures in the OECD countries and sheds some light on the higher education costs as well as parts to be borne by the public and private sector. Chapter III discussed the distributional impacts of the current German system and adds some information on the education returns in Germany in the post war period. The analysis over the whole lifecycle renders results which proof that the higher education advantages are quite remarkable and might be a justification for more intensified financing by tuition fees. But all this has to be embedded into an encompassing strategy of tax and social policy, especially to prevent a strengthened process of social selection, which would be counterproductive for an increased and highly qualified human capital in Germany.

Diese Arbeit beschäftigt sich dem Thema Studienfinanzierung. Zuerst richtet sich der Fokus auf die Analyse des Gutes Hochschulausbildung. Anschließend werden die Finanzierungsmöglichkeiten der Studierenden aufgezeigt, wobei den Krediten eine besondere Aufmerksamkeit zukommt. Die Analyse der Finanzierungssysteme in den USA und Australien ist ebenfalls Bestandteil der vorliegenden Arbeit. Hier richtet sich das Augenmerk auf die Entwicklung der Studiengebühren und die angebotenen Finanzierungsmöglichkeiten. Daran anschließend erfolgt eine Darstellung der Auswirkungen des jahrelang gebührenfrei angebotenen Hochschulstudiums in Deutschland. In diesem Zusammenhang werden die Finanzierungsstruktur deutscher Hochschulen, die soziale Zusammensetzung der Studierenden und die Akademikerquote beleuchtet. Zum Abschluss erfolgt eine empirische Untersuchung der Lebenseinkommen verschiedener Bildungsgruppen in Deutschland und damit verbunden eine Berechnung der Bildungsrenditen bestimmter Ausbildungsniveaus. / This work is directed at the theme financing of higher education. The first view goes to the analysis of the good higher education. Following, the ways of financing higher Education will be presented, in which the loans play a particular role. The breakdown of the financing schemes in the USA and Australia is a part of this work as well. In this section the history of tuition fees and the offered financing proposals are disclosed. Afterwards a presentation of the impacts of the long lasting tuition free higher education in Germany occurs. In this context the financing structure in German universities, the social composition of students at German universities and the percentage of graduates are outlined. An empirical analysis of the lifetime income from different education groups and the calculation of education returns of particular education levels in Germany conclude this work.

Syftet med studien är att få större insikt i hur pedagoger kan hjälpa sina elever att få motivation till eget musicerande och spelglädje. Med en fenomenografisk utgångspunkt och genom kvalitativa intervjuer där fyra träblåslärare vid olika musik- och kulturskolor deltog, undersöktes deras syn på hur de ser på sina elevers motivation och hur de undervisar för att inspirera sina elever till fortsatt musicerande. Av intervjusvaren framgår tydligt att viktiga källor till motivation är mål, samspel, grupptillhörighet och jag-kan känsla. I resultatdelen har jag kategoriserat och analyserat intervjusvaren och avslutningsvis förs en diskussion kring resultaten i förhållande till begreppen motivation och didaktik. / The aim of the study was to gain greater insight into how teachers can help their students to get motivation to their own musicianship and joy of playing. With a phenomenographic approach and through qualitative interviews with four woodwind teachers at various music and culture schools, their views are analyzed of how they see their students' motivation and how they in their teaching can inspire students to continue playing. The result shows, that the major sources of motivation are goals, interactions, group membership and “I-can!” esteem. In conclusion I have categorized and discussed all interview responses in relation to the concepts of motivation and education.

This paper aims to explore how shifting federal, state, and individual priorities have transformed public higher education from a bastion of quality higher education for the greatest number of people to a more privatized state that only provides access and choice to those who can afford them. Decreased public support and state appropriations for public higher education schools have led many institutions to privatize themselves through increasing tuition prices and enrolling more out-of-state and international students who can afford to pay the full sticker price. At the same time, federal financial aid programs have become more and more geared towards assisting middle- and upper-income families, rather than focusing their efforts on removing financial barriers for low-income students. Combined, these two trends have manifested greater socioeconomic inequality for students with low-incomes; public higher education institutions are slowly turning their backs on those for whom federally funded public colleges and universities were built.

Denna studie syftar till att belysa undervisningsmoment utöver musikalisk och sångteknisk träning som i yrkesförberedande sångundervisning förbereder sångeleven för yrkeslivet som professionell sångare. Detta för att främja arbetstrivseln hos professionella sångare. Studien har sin teoretiska utgångspunkt i hermeneutiken och socialpsykologin och har utförts med kvalitativ intervju som metod. Fyra professionella sångare har använts som informanter. I bakgrundsavsnittet presenteras litteratur och tidigare studier kring musikerns yrkessituation, arbetstrivsel, yrkesförberedande sångutbildningar, pedagogens möjlighet till påverkan på musikstudenten och för musikern vanliga yrkesrelaterade hälsonedsättningar. Studiens resultat stödjer tidigare forskning då flera teman är överensstämmande. Denna studies resultat är dock specificerat till sångarens livsvärld till skillnad mot den tidigare forskningen som mer generellt beskriver musikerns yrkessituation. Resultatet belyser också förslag på undervisningsmoment lämpade i yrkesförberedande sångutbildning på ett sätt som inte har visats i tidigare forskning. Exempel på enligt studien yrkesförberedande uppdrag lämpliga för sångpedagogen är att skapa trygga elever i en trygg undervisningsmiljö, att skapa självgående elever och att ge eleven insyn och praktik i sångaryrket. / This study aims to highlight educational elements, as well as the musical and technical training, which, as part of a professional vocal study program, prepares the student for a professional career as a vocalist. This in turn, should help ensure a degree of satisfaction for professional vocalists. The study has its theoretical basis in hermeneutics and social psychology, and has been performed with the qualitative interview method. Four professional vocalists have served as informants. The background section presents both facts and previous studies of the voice used as an instrument, the employment situation of the professional musician, job satisfaction, vocational vocal training, the instructor’s ability to influence the music student, and also the health risks associated with professional musicians. The study’s findings support previous research as several themes are consistent. The results, as opposed to previous research that more broadly describes the musician’s professional situation, is here specifically related to the daily life of a musician. The study also highlights specific suggestions for educational elements applied to professional vocal training in a way that has not been shown in previous research. Examples of vocational objectives, which, according to the study may be suitable for the vocal instructor, are creating confidence in the student in a safe learning environment, creating self-sustaining students, and providing the student with insight and professional experience in the profession.

The induction of the tuition fee for higher education in Sweden for students arriving from outside the European Economic Area will affect Swedish universities and in particular Jönköping University considering its position on the educational market as one of the most international universities in Sweden. This, in combination with the BRIC countries’ expanding economies, has inspired the researchers to examine how these four countries experience the educational service quality offered by Jönköping University. With the new legislation of the introduction of the tuition fee, a major change affecting the Swedish educational system has taken place and it is therefore significant to examine the possible effects this might have. This research has used Jönköping University as a case, and the collection of data will be concentrated on international and exchange students attending the university. The reason behind the choice of Jönköping University is because of its strong international profile with many partner universities worldwide, which has resulted in a high rate of international and exchange students arriving to the university (Educations.com, 2011). Due to the nature of a service, the measurement tool of SERVQUAL has been used. Qualitative interviews were conducted to increase the reliability of the quantitative findings, where one student from each country was interviewed. In order to gain sufficient samples for the questionnaire, the researchers have used Geert Hofstede’s theory on cultural dimensions to compensate for the groups missing satisfactory population but also to examine whether students from the covered dimensions experience services differently. Due to the inability to measure the expectations of the students, the zone of tolerance was used in order to indirectly identify expectations of future students. The Total Perceived Quality model was used to demonstrate the connection between experience and expectation of a service in order facilitate the understanding of future expectations.  Descriptive- and factor analyses were used in combination with the zone of tolerance when examining the findings. The quantitative data imply that there is a gap in the educational service provided by Jönköping University and there were strong indications of the students being very satisfied with the educational quality however the qualitative data showed that the students who were interviewed were not willing to pay the fee. In the discussion part, the researchers argue for reasons why the quantitative data may be misleading since it was only implemented on students who had been at Jönköping University for free with an already established perception of the education being tuition free.

Föreliggande rapport är resultatet av sex intervjuer kompletterade med litteraturgranskning. Rapporten speglar den pågående debatten kring studieavgifter. Den redovisar, inspirerad av diskursanalytisk metod, tre skilda diskursiva debatter dvs. lärosätets, individens, samhällets, på två diskussionsområden - kompensatoriska åtgärder samt möjligheter, fördelar/styrkor. Rapporten påvisar de problem och lösningar som förts fram inom dessa. Respondenterna lyfter fram att studieavgifter handlar om ett ömsesidigt investeringsproblem för framtida välfärd – för individen såväl som för samhället. Respondenterna pekar också på att samverkan mellan departement behövs liksom företagsstöd för industristipendier eftersom full kostnadstäckning behövs. Brister i investering blir ett dilemma som långsiktigt påverkar Sveriges välfärd och även den enskilda studentens välfärd, i synnerhet för den som inte själv har ekonomiska resurser. Fem av sex respondenter har den samlade synen på avgifter att kravet på full kostnadstäckning inte är rimligt utan ett välfungerande stipendiesystem och innebär att vi förlorar alltför många studenter. Den preliminära lösningen är att vidta kompensatoriska åtgärder samt att regeringen tillskjuter medel, säger studieanordnarna. Jag drar slutsatsen att vi ännu inte är redo för att ta hand om konsekvenserna av avgifter och att samverkansdebatten knappt påbörjats. / This paper is based upon six interviews completed by making a literature examination. The paper reflects the current debate on tuition fees. It shows, inspired by a discourse analysis method, three separate discursive debates i.e. higher education, the individual, the society, in two areas of discussion – compensatory measures and potentials, advantages/ stability. The paper demonstrates the problems and solutions put forward in these areas. The respondents highlight that tuition fees are about a mutual investment problem for future welfare - for the individual as well as the society. The respondents also point out that there needs to be collaboration between the ministries, as well as financial support for industrial scholarships because costs need to be completely covered. Lack in investment becomes a dilemma that affects Sweden’s welfare and even the students individual welfare in the long term, particularly for the one who does not have own economic resources. Five of six respondents have an overall view on tuition fees that indicate the demands on full cost coverage is not reasonable without a well-functioning scholarship system and results in us losing too many students. The preliminary solution is to take compensatory actions and that the government contributes funding, the study providers say. I conclude that we are not yet ready to deal with the consequences of tuition fees and that a collaborative debate has just begun.

Background: In June 2010, Swedish parliament decided that Swedish academia should compete with quality and introduce tuition fees for foreign students. This means that higher education will remain free of charge for citizens of EU/EEA and that third-country students will have to pay a tuition fee for studying in Sweden. Problem discussion: Managing the introduction of tuition fees is a matter of priorities among the various Swedish universities. Depending on the size and budget of the university, the concentration of the change has varied. Linnaeus University is at the moment concentrating on recruiting national students and building their brand within the Swedish boarders, ignoring the consequences that the lack of international students will lead to. We question how the university should be able to maintain an international experience for the student, teachers and researchers unless they choose to invest in international relations and internal marketing to sell their brand. Research question: What could Swedish academia do to communicate their quality of education and their brand on an international market in order to attract international students? Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyze how Linnaeus University, and other institutions in similar situations, can promote their brand on an international market in order to successfully maintain and communicate the core values of their brand. We also wish to inspire similar organizations to be active and work with the situation rather than approaching change with a wait and see strategy. Methodology: We have chosen to make a qualitative research with The Actors perspective. We quickly discovered that this is the ultimate method for us since we are not trying to find any absolute truth, but rather gain knowledge and understanding of how different institutions handle the same situation. To create this understanding, our primary data has been collected through discussions with representatives from various universities and governmental organizations within Sweden. Findings: Our findings are based on several factors in relation to the emerging situation out of the introduction of tuition fees. We identified two major issues regarding inactive leadership and absent decisions. We believe that this is based on the paradigm shift in global Academia, from the classical institution to an organization within a competitive market - with students as their customers. We also found a lack of experience within Swedish Academia when it comes to communication internationally in an effective and efficient manner. Both issues show the urgent necessity for Academia to learn how to communicate their brand internationally in order to successfully attract international students. Keywords: Communication, Change management, Branding, International marketing, Introduction of Tuition Fees, Swedish Academia