In order to help students make well-informed choices, reliable college ranking systems with comparable information about higher education institutions worldwide have been welcomed by many students. Because traditional college rankings had many methodological problems, a new type of user-based ranking, called "personalized college ranking" started…

Cross-border higher education resulting in the increased mobility of students, academic staff, programs, institutions and professionals has grown considerably in global times. Therefore, how to ensure that the quality of academic programs has met the local and international standards simultaneously has become a great challenge in many nations. In…

This paper presents data generated during a semester-long programme to support international students from countries in Melanesia and Asia embarking on masters research in education in a New Zealand university. All were scholarship recipients. The researcher-and facilitator-of the programme, was interested in documenting and understanding the…

This article analyses academic work and the academic workforce in the context of current dynamics and likely futures. It discusses the significance of academic work, reviews workforce characteristics, and analyses tensions and pressures. Prevailing conceptualisations, it is argued, do not reflect the current situation in which the profession finds…

The funding of higher education in South Africa has in the recent past been a subject of animated debate. This debate has ranged from the adequacy of government funding of higher education, the suitability of the funding framework, to protestations against frequent tuition fee increases. At present, the debate is mainly about "free" higher…

The research interrogates the connections between information and communication technologies' (ICTs') use and change processes in Australian higher education. The empirical investigation focuses simultaneously on three domains of practice: the educational, the technological and the organizational, with a particular interest in their overlaps and…

Complaints made to external agencies about Australian universities are rising in both number and complexity. Recent debate has therefore focused upon how to improve grievance handling in the Australian higher education sector. One suggested "solution" is the creation of a national Australian university ombudsman. The UK has recently introduced…

American universities are seeking to increase "academic staff diversity" by hiring more females, racial/ethnic minorities, military veterans, and persons with disabilities. Various researchers have presented evidence showing that people of poverty and working-class origins are significantly underrepresented within the US academic staff.…

Global university rankings have arrived, and though still in a process of rapid evolution, they are likely to substantially influence the long-term development of higher education across the world. The inclusions, definitions, methods, implications and effects are of great importance. This paper analyses and critiques the two principal rankings…

Involvement of employees and unions in workplace decision-making has a long history in Australian industrial relations. The mechanism for employee involvement in workplace change was originally set out in the Termination Change and Redundancy (TCR) clause in Australian awards in 1984. It continues to operate under Enterprise Bargaining Agreements…

China's educational reform from the late 1990s, has substantially increased university capacity. This has been most evident in undergraduate enrolments. As an increasingly large cohort of university graduates enters the job market yearly, the demand for university graduates has not caught up with supply. Some university students plan to pursue…

Declining enrollment in the physical sciences at university is causing concern among higher education institutions, governments and industry. In response, renewed attention is being paid to the tertiary science background of school teachers, given their key role in both preparing and enthusing students for tertiary science study. A recent study,…

Soft law, that is, regulation which is technically unenforceable, is one means whereby international ethical and professional standards are now increasingly enunciated. This paper looks at one specific standard-setting instrument, the 1997 UNESCO "Recommendation concerning the status of higher education teaching personnel," and compliance with…

Many academics do not view community engagement as a priority in their work. Yet, in an increasingly competitive funding environment, there is evidence that many benefits arise from the creation of university-community partnerships. This paper describes a study that documents the experience of seven academics successfully establishing community…

This paper identifies quantifiable indicators that might enhance the national evaluation of learning and teaching in Australian higher education. It begins by setting out a framework suitable for guiding the identification and selection of indicators. After a brief critical review of current indicator possibilities, it defines a number of possible…