Competition and diversity in higher education: an empirical approach to specialization patterns of Portuguese institutions

The expansion of higher education systems has often been associated with the need for increasing diversification, namely at the program level, based on the pressures to adapt more general programmes to a more diverse student population and multiple regional, social, and economic needs. This paper explores empirically the question of programme diversity by drawing on the Portuguese higher education’ experience, which presented massive expansion during the last decades and significant institutional competition in recent years. The study provides a longitudinal approach and analyzes in detail the evolution of diversification and specialization of the public and private sectors, as well as the university and polytechnic subsectors. The analysis aims at helping to illustrate the relevance of analysing diversity from an empirical point of view and its contribution to our understanding of the complex relationships between competition and diversity in contemporary higher education.     

An empirical analysis of the performance of Vietnamese higher education institutions

This article provides an analysis of the academic performance of higher education institutions (HEIs) in Vietnam with 50 universities and 50 colleges in 2011/12. The two-stage semiparametric data envelopment analysis is used to estimate the efficiency of HEIs and investigate the effects of various factors on their performance. The findings reveal that HEIs in the surveyed sample show that there are still potential avenues to improve their existing performance. There appears to be a difference in the efficiencies of public and private HEIs in the reported year. It is noted that the inefficiency of HEIs are not entirely a result of managerial performance, but also influenced by other factors such as location, age and the contribution of tuition fees. Our results are expected to provide more understanding of the operational efficiency of HEIs for educational managers and policymakers to find possible solutions to improve the performance of Vietnamese higher education.     

Exploring the dynamics of cultures of learning in internationalised higher education

ABSTRACT

One of the main drivers of internationalisation in higher education (HE) is the intention to facilitate the development of intercultural competence (IC) among students and staff. However, previous research shows that higher levels of IC are not automatically achieved by participating in internationalised educational settings. Drawing on the results from a bi- and trilateral collaborative project, we combine cultures of learning and small culture approaches to analyse how participants’ previous educational experience may have influenced the learning process in internationalised HE classrooms. This article argues the necessity of a non-essentialist view of teaching and learning practices in internationalised classrooms. Our analysis demonstrates how academic practices and classroom norms are (re)negotiated in these new contexts, forming new evolving ‘small’ cultures of learning. The role reciprocity plays in working towards cultural synergy in internationalised HE is also addressed. Striving towards equality in power distribution proves to be significant in achieving cultural synergy.     

Dropouts from higher education: Toward an empirical model

Longitudinal data gathered from all 683 first-year students in the College of the University of Chicago in 1965 are used to test the utility of a theoretical model in explaining the undergraduate dropout process. The model as operationalized represents a synthesis and extension of concepts pertinent to balance theory, Durkheim's theory of suicide, and recent work on college dropouts. It regards the decision to leave a particular social system as the result of a complex social process that includes family and previous educational background, academic potential, normative congruence, friendship support, intellectual development, grade performance, social integration, satisfaction, and institutional commitment. Multiple regression analysis is used to assess the independent contribution of each of these factors in the explanation of important outcomes in this process. Although social integration, satisfaction, and institutional commitment can be explained primarily on the basis of the intrinsic rewards associated with interpersonal relationships and intellectual development, the short-run dropout decision is largely influenced by extrinsic performance criteria among the men but less so for the women. Over a four-year period, however, formal academic performance is clearly the dominant factor in accounting for attrition among both sexes. The implications of these findings for institutional policies are discussed.

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Résumé Les données recueillies sur une certaine période de temps à partir des 683 étudiants de première année au Collège de l'Université de Chicago en 1965, servent à vérifier l'utilité d'un modèle théorique pour expliquer la raison de l'abandon des études chez les étudiants non encore diplômés. Tel qu'il est employé, le modèle représente une synthèse et un prolongement des concepts se rapportant à la théorie de l'équilibre, la théorie du suicide de Durkheim et à une étude récente sur les étudiants démissionnaires au niveau universitaire. Il concerne la décision de s'affranchir d'un système social particulier, cette décision étant l'aboutissement d'une évolution sociale et complexe qui implique la famille et les études faites antérieurement, les possibilités intellectuelles, la conformité normative, le soutien de l'amitié, le développement intellectuel, les résultats scolaires, l'intégration sociale, la satisfaction et l'engagement institutionnel. On a recours à l'analyse de variables multipls pour évaluer dans quelles mesures chaque facteur intervient dans l'explication des issues importantes de cette évolution. Bien que l'intégration sociale, la satisfaction et l'engagement institutionnel puissent être expliqués principalement à partir des satisfactions intrinsèques retirées des rapports humains et des progrès intellectuels, la décision rapide d'abandonner les études est considérablement influencée par les critères d'accomplissement extrinsèques chez les hommes et à un degré moindre chez les femmes. Cependant, en quatre ans, les résultats scolaires officiels constituent certainement le facteur dominant expliquant l'écrasement subi par les deux sexes. On étudie les implications de ces découvertes relativement aux lignes de conduite à adopter par les étabolissements d'enseignement.

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OISE

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The author wishes to acknowledge the able assistance of Miss Rondo Wood in the preparation and analysis of the data presented in this paper.     

Student plagiarism in higher education in Vietnam: an empirical study

This paper assesses and compares the prevalence of plagiarism across different student and assignment characteristics at a university in Vietnam, using the similarity index reported by the text-matching software Turnitin as a proxy measure of plagiarism on a sample of 681 student papers. The findings present a level of match higher than reported in earlier studies at universities outside of Vietnam, with an average similarity index of 29.06%. Controlling for the gender and major of the students, the extent of plagiarism is implied to be negatively correlated with the students’ academic performances and with the likelihood of being caught, and positively correlated with the length of the assignments. Thus, this study, relying on actual text-matching data rather than self-reported surveys, provides the first empirical test of two theoretical plagiarism models proposed in the literature. The explanatory factors confirmed by this study illustrate the potential benefits of the use of software tools to detect plagiarism and can help refine academic integrity policy formulations for universities.     

An investigation into the role of the controller in institutions of higher education

The purpose of this study was to investigate the controller's perception of his role in institutions of higher education and whether that perception differs from that of top academic administrators. A modified Delphi technique was used to gather and refine data. Despite some minor disagreements, it was shown that there is general agreement as to the proper role of the controller in institutions of higher education.     

Internationalising higher education: comparing the challenges of different higher education institutions in Malaysia

Internationalisation of higher education in Malaysia is seen as a means for improving and empowering higher education so that the higher education institutions in the country can become comparable to the best in the world. While the government has spelt out the directions as well as some of the targets for internationalisation, higher education institutions in the country have been internationalising for different reasons and with different levels of priority and intensity. Public universities, especially the older ones, have been engaged in internationalisation as part of their academic growth and development. Concurrently, a variety of private institutions of higher learning has evolved since the opening up of private higher education from the 1980s. These include private universities that have been established by large corporations, smaller private colleges that have been elevated to the status of degree-conferring institutions as well as branch campuses of foreign universities. The objective of this paper is to examine the different concepts and challenges of internationalisation faced by the different types of higher education institutions in the country, using the case study approach. It was found that in each of these cases, the concept of internationalisation and the challenges faced are different, although funding is raised as a problem in three of the four cases. These different challenges imply that current policies may have to be fine-tuned in order to address the different needs of these institutions in their respective efforts to internationalise.     

A financial perspective: categories of higher education institutions

From a financial perspective, the criteria for category distinction of higher education institutions should be based on the ownership of institution property and income for recurrent expenditure. The development of modern higher education witnessed the period wherein higher education institutions have both private property and private payment for recurrent expenditure. The development also saw the period wherein all the institution properties were owned by the state and all the recurrent expenditure were paid by the government. Accordingly, universities could be divided into two categories of “public” and “private” institutions until the 1970s. However, things have been changing greatly over the past 20 years. Property ownership and payment for recurrent expenditure have been separated. The public institutions appeal to more and more individuals sharing recurrent expenditure, while private institutions ask for more and more public financial support. Therefore, some financially mixed institutions came into being and “three categories with sub-groups” has become a new phenomenon. __________ Translated from Peking University Education Review, 2004 (2)     

我国普通高校的分类标准与分类管理

借鉴美国卡内基教学促进基金会的大学分类体系,并根据我国实际,可采用不同层次的学生数量、最高层次学生与本科生的比例、主要科研成果产出和政府资助的研究经费四个指标,建立我国普通高校的分类标准。     

高校网络英语教育学生情况调查与分析

本文基于对中国八所开办英语专业学历学位教育的高校网络教育学院261名学生的问卷调研,对网络教育英语专业学生的个人情况、以往学习经历、电脑和网络技能以及网络学习状况等信息进行了总结和分析,并提出这一调研结果对网络教育在资源开发、助学服务和课程考核三个层面所带来的思考.     

Transfer students in institutions of higher education

The primary purpose of this study is to describe the extent of college transfers over two years since initial matriculation and to examine differences in background characteristics between transfers and nontransfers (i.e., persisters, withdrawals, and graduates). Data involved a national probability sample of the 1972 entering class. Major findings include the following: 25% of the 2-year college students transferred to a 4-year institution, and 16% of 4-year college students moved to another 4-year institution. This later group of students tended to hold higher socioeconomic status and college grades but lower ability test scores than persisters. Implications of the findings are also discussed.     

论高等学校定位

高等学校定位 ,包括高等学校在整个社会大系统中的定位 ,一所学校在整个高等教育系统中的定位 ,学校内部各要素在学校发展中的定位三个层面。当前应重点研究的是高等学校在高等教育系统中的定位 ,其实质是高等教育系统的分层。在对高等学校进行定位时 ,应综合考虑社会发展的需求、相关学校的状况以及自身具备的优势等各方面的因素 ,展其所长 ,要有大视野、大智慧和大手笔     

Acceptance of mobile technologies and M-learning by university students: An empirical investigation in higher education

Education and Information Technologies - Mobile-learning (M-learning) apps have grown in popularity and demand in recent years and have become a typical occurrence in modern educational systems,...     

高校德育与创新素质教育

本文分析了高校德育在大学生创新素质教育中的导向、激励、启发、人格内化、保障服务等功能 ,简介了我校德育推进大学生创新素质教育的实践。