Affirmative action in college admissions was effectively banned in Texas by the Hopwood ruling in 1997, by voter referenda in California and Washington in 1996 and 1998, and by administrative decisions in Florida in 1999. The "Hopwood" and "Johnson" rulings also had possible applicability to public colleges throughout Alabama,…

This essay engages the prospect and peril of employing rubrics in America. It discusses how institutional independence affects the enterprise, and addresses whether rubrics will be received as salvation or subservience by educational agents. It asks how rubrics can benefit stakeholders while examining their unintended consequences. It concludes by…

Not all community college presidents begin their careers with the goal of becoming president, yet something causes them to alter their initial career paths to seek a presidency. Understanding how community college leaders make the decision to seek and subsequently prepare for a presidency can help identify candidates with the potential to fill…

The understanding of gender inequality for women entering work has not been subject to significant research or theorizing. This small study indicated that young women entering the workplace are subject to direct discrimination and by using an intersectionality approach this paper proposes that the intersection of gender and young age results in…

An audit of economics provision shows that over the past decade economics has disappeared from large parts of the UK's higher education landscape, especially the post-1992 universities. In the north of Britain the binary system has effectively re-emerged leaving many potential students unable to study key subjects such as economics. Post-1992…

With many baby boomers preparing to retire, higher education is facing an anticipated shortage of academic administrators. Compounding this challenge, many mid-career faculty are reluctant to fill these important positions, concerned that academic leadership is incompatible with work-life balance, that it detracts from their commitments to…

Canadian post-secondary institutions are seeking enhanced efficiencies due to ongoing funding shortfalls and expanding teaching, research, and service mandates. These institutions have considered or enacted Lean methodology based on results reported by public service and healthcare organizations worldwide. Lean requires a high level of…

Academic boards play a key role in the maintenance of quality standards and the provision of strategic leadership on academic issues. The current research investigated the role provided at present to Australian universities through their academic boards. All universities described their academic boards as their principal academic body. The…

In 2011 and 2012, two Australian university vice chancellors flagged spending cuts at their institutions to overcome financial problems. In both cases, union and staff opposition led to public protests, intense media scrutiny, delays and retreats. This article compares the two cases to see what lessons may be drawn for university leaders faced…

The agencies responsible for tertiary education quality assurance in Australia and New Zealand have established regulatory regimes that increasingly intersect with tertiary institution policy management. An examination of university meta-policies identified good practices guiding university policy and policy management. Most Australian and half of…

Policy-makers in the United Kingdom increasingly emphasise the contribution of innovation and entrepreneurialism to the economy. Drawing on a recent ethnographic study of a university commercial enterprise, this article examines the notion of entrepreneurialism in a higher education institution as understood and practised by its employees. The…

Higher education is becoming increasingly market-oriented. In a bid to enhance performance, reputation and competitive positioning, universities are increasingly embracing managerialist axioms and discourses. In the process, a new class of professional administrator has been created. Increasingly specialist in nature, the professionalised…

This article discusses some of the key challenges and points of tension pertaining to leadership in higher education in Kenya. Effective leadership approaches are discussed including an exploration of why effective leadership is more important in Kenyan public higher education now than ever. Given the complex context within which public higher…

This article describes the educational efforts invested at Wasit University (WU), in Wasit, Iraq, in order to make WU the first university in that country to implement campus-wide e-learning, which is essential for any country aiming for progress through the essential goal of "Education For All"; e-learning being economic, far-reaching,…

Higher education institutions have faced increased social, cultural, economic, and political challenges in recent decades. In this study we used the socio-cultural construct of trust to understand how organizational responses to external challenges impact the relationship between faculty members and administrators. Using extensive interviews,…