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…

The Australian government recently established a national regulator with responsibilities of registration and accreditation of all kinds of higher education providers including universities. The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) subsumes the functions of the previous Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) with…

The article explores the role of the Registrar (Chief Operating Officer) in a university, and the ways in which we value the contributions of professional, managerial and administrative (PMA) staff. It assesses the conditions in which PMA staff work and describes the professional development opportunities they enjoy. The article goes on to analyse…

Globalisation has affected many aspects of daily life, including education. In the last decade, "internationalisation" has become one of most popular terms in the education arena. A wide discourse exists, including the definition of internationalisation, its purpose, strategies, policies and practices, its assessment methods, and the…

International students make up an increasingly large proportion of the UK's student population. Whether studying at undergraduate, postgraduate taught or postgraduate research level, they require support just like home students. However, international students can often bring additional issues and complications for the staff who are…

Everyone has a personal brand. To ensure success at work you need to manage your personal brand which is made up of your tangible and intangible attributes. This paper reviews the literature around personal branding, looks at some of the attributes and discusses ways you can reflect and begin to build your personal brand in a higher education…

Just who are "administrators" in UK higher education? The definition of administrators is explored and it is argued that it has changed to become looser. Administrative roles are now much more diverse. Technological changes have created new roles and opportunities with progression opportunities for some staff. The statistical evidence…

The English Funding Council has announced its intention to invite tenders for the contract currently held by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA), and the Australian government is promoting a Bill to curb the activities of the equivalent body, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency. This article compares the two…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

The accountants Grant Thornton (GT) do a welcome and nice piece of pro bono work by analysing the annual accounts of the UK's 160 (sic) HEIs and compiling a report on "The Financial Health of the Higher Education Sector"--this year entitled "The calm before the storm"! GT duly note that, if the US Department of Education's "ratio-based…