The article sets out to address the position of text and discourse analysis in higher education policy research, both from theoretical and methodological points of view. Theoretically, the article presents policy processes as discursive processes, arguing that higher education policies are constructed discursively. Methodologically, the article suggests that when policy documents are used as data, as is often the case in higher education policy research, text analytical tools should be applied more systematically than is the case now. To support these views, the article presents two cases of applications of a textual approach in higher education policy studies.