Women remain outsiders in university leadership and management. The literature indicates that discipline base, career mobility, experience outside academia, selection processes, and gender stereotyping may impact on women becoming senior managers. This article reports on research with current and former Vice-Chancellors, senior managers, and…

As the borders between higher education systems continue to erode and competition for qualified students increases, many institutions are exploring variable pricing options, known in the USA as "tuition discounting." The goal of tuition discounting is to use institutional funds to attract and retain desired students while maximizing net revenue to…

Internationally, demands for greater certainty over the quality of higher education are multiplying. This article argues that convention theory offers insights for considering quality in higher education in an increasingly market-based system. Examples from the Australian higher education system are used to show how quality conventions can be…

This paper presents a model for assessing the impact of interaction with faculty on student outcomes. Based on analyses of 1,500 freshman responses to Your First College Year survey, the study identified significant relationships between interaction with faculty and perceived growth in knowledge (r = 0.29, p less than or equal to 0.001); academic…

As a consequence of the suspension of a system of yearly evaluations of individual courses with student questionnaires, the University of Leuven organised a broad consultation of the academic community focussing on what they expect from a system based on student feedback. The study revealed that this community attaches great importance to a clear…

There is an ongoing debate both in the United States and Europe about the need to develop a broader view of scholarship and the different activities connected with it, including "service to the community". This empirical study reveals that researchers who are engaged in collaboration with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) encounter many…

The five Nordic countries and their respective quality assurance agencies have convened annually for over a decade to exchange experiences and discuss issues concerning quality assurance in higher education. In recent years this has resulted in a regional network for the quality assurance agencies (NOQA). During this period, methodological issues…

One of the most vehemently discussed questions in the process of restructuring traditional long study programmes according to the Bachelor/Master model is how to develop first cycle curricula and degrees which are a meaningful preparation for a following Master programme as well as for the labour market--as stressed in the Bologna Declaration. It…

With the unprecedented expansion of access to higher education internationally, today's students enter university with a broader range of expectations, motivations and support networks than their predecessors. One of the primary determinants of student success is their ability to assimilate into the academic culture, which includes aligning their…

In 2004 the Finnish Universities Act was amended to include a third strand as an essential part of research and teaching. This paper focuses on relationship building to explore whether this approach would be helpful in developing university-community relationships and educational public relations. By means of a dialogic community relations model…

This article explores the principal methods in which higher education careers services around the world are addressing the needs of an increasing proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. This study is based on data drawn from focus groups with students and interviews with key personnel and employers. The research demonstrates that…

Attention shifted in recent years from design and implementation to use and usefulness of quality assurance. Scientific studies focus increasingly on quality assurance's impact on curricula and individual teachers. Which factors influence follow-up activities and what is their relation to improvement of education? One factor that we single out is…

This article reviews the literature on the experiences of working-class students at different stages of the student life cycle. It examines the factors influencing their participation rates in higher education (HE), their ability to adapt to university life, and their success in the graduate labour market. The article argues that without radical…

Set in a context of increasing competition and changing dimensions of internationalisation, the paper offers an analysis of one institution's approach to changing its strategy and practice in the light of both the external context and the internal drivers to internationalise. The research methodology was based on OECD/IMHE's Internationalisation…

This paper sets out the background and key findings from a number of research projects about diversity and equality at a UK university. The works were commissioned as a result of changes in legislation as well as a genuine concern to investigate the issues of inequity and institutional racism within the university. The paper explores the…