A Normative Model for Regional University Network Collaboration in Education

Increasing demand for more specialized courses and programs increases the need for universities to differentiate their educational offer and portfolio. Increasing the course portfolio combined with small student populations and at the same time ensuring high quality is a difficult challenge for most universities given their budget limitation and the access they have to educators in the specialized disciplines within their own organization. Pooling, coordination and utilization of resources through network creation and university collaborations is one option for coping with this challenge. This paper develops a normative model for intraregional university network collaboration in education aiming at preparing students for work in a particular industry. The paper deals with network organization, principles of operation, course structure, course delivery, and supporting activities.