Showing papers in "Perspectives: Policy & Practice in Higher Education in 2013"

The changing landscape of higher education internationalisation – for better or worse?

Abstract: Internationalisation has transformed the higher education landscape around the world and has dramatically changed itself. Some question whether the change is for better or worse given some of the unintended consequences of internationalisation such as commercialisation, diploma and accreditation mills, international rankings and the great brain race. The importance of internationalisation is recognised but are the benefits, risks and processes fully understood? This article takes a hard look at new developments and challenges related to the international dimension of higher education. It argues for focusing on the collaborative, mutual benefit, capacity building, and exchange aspects of internationalisation to optimise the benefit for individuals (students and staff), for higher education institutions (learning, research, service) and for the country and region as well.

The Innovative University

Abstract: T his interesting book argues that this time there is a new, different and real crisis in how higher education is delivered: ‘For the first time, disruptive technologies are at work in higher education . . . there are disruptive competitors offering online degrees. . .’. In order to face the challenge universities operating the traditional university model will need to ‘find innovative, less costly ways of performing their uniquely valuable functions and thereby save themselves from decline . . . universities must reengineer their institutional DNA from the inside out.’ The authors are, respectively, a Professor at Harvard Business School and an Administrator at Brigham Young University-Idaho. They write, of course, from a totally US perspective – and, as is the way of most US writers on HE, as if HE did not exist beyond the shores of America; but what they have to say about the impending changes could well impact equally upon UK HE. Now, throughout my 35 years in HE I have been told that IT will transform teaching & learning in the university: it has not; colleagues still lecture (albeit with handouts) as if Gutenberg had not lived. But we are all more efficient administratively thanks to wordprocessing (alas, no longer the heady smell of the ink and of the correcting fluid when one used the Banda machine that laboriously produced all of 50 copies or so) and thanks to email (alas, few Oxford dons writing notes to each other with fountain pens filled with blue-black ink), but ‘the paperless office’ has yet to arrive as promised in a book on my shelves from c. 1980 (or at least yet to arrive at New College, although we did stop pasting the Governing Body Minutes in leather-bound ledgers for keeping in the Muniment Tower when the last was filled up c. 1995). So, should one be concerned that HE this time genuinely faces a truly disruptive impact from the cyber-world or is it just more of the same old promises/scaremongering? Christenesen and Eyring start by examining the mess US HE is in – in the public universities the taxpayer retreats from funding HE, costs are not significantly trimmed, and hence tuition fees remorselessly rise; in the private universities, costs are not controlled, and hence tuition fees remorselessly rise. Universities do not make the difficult decisions at the best of times as ‘they hang on to past practices’ and ‘respond to economic downturn by raising prices’ (a form of ‘slow institutional suicide’) – but now they have reached ‘a critical crossroad’ and must confront ‘disruptive innovation’ from ‘alternative forms of higher education’ making better use of ‘a new and much less expensive technology for educating students’ by way of ‘online learning’ as the disruptive innovation (MOOCs and all that). While the likes of Harvard and Oxford can sail on, most traditional universities will to some degree or another be caught up in this much harsher context of segmentation and stratification – these HEIs ‘are stuck in a dangerous competitive middle ground, neither highest in quality nor lowest in cost’. No longer will simply emulating the costly and resources-rich US Ivy League or the UK upper band of the Russells work as a strategy for many (they are a model ‘now unsustainable for all but a few’ and climbing ‘the Carnegie ladder’ of HEI classification has become impossibly difficult as the cost of prestige-seeking rockets). Universities can’t get away with this ‘competition-byimitation’ and instead ‘must become much more affordable, particularly by embracing online learning technology’. Having set the gloomy scene for the rather large squeezed-middle and having endorsed the rapidly-forgotten-because-unpalatable 2006 Spellings Report on US HE (labelled in Spellings as being ‘a mature enterprise’ that is ‘increasingly risk-averse, at times self-satisfied, and unduly expensive’) as well PERSPECTIVES: POLICY AND PRACTICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION, 2013

The Australian higher education quality assurance framework

Abstract: The Australian government initiated a review of higher education in 2008. One of the outcomes of the review was the formation of a national regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), with responsibilities to: register all higher education providers, accredit the courses of the non self-accrediting providers, assure quality against externally set standards and reduce risk by monitoring institutional performance on various measures. One of the key changes in Australian higher education quality assurance is the shift from a ‘fitness-for-purpose’ approach to quality assurance to a compliance-driven approach using an externally developed set of standards monitored by the national regulator, which has legislated powers to place sanctions on universities and other providers for non-compliance. This article outlines the new framework introduced by the government and analyses its limitations in assuring and improving quality in core and support areas. It cautions universities against b...

What is Good University Financial Management

Abstract: In the current and foreseeable harsh UK higher education environment, aspiring to best- practice financial management will be key to ensuring the prosperity – and indeed the survival – of any university. In this article I argue that good university financial management should provide stability to the institution, allow for investment as well as renewal and the exploitation of opportunity, be transparent enough to facilitate accountability and good governance, and ensure that the institution allocates resources efficiently in the context of its strategic plan. I explore in detail the issues relating to this fundamental definition of good financial management, including the role of financial management in inducing stability, short-term solvency and reserves, managing financial risk, capital expenditure and long-range planning, developing a diversified funding base, embedding good financial management in university culture, the relationship between financial planning and strategic planning, and financial acc...

Improving Measurement of Productivity in Higher Education

Abstract: It could well be that the HE Zeitgeist for the next decade will be a search for enhanced productivity (the use of MOOCs and online learning, whatever) as HEIs try to control (even reduce) costs – h...

Changing technologies, changing identities

Abstract: Although much has been written about the impact of information technologies on the working lives of academics (see, for example, Bennett and Lockyer 2004; McShane 2004; Applebee et al. 2005; McShan...

Leadership practices for student engagement in challenging conditions

Abstract: Student Engagement is the investment of time, effort and other relevant resources by both students and their institutions intended to optimise the student experience and enhance the learning outcomes and development of students, and the performance and reputation of the institution. As such, it has affective, behavioural and cognitive dimensions, which may manifest congruently or oppositionally. The current popularity of the concept derives from a large body of evidence suggesting that student engagement improves a range of desirable outcomes. A study funded by the Leadership Foundation to uncover leadership practices that enhanced student engagement revealed the importance of climate, resourcing, communication and values. The article concludes with some suggestions of how the findings might usefully be applied in a higher education setting.

Consuming Higher Education: Why Learning Can't Be Bought

Abstract: Consuming Higher Education: Why Learning Can't Be Bought By Joanna Williams (Bloomsbury, 2013), 175 pp., £24.99 (pbk), ISBN 978-1-44118-360-6 Reviewed by David Palfreyman, OxCHEPS, New College Oxfo...

Making Policy in British Higher Education 1945–2011

Abstract: Making Policy in British Higher Education 1945–2011 By Michael Shattock (Open University Press/McGraw-Hill Education, Maidenhead, 2012), 280 pp, £37.99 (pbk), ISBN 978-0-335-24186-6 Reviewed by E. ...

End games? Consumer-based learning in higher education and its implications for lifelong learning

Abstract: This paper outlines core features of what it terms consumer-based learning and relates this to the context of increasing utilitarian goals and values of higher education. It argues that this presents challenges broader than the immediate teaching and learning environment and student experience, which also potentially impacts the future lives of graduates leaving university.

What mentoring can do for you

Abstract: My previous paper in this journal (Gander 2010) discussed the dearth of female senior administrators in the UK higher education (HE) sector and offered some explanation using the theoretical concep...

Evidence-based policy or policy-based evidence? Higher education policies and policymaking 1987–2012

Abstract: The article discusses higher education policies and policy making during the period of the author's direct involvement between the mid-80s and the present. The author points to an increasingly ideological form of policy making which has emphasised the economic role of higher education and created a higher education 'market'. As the scope of government has widened, the role of the Civil Service as a check on Ministers has reduced. Whilst the sector's influence on policies has also lessened, there is still more the universities could do to protect themselves as the case of quality assurance demonstrates. However this would require a willingness to act on the basis of research evidence, of which the author still sees little sign.

Contextual admissions and affirmative action: developments in higher education policy in England

Abstract: This paper explores the value of explaining contextual admissions policy directives through the conceptual lenses of meritocracy and social reproduction. It is suggested that examining these concepts can assist in highlighting some of the ideological and practical complexities associated with contextual admissions whilst providing opportunities to engage with wider debates concerning affirmative action in higher education policy.

Cultivating Inquiry-Driven Learners: A College Education for the 21st Century

Abstract: The learners (presumably as students and then as graduate-employees/citizens) discussed here ‘anticipate, embrace, and adapt to disruptive change’ as a result of ‘a transformative process’ by way o...

Was Devolution the Beginning of the End of the UK Higher Education System

Abstract: Since 1998–99, when the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly were established, higher education policies appear to have diverged across the four ‘home coun...

Educational values and the value of higher education

Abstract: In this edition of Perspectives there are four papers covering topics as apparently diverse as internationalisation, student engagement, quality assurance and the importance of undergraduate teachi...

Context, communication and commiseration

Abstract: This paper draws upon my interest, as a psychotherapist, in working with change at a psychological and individual level, and on my experience of the radical changes currently taking place in higher...

Waving or Drowning

Abstract: In the coming years the chilly water of higher education (HE) reform in the UK may prove too much for some organisations, however energetic they may become when faced with crisis, and there is a real possibility of casualties. The second verse of Stevie Smith’s poem predicts a probable cause of death: ‘it must have been too cold’. No doubt these casualties will not be famous names, but they may be virtuous, long established and valuable to their stakeholders. I guess that we will also see the axe poised ready to excise small parts of big organisations, rather than the redundancy of whole institutions. Perhaps, like an appendix, these little bits are part of a body but clearly expendable. Vice-chancellors may say, using a script helpfully suggested by NHS Choices, something like this: ‘no one knows exactly why we have an appendix; it appears to have no purpose, therefore removing it is not harmful’. For ‘appendix’, you might read Arabic or Ancient Civilisation or Astronomy except, of course, that such subjects are valuable (I hasten to add, for those who don’t take to irony). There is nothing certain in this life except death and taxes, as Benjamin Franklin wrote more than two centuries ago. We are all ‘dead men on leave’, as the early Communist, Eugene Levine, said bravely at his trial following the counter-revolution in Bavaria in 1919. But whilst there is life there is hope. Professional administrators are not normally out of their depth, unlike the hero of Not Waving but Drowning, who was ‘too far out all my life’. However, like me, you may suffer some agitation that, whilst waving hopefully to your managers, you cannot escape drowning in a sea of paper (or, to be more contemporary, an ocean of email). Where does salvation lie? Not simply in the panaceas of time management self-help guides. But from being clear about what we are trying to achieve and the tools that we need to use to achieve our objectives: language, truth and logic. I think we will all do well if we take heed of the concluding paragraphs of Roger Brown’s valedictory address to the 2013 national conference of the AUA, especially: ‘we shall have no chance of better policies for higher education until we apply the criticality that is supposed to be our stock-in-trade to ourselves as well as to others’. Professor Brown makes a strong case that the ideology of markets, and the reductivist view that education is a commodity, has been dominant from the 1980s when government started to dismantle the fences and ditches that had previously protected the universities from public scrutiny. Whilst welcoming the entrance of HE onto the public stage, the author simultaneously (and paradoxically?) both regrets the narrowness of the political debate (reinforced by the unfortunate tendency of those who speak for HE to present selfserving arguments that lack rigour and evidence) and the passing of the time when ‘civil servants were the main advisers on policy’. Whatever our readership may think about the case made by Roger, I am confident that we all wish him a long and happy (second) Professor David Law, perspectives editor, retired from the post of PVC (Students and External) in 2012 but remains at Edge Hill University as the founding director of the EHU Confucius Institute (in partnership with Chongqing Normal University). He is also the programme leader for the distance-taught MA Management of International HE. After working as an academic at Glasgow and Keele Universities, he was an Assistant Director at QAA before becoming an Academic Registrar, firstly at University of Hull and then at University of Warwick. Whist at Warwick he was a strong supporter of the internationalisation of the University and became Director of the International Office. He now works partly as an academic and partly as a consultant. Address for correspondence: Tel: +44 (0)1695 584268; Email: david.law@edgehill.ac.uk.

Quality & consumerism in higher education

Abstract: Education is often seen as a contrast (or even contest) between being a process of liberal education (with the aim of fostering life-long independent, innovative and creative thinking useful throug...

Learning from the Private Sector: Institutional approaches to curriculum leadership and delivery

Abstract: Introduction Higher education institutions are facing increasing pressures to review their curriculum (Uchiyama and Radin 2009). The expectations of stakeholder groups, including students, parents and families, governments, employers and society in general have become increasingly explicit and targeted (Bamber et al. 2009). Universities are expected to play a leading role in developing graduates equipped to meet the requirements of economic development and the knowledge society; at the same time, it is assumed that such graduates will become ‘global citizens,’ contributing to international debates on the environment, international security, globalisation, social justice, disease and ageing (Braskamp 2009). As such expectations grow, universities across the world are also facing the challenge of utilising new technology to best effect and the pressures of new financial models, especially the increasing ‘consumerisation’ of higher education (Nickolai, Hoffman, and Trautner 2012), an emphasis on ‘value for money’ (Harvey 2006) and new forms of public accountability (Bovens 2007). Against this background, many universities have begun to consider curriculum change across the whole institution, commonly looking to provide students with more choice and flexibility, both in terms of content of programmes and in methods of delivery, and to establish a distinctive profile, providing their graduates with a particular range of knowledge, skills and experience. To date, most of the research on this process has concerned leading research-intensive institutions (see, for example, Blackmore and Kandiko 2012), most of them publicly funded. Much can be learned from these studies. However, it is also important to consider how this process impacts upon a wider range of institutions. In this paper, the experience of three private universities in the United States is examined: Brown, Northeastern and Yale. At first sight, it might appear that these universities have little in common with universities elsewhere. Brown and Yale are Ivy League institutions, with substantial endowments, providing significant scope for innovation and development in curriculum that can only be envied elsewhere; both these institutions represent well-known and widely recognised ‘brands.’ However, all three possess a clear vision for the education they provide and all three operate in a highly competitive environment, seeking to attract well-qualified students from across the US and abroad. In each case, the universities have a view of the particular qualities that they expect their graduates to possess, qualities that are shared by their graduates irrespective of the specific subjects studied and that to some degree mark out these graduates from those prepared by other, competitor institutions. Such thinking now underpins the approach to institution-wide curriculum change adopted by other universities in many countries. It is important, therefore, to draw upon this experience and to consider whether there are lessons to be learned by other institutions. This paper draws upon detailed interviews undertaken with senior leaders and managers, and academic staff in the three US universities and also makes use of documentary material made available by these institutions. It was recognised from the outset that there are wide variations between different universities and John Taylor is Professor of Higher Education Management in the Management School, University of Liverpool. After working for over 20 years in professional services in three UK universities, he now researches various issues inhigher education management, including curriculummanagement,quality assurance, management of research and internationalisation. He also leads a number of professional development programmes for leaders and managers in higher education. Address for correspondence: University of Liverpool, Management School, Chatham Street, Liverpool, UK; Email: John.Taylor@liverpool.ac.uk

Autonomy and governance models

Abstract: Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are critical players in the knowledge-based economy today. Being essential for knowledge production, transmission and dissemination, they are at the forefront o...

One, two, three – jump! (… into the Third Space?)

Abstract: In his final editorial, after seven successful years as editor-in-chief, Giles Brown drew a parallel between a successful contemporary university and the Apple Corporation (Brown 2012). Steve Jobs motivated his colleagues by foregrounding creativity. Commitment that comes from identifying with the ‘use value’ of the product, not simply with its financial value, anchors an organisation in a reality that is more substantial than the balance book. Many colleagues will echo my personal experience: generating a sense of collective pride is crucial for staff morale. For Apple, and for our best universities, this comes from belonging to an organisation that designs and delivers products and services that so many (in the organisation and beyond it) wish to own/experience. As one of our authors, Hugh Clarke, proposes in his article on change management: ‘leaders should help staff develop a detailed image of how the desired outcome may look and feel.’ If staff can embrace the vision they are much less likely to suffer the anticipation of bereavement and loss that often underpins resistance to change. The management of change, one of the most difficult aspects of leadership, only succeeds well when there is general belief that change is needed. British universities now operate in conditions of unprecedented change as they try to find a third space between public and private. Our universities will certainly need outstanding change managers to deal with the impact of government policy. There must be many readers who, like me, believe that what makes perspectives – policy and practice in higher education a really interesting and important periodical is the commitment it demonstrates to the improvement of operational and leadership practice, a commitment that for many of our authors comes from informed experience. In this edition, all the authors have strong roots in a community of practice. Your new editor has been very fortunate, so far, to have had two careers in HE. For nearly twenty-five years I was an academic, teaching and researching in modern history and international relations. Subsequently, over the last fifteen years, I have spent about one-third of my worktime at University of Hull as Academic Registrar, another third at University of Warwick (firstly as Academic Registrar and then International Director) and the final third has been at Edge Hill University as the PVC responsible for students (services, marketing etc) and the external relations of the University. I have now retired from my PVC role and, parttime, I am the founding director for a new UK-based Confucius Institute that the Chinese Ministry of Education is supporting. Personally, with the editorship of perspectives and with the role just described, I am moving into a new phase of my career in which I can combine aspects of my two previous careers in HE. The first editor of this journal, Celia Whitchurch, has written extensively about the role of ‘third space professionals,’ with that space being thought of as an area that is not situated within previous (relatively firm) boundaries of ‘academic activity’ and ‘administrative activity.’ Reading her book, Reconstructing Identities in Higher Education (Whitchurch 2013), gives me personally the comfort of seeing myself as part of a trend. It also leads me to the idea that, against the Professor David Law, perspectives editor, retired from the post of PVC (Students and External) in 2012 but remains at Edge Hill University as the founding director of the EHU Confucius Institute (in partnership with Chongqing Normal University). He is also the programme leader for the distance-taught MA Management of International HE. After working as an academic at Glasgow and Keele Universities, he was an Assistant Director at QAA before becoming an Academic Registrar, firstly at University of Hull and then at University of Warwick. Whist at Warwick he was a strong supporter of the internationalisation of the University and became Director of the International Office. He now works partly as an academic and partly as a consultant. Address for correspondence: Tel: +44 (0)1695 584268; Email: david.law@edgehill.ac.uk.

The fall of the faculty: the rise of the all-administrative university and why it matters

Abstract: It is, on occasions, worth reflecting on the fact that we, university administrators, are not always universally loved, admired or even respected. This book argues that we should barely be tolerate...

Diversity of provision in higher education

Abstract: This paper assesses the growing UK private sector in education and questions whether it is, as its supporters suggest, a valuable addition to an already diverse national system An earlier Perspect