Current national reforms in Australian higher education have prioritised efforts to reduce educational disadvantage within a vernacular expression of neoliberal education policy. Student-equity policy in universities is enmeshed in a set of competitive student recruitment relations. This raises practice-based tensions as universities strive to…

This article reports on findings pertaining to scholarship in education policy drawn from a wider study on all education research in South Africa from 1995 to 2006. This study, which defined education research as broadly pertaining to teaching and/or learning, obtained extensive data from a wide range of sources, including universities, public…

To maintain their global positioning, some of the world's most prominent institutions are pursuing strategic transnational alliances. In this paper I examine one such transnational alliance--that between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the government of Singapore. Using governmentality as a framework of analysis, the paper locates…

The attention to the visualization of education policy is an area of study yet to be developed and explored. This paper extends the scholarship of "mediated education policy production" by developing a visual methodology to analyse a visual education policy document that takes the form of a documentary titled "Learning Journeys" (2000), which…

The rationale for comprehensive reform of Latin American higher education crystallized in the mid-1990s in policy documents published by the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. This "Washington consensus" of the multilateral banks advocated, among other measures, greater reliance on private sources of funding, increased…

In this paper, a model and tool is proposed to assist universities and other mission-based organisations to ascertain systematically the optimal portfolio of projects, in any year, meeting the organisations risk tolerances and available funds. The model and tool presented build on previous work on university operations and decision support systems…

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…

Australia's higher education policy settings have signalled a shift towards marketisation. As a consequence, Australian universities have become increasingly competitive, and as they seek to compete for students in higher education markets, they begin to resemble commercial organisations. This article examines the challenges confronting the…

In universities around the world, plagiarism management is an ongoing issue of quality assurance and risk management. Plagiarism management discourses are often framed by legal concepts of authorial rights, and plagiarism policies outline penalties for infringement. Learning and teaching discourses argue that plagiarism management is, and should…

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…

Universities are increasingly dependent on information technology (IT) to support delivery of their objectives. It is crucial, therefore, that the IT investments made lead to successful outcomes. This study analyses the governance structures and decision-making processes used to approve and prioritise IT projects. Factors influencing an…

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…

Much of the rhetoric opposing managerialism in higher education can be ascribed to philosophical and political objections to the neo-liberal ideology which is alleged to underlie the phenomenon. This paper approaches managerialism from a different direction, addressing it within a neo-liberal framework. The paper argues that there is no intrinsic…

As economic competition becomes more global and knowledge-based, US states have independently pursued initiatives in research and development (R&D) and science and technology (S&T). Policy efforts often entwine government, universities, and industry, aiming to stimulate socially optimal levels of innovation and economic growth.…

University rankings are key drivers in national and institutional strategic planning. The increase in the number of university ranking systems and the diversity of methods and indicators used by these systems necessitate the development of an index that can measure a university's performance in all these systems at once. This article presents…