EN
Under the impact of globalising market forces, public funding to higher education systems in many parts of the world has been reduced on a per capita basis, even as student enrolments continue to increase. Paralleling this phenomenon has been rapid privatisation of the university sector, achieved through the transfer of costs to the community, either through state universities imposing student fees or new private institutions being established. The paper analyses the course of privatisation in the higher education systems of Poland, Iran, Australia and the Philippines and concludes that the various privatisation pathways being followed are reflective of the differing national traditions of the countries concerned.