Credits, curriculum, and control in higher education: Cross-national perspectives

Through an examination of the higher education systems in three countries ( Indonesia, Nicaragua, and Vietnam), the authors explore how the use of acad emic credits for monitoring student progress has been and continues to be l inked to policies and institutions associated with capitalist, market-drive n economic systems. The recent histories of these countries and their curre nt social and political contexts are analyzed in relation to three interrel ated themes that have emerged from the analysis of the three cases. These t hemes are: (1) Linkages to political and economic systems: higher education as vocational training, (2) Standardization, efficiency, and technocracy, and (3) Who controls the curriculum? In conclusion, the authors suggest tha t the academic credit system, embedded within a network of other educationa l practices, has transformed the university into an institution focused on relatively narrow, utilitarian aims rather than a more universal pursuit of knowledge.