In the United States, institutional research offices provide data about students, graduates, stakeholders, profits, costs, and the like for decision making. In Austria the idea of institutional research does not even exist. All data are still collected at the ministerial level and distributed to the universities. More detailed information about students, faculty, administration, and the environment, as well as educational processes and the costs, is needed at each university to support managerial decision making. Despite these problems, the reform of Austrian higher education is moving in the right direction.
Institutions are now able to determine their own fates and develop programs accordingly.
New forms of cooperation between the state, the National University Board, and all higher education institutions need to be developed. Professional university management is necessary to meet the claims and challenges of the new information society. An open discussion between all representatives would help to rethink long traditions. These changes imply a dramatic shift in the culture and conception of the higher education system in Austria, and cannot, therefore, be achieved overnight. Only time will tell if the 1993 reforms will initiate a lasting process of change.