Education reform influence for universities competitiveness and selection

Abstract

Higher education reform in Lithuania has increased competition between universities for financing because, under current conditions, it completely depends on the number of school-leavers entering a university. The number of the obtained ‘baskets’ by a higher school in 2009-2011 period, compared to the number of the state-financed positions in 2008, reflects the popularity of this higher school in the best way. The university budget also depends on the number of students paying for studies. The results of admission have shown that higher schools which obtained a great number of “baskets” did not get many students paying for studies. This may be accounted for by the fact that school leavers who did not get state financing chose the cheapest programs of studies. Therefore, social sciences, whose programs of studies are the cheapest, are among the most popular disciplines.