Lean Engineering can be used in the higher education sector to improve administrative processes. This study focused on the unit that delivers part-time programmes. Staff from this unit and from the faculty registries were interviewed to identify which processes were being used. A workshop used five Lean tools to establish which were most useful.…

This study characterises the ombuds office in higher education as an innovative practice of handling employee, staff, and student grievances. Though ombuds offices have had a place on many higher education campuses for some time, their function has evolved in response to a changing environment. Drawing on Open-Systems theory, this study views the…

There is a wide-spread perception that universities reorganise their academic units frequently, although there is little beyond anecdote to support this. Similarly, the literature contains some speculation about what affects the success of such efforts, but there is almost no data to support various views. This study assesses the perceptions of…

The focus of this paper is to promote the awareness of higher-education administration and faculty of the opportunities presented by developing and implementing lean operational models in their institutions. The paper provides a brief account of the author's observations of small liberal arts colleges that are operating in non-efficient models. It…

A multitude of forces are driving Canadian universities, as well as many other institutions across the country, to enhance equity, diversity, and inclusion ('EDI'). All organisations instinctively turn to educational initiatives to instil and promote EDI. The value of EDI education, notably training about unconscious bias and how to mitigate its…

In Europe and beyond, managerialism triggered the rise of "boardism" as a distinctive governance praxis in higher education, involving both normative assumptions and technical and practical elements. In this paper, we examine to what extent strategizing processes in Portuguese higher education institutions reflect the reconfiguration of…

Over a number of years, universities have needed to become more adept at managing change as internal and external factors affect their longer term financial sustainability. That sustainability is, for many institutions, closely linked to how straightforward (or otherwise) it is to recruit student numbers of the right quality from often diverse…

This paper argues that higher education managers continually confront the pervasive and corrosive impact of workplace bullying, which appears culturally resilient despite extensive policy regimes. This paper provides a framework for strategic culture change, to reduce the prevalence of bullying behaviour within higher education. While the adverse…

In this research informed perspective, I discuss some of the barriers students face during progression to higher education. A crucial role can be played by higher education institutions (HEIs) and other public bodies. I discuss some of the measures taken and critically evaluate these to show how these can be improved. In the absence of a…

It is becoming increasingly important to understand multi-campus arrangements in the rapidly changing higher education environment. Some attention has been given to the academic perspectives of such arrangements; however, there is limited published work relating to administrative and professional services. Different approaches are evident and…

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…

This case study gives an analytical account of institutional development in induction provision. Driven by student experience concerns, a London post-1992 University set up an "enhanced induction project" to provide a more integrated, personalised approach through more coordinated processes. In a large, diverse context, university-wide…

In this paper, the author draws upon his interest, as a psychotherapist, in working with change at a psychological and individual level, and on his experience of the radical changes currently taking place in higher education, specifically the University where he manages several services, including a Counselling Service. Through leading and…

As the author's contribution to a series marking the Golden Jubilee of the Association of University Administrators, he reflects on changes in quality assurance over the past twenty years and speculates on what the future may hold for quality as the association moves into a new and very different competitive regime. He begins by discussing the…

In a rapidly changing external environment, for many universities, restructuring of the academic organisation is the most important leadership challenge. In this article, the author provides an analysis of academic restructuring in UK universities. Using the "Commonwealth Universities Yearbook", he looked at the changes in academic…