Commonwealth Higher Education: From Patronage to Partnership? St. Catharine's Conference Report, No. 17.

This document reports on a conference which focused on problems of higher education in British Commonwealth countries. Conference participants were representatives from various educational institutions in Commonwealth countries, and their presentations covered such issues as: international cooperation relating to staff and student exchange and mobility; the need for universities to adapt their programs and methods to constraints on public expenditures; resource sharing; the use of new technology in distance education and practical problems of countries with limited resources; crisis of higher education in Africa; and increased costs for higher education in Britain and other Commonwealth countries and its effect on students pursuing studies in those countries. Summaries of conference presentations are offered under the following headings: "Sharing between Equals--Slogan or Reality?"; "The Nature of the Crisis"; "Current Challenges" (focusing on India, The Commonwealth of Learning, and Nigeria); "Patterns of Staff and Student Interchange"; "Partnerships and Technology in Academic Learning"; "Problems and Possibilities of New Partnerships" (focusing on Australia and Zambia); "The Conference: An Overview"; and "Looking to the Future." A list of conference participants and their affiliations is included. (LPT)