University Status

The plan wants to break social selection by creating more educational institutions and decentralizing education to more places, and by creating more places throughout the education system. The counter-proposal wants instead to stop upgrades and strip educational institutions of their university status, which concentrates higher education. That goes against the plan's requirement for increased accessibility throughout the country. The plan therefore rejects the requirement.

• more educational institutions throughout the countrydecisive»genom en utökning av antalet lärosäten och utlokalisering av utbildningar till fler orter i landet.« (party programme ↗)“through an expansion of the number of educational institutions and decentralization of education to more places in the country.”
• more educational places»Vänsterpartiet vill se en utökning av antalet platser inom såväl grundläggande och gymnasial vuxenutbildning, som folkhögskola, högskola och yrkeshögskola.« (party programme ↗)“The Left Party wants to see an expansion of the number of places within both basic and secondary adult education, as well as folk high school, university and vocational university.”
• quality and accessibility simultaneously»Från förskola till universitet och yrkeshögskola behöver kvaliteten och tillgängligheten öka.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“From preschool to university and vocational university, quality and accessibility need to increase.”
• education regardless of place of residence»Det måste bli lättare att utbilda sig efter grundskolan oavsett vem du är, tjockleken på din plånbok eller var i landet du bor.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It must become easier to educate yourself after primary school regardless of who you are, the thickness of your wallet or where in the country you live.”

The programme makes it a national responsibility to distribute knowledge centres evenly throughout the country and to break the social skewing of access to higher education. Freezing the number of universities and stripping institutions of their status pulls in the opposite direction and would affect precisely the regions and student groups the plan wishes to lift. The quality requirement in the programme is met with investment in research and education, not with downgrading.

• knowledge centres throughout the countrydecisive»utbyggd infrastruktur och en jämn spridning av kunskapscentra över hela landet.« (party programme ↗)“expanded infrastructure and an even distribution of knowledge centres throughout the country.”
• break social skewing of access»Den sociala snedrekryteringen till högskolan måste brytas« (party programme ↗)“The social skewing of access to higher education must be broken”
• the entire country shall live»Alla har ett gemensamt intresse av att hela landet kan leva och utvecklas.« (party programme ↗)“Everyone has a shared interest in the entire country being able to live and develop.”
• quality requirement for education»Hög kvalitet är det grundläggande kravet på all utbildning.« (party programme ↗)“High quality is the fundamental requirement for all education.”

The party programme wants the distribution of funds to ensure high quality in education and research for both small and large institutions and that access to higher education is good across the country, with regional higher education institutions as an important part. That freezing the number of universities and depriving institutions of their status pulls in the opposite direction and also restricts the institutions' independence. The plan therefore speaks against the requirement.

• quality for small as well as large institutionsdecisive»små som stora lärosäten.« (party programme ↗)“small as well as large institutions.”
• higher education across the country»Tillgången på högre utbildning ska vara god i hela« (party programme ↗)“Access to higher education shall be good across the”
• regional higher education institutions important»Byskolor, folkhögskolor, regionala högskolor och« (party programme ↗)“Rural schools, folk high schools, regional higher education institutions and”
• institutional independence»Lärosätenas självständighet och oberoende ska« (party programme ↗)“The independence and autonomy of institutions shall”

The party programme establishes that quality in higher education requires a diversity of higher education institutions throughout the country and that all parts of the country shall be given equal conditions for development. To stop more universities and strip institutions of their status goes against that line and would particularly affect the smaller and newer institutions. The plan wants to raise quality through institutions' own independence and competitiveness, not through downgrades.

• diversity of higher education institutionsdecisive»För att säkra kvaliteten och möjligheterna till högre utbildning behövs det en mångfald av lärosäten i hela« (party programme ↗)“To secure quality and opportunities for higher education there is a need for a diversity of higher education institutions throughout”
• equal conditions throughout the country»Alla delar av landet ska ges likvärdiga förutsättningar för utveckling och tillväxt.« (party programme ↗)“All parts of the country shall be given equal conditions for development and growth.”
• institutions' independence»Högre utbildning och fria lärosäten ska självständigt kunna bedriva högkvalitativ forskning och utbildning.« (party programme ↗)“Higher education and free institutions shall independently be able to conduct high-quality research and education.”
• quality through competitiveness»konkurrenskraftiga universitet och forskning i världsklass« (2022 manifesto ↗)“competitive universities and research in world class”

The election manifesto wants to expand the education and institutions that maintain the highest quality and sharpen evaluation, and the party programme says that low quality should be able to lead to education being stopped and that resources should follow quality. The counter-proposal's requirement for a stricter stance on university status and specialization toward areas of strength lies in that line. However, the plan does not mention the university name itself.

• invest in highest qualitydecisive»Vi vill öka den lärarledda undervisningen, skärpa utvärderingen och bygga ut de utbildningar och lärosäten som håller högst kvalitet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to increase teacher-led instruction, sharpen evaluation, and expand education and institutions that maintain the highest quality.”
• low quality has consequences»Låg kvalitet på en utbildning ska kunna leda till att utbildningen stoppas.« (party programme ↗)“Low quality on an education should be able to lead to that education being stopped.”
• resources according to quality»Hög akademisk kvalitet och stor efterfrågan på utbildningen ska leda till ökade resurser för« (party programme ↗)“High academic quality and high demand for education shall lead to increased resources for”
• research-based education»All högre utbildning ska vara forskningsanknuten.« (party programme ↗)“All higher education shall be research-based.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan requires that activities at universities and colleges are constantly evaluated so that they maintain high quality and that resources are invested so that quality is maintained. Allowing the term university to follow actual quality, and that educational institutions specialize where they are strongest, aligns with this. The plan at the same time states that educational institutions' self-governance over the state.

• quality evaluation of educational institutionsdecisive»högskolorna ständigt utvärderas så att de håller hög kvalitet« (party programme ↗)“colleges are constantly evaluated so that they maintain high quality”
• high quality in higher education»resurser satsas för att verksamheten ska hålla hög kvalitet« (party programme ↗)“resources are invested so that activities maintain high quality”
• educational institutions' self-governance»högskolor ska åtnjuta stort mått av självbestämmande i förhållande till staten« (party programme ↗)“colleges shall enjoy great freedom in relation to the state”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan's line for higher education is that quality and international competitiveness shall be governing and that resources shall reward academic quality. The counter-proposal's demands that no more universities are established, that institutions that do not meet standards are stripped of university status, and that institutions specialize follow from the same quality requirements. However, the plan values institutions' freedom from political direction, which somewhat dampens the support.

• quality guides higher educationdecisive»Kvalitet och internationell konkurrenskraft ska vara styrande för den högre utbildningen.« (party programme ↗)“Quality and international competitiveness shall be governing for higher education.”
• international top level»Kompetensförsörjningen på svensk arbetsmarknad måste bli bättre. Då krävs att både den svenska skolan och all högre utbildning håller högsta internationella nivå – i en allt hårdare konkurrens.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Skills supply in the Swedish job market must improve. That requires that both Swedish schools and all higher education maintain the highest international level – in increasingly fierce competition.”
• reward academic quality»Arbeta för ett resursfördelningssystem till högskolan så att akademisk kvalitet, genomströmning samt etablering på arbetsmarknaden premieras i högre utsträckning« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Work toward a resource allocation system for higher education so that academic quality, throughput and establishment on the job market are rewarded to a greater extent”
• institutions' independence»Värna den fria forskningen från politiska pekpinnar« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Safeguard free research from political direction”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan requires high-quality and business-oriented education, that higher education is adapted to labor market needs, and that clear results are demanded for each public initiative. The counter-proposal's demand to stop continued inflation of the university designation and instead let educational institutions specialize where they are strongest follows from that quality and results requirement. The plan simultaneously protects academic independence, which qualifies the support.

• high-quality educationdecisive»Sverigedemokraterna vill satsa på högkvalitativ och näringslivsinriktad utbildning, tillhandahålla en god infrastruktur och motverka arbetslöshet och långvarigt utanförskap« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats want to invest in high-quality and business-oriented education, provide good infrastructure, and prevent unemployment and long-term exclusion”
• education tailored to labor market needs»Den högre utbildningen ska i högre grad anpassas efter behoven på en framtida arbetsmarknad.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Higher education shall to a greater extent be adapted to the needs of a future labor market.”
• results requirement»Begära tydliga resultat för varje offentlig satsning« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Demand clear results for each public initiative”
• academic independence»Slå vakt om den högre akademins självständighet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stand guard over the higher academy's independence”