Higher Education Reform in Bulgaria

Abstract

The Bulgarian case is an interesting one because, historically, it reveals traces of all three historical models of coordination. Over the past two decades, its higher education has been the most volatile and least predictable of all four analyzed countries, erratically shifting between academic ‘anarchy’ and state intervention. In the past five to ten years, however, Bulgaria can be attested a moderate shift towards marketization. However, the present report shall show that the overt willingness to engage in isomorphic processes does not necessarily translate into concrete policy change. Bulgaria has instead been plagued by its unsystematic and inconsistent policy formulation and implementation process. Resulting from this, its path towards marketization has been a very rocky one. However, despite these unfavourable framework conditions the Bologna Process has indeed prompted the state to return the autonomy it took away from universities in 1995. Most importantly, the readily available examples of best practice from western Europe have coerced Bulgarian HE policy-makers to more clearly define their aims, expectations, and a blueprint for the future.