Assessing institutional performance in higher education: a managerial perspective

Although many institutions are expending considerable effort in attempts to assess institutional performance and to utilize the results in improving performance, there are many impediments to the success of these endeavours. These include conceptual problems with the notion of institutional performance, inadequacies in the current measurement techniques and judgement procedures, and the mis-match between the results produced and management's information requirements. Institutional management in higher education has unique characteristics which give rise to particular information needs. The existing approaches to institutional evaluation vary in their ability to provide information meeting management's requirements.     

英国高等教育问责制及其启示

问责制是政府部门及社会机构或个人监督公立高校资源使用情况和效果的一项重要手段,它在英国高等教育管理体制中发挥着重要作用。在“以顾客为中心”的时代,高等学校需要回应各种各样的利益相关者的问责要求。然而,由于不同的利益相关者所提出的利益诉求不同,对各种不同的要求作出回应也给高校带来了不必要的负担。为了解决这一难题,英格兰高等教育基金委员会提出了有效问责的四个原则,并在实践中取得了良好的效果。     

The working classes and higher education: Meritocratic fallacies of upward mobility in the United Kingdom

The uniformly positive view of social mobility in the United Kingdom overlooks the difficulties working‐class young people have in reconciling a working‐class background with the middle‐class environments of the university and the professional labour market. But even more hidden are the subtle processes of exclusion and exclusivity that permeate social life in, particularly, the elite universities. Here, working‐class students' marginalisation in relation to advantageous social activities and networks, compromises their chances of later success in the labour market. This paper scrutinises working‐class students' experiences of elite higher education through the lens of Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, capitals and field. Drawing on a research project on working‐class young people who gain entry to elite universities it analyses the disjunctures between working‐class habitus and the field of elite higher education, focusing on the emotional and social consequences for working‐class students. The findings raise concerns—largely unexplored in existing research—about working‐class reception in elite fields. The paper concludes with a call to look beyond the attitudes and actions of working‐class students to those of their upper‐ and middle‐class peers, and the culture and ethos of the elite universities.     

The internationalisation of higher education provision in the United Kingdom: Patterns and relationships between onshore and offshore overseas student enrolment

This is the third of three articles which review recent developments concerning the internationalisation of higher education provision in the United Kingdom. The first two articles focused exclusively on offshore provision (i.e. transnational education) (see Bennell, 2019a; Bennell, 2019b). In this article, key patterns and possible inter-relationships between the numbers of onshore and offshore overseas students studying at British universities are examined. The three main conclusions are (i) the most dominant pattern is the inverse relationship between the status and ranking of a university and the relative importance of offshore enrolments; (ii) direct substitution effects between the two forms of provision are generally quite limited; and (iii) articulation and progression offshore enrolment is likely to be the only significant complementary relationship with onshore provision.     

高等教育质量研究——管理的视角

质量是评价高等教育水平的尺度,管理是维持和改进高等教育质量的方法,质量管理代表了人们通过管理提升高等教育质量的努力。作为一个介于主观与客观、抽象与具体之间的特殊范畴,高等教育质量不同于企业领域的产品质量或服务质量,高等教育质量管理也不同于企业领域的全面质量管理。在普遍重视质量的新时代,质量管理绝不只是高等教育管理的时尚,而是高等教育发展的新希望,高等教育领域必须加强对于质量管理的研究,并积极付诸实践。     

英国高等教育的特点及质量评估体系

本文介绍了英国高等院校的布局和高等教育的特点、学制体系和课程多样性,阐述了英国高等教育国际化特征及其生源组成、经费来源和教学科研质量评估体系。     

The Changing Relationship between Institutional Governance and Management in the United Kingdom: A Scottish Higher Education Funding Council Perspective

The changing relationship betweeninstitutional governance and management in the unitedkingdom arising from the second report of thecommittee on standards in public life, the UnitedKingdom National Committee of Inquiry into HigherEducation, and from significant increased governmentexpenditure on higher education is examined. Theframework of accountability within which highereducation institutions operate is related to thesereports. The Scottish Higher Education FundingCouncil's (SHEFC) perspective of the role of thegoverning body is examined and contrasted with bargh,scott and smith's research on governing bodies. BothSHEFC's perspective and Bargh et al.'s researchare also contrasted with, and related to, a number ofNational Audit Office (NAO) reports and also toProfessor sizer's investigation and the nao reportinto allegations of misconduct at glasgow caledonianuniversity (1998). Finally, the paper drawsconclusions on the changing relationship betweengoverning bodies and managements, on the requirementon governing bodies to demonstrate that they areappropriately constituted and operate effectively ascorporate bodies, and on how these are reflected inthe SHEFC code of good practice and good practicebenchmarks.     

The steering of higher education systems: a public management perspective

This article focuses on the steering of higher education systems in the light of political science and public management approaches. It first recalls that an important part of the existing literature on higher education is focused on public policies in terms of reforms and decision-making, while the other part is dedicated to discovering and understanding the policy network or the policy regimes producing these policies. Both perspectives tend to look at higher education as a specific field. By contrast, the authors state that the transformations experienced in higher education are similar to those experienced by other key public services, an can be understood as a redefinition of the role of the nation state in the public generally. They therefore suggest to look at the steering patterns in higher education by investigating the underlying ‘narratives’ of public management reform and their variation or combination from one European nation state to another. Three main narratives of public services reform are discussed: the New Public Management (NPM), the Network governance and the Neo-Weberian narrative. For each narrative, the authors try to predict some ‘signs and symptoms’ that should be observed in higher education. Drawing on this reflection, the authors finally suggest further research perspectives which could be developed.

A methodology to understand student choice of higher education institutions: the case of the United Kingdom

The need to understand how prospective students decide which higher education institution to attend is becoming of paramount importance as the policy context for higher education moves towards market-based systems in many countries. This paper provides a novel methodology by which student preferences between institutions can be assessed, using the United Kingdom as a case study. It applies both revealed preference and discrete choice modelling techniques to estimate the priority attributes and potential trade-offs of students choosing between different UK universities. Whereas the former methodology has the advantage of being based on actual decisions, the latter provides an experimental setting for more nuanced findings to be elicited; the combination of approaches allows for a rich and detailed set of results. This methodology can also be used to ask detailed strategic questions of higher education institutions and further applied to other international markets.     

Sector differences in the role of institutional research in informing decision making and governance in higher education

The intent of the authors in preparing this paper is to compare and contrast the roles of Institutional Research in informing decision making and governance in higher education. Using a case study format the authors will provide an example of a research project conducted within each of the following sectors of United States higher education system: private 4-year not for profit, public major research institutions/private specialized institutions, and a pubic state university system. The first case study from the private sector will feature a mixed methodology study that used data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and student focus groups to explore student engagement at this institution and inform faculty development. The second case study will compare the use of data for decision making from the standpoint of large public research institutions and private specialized institutions. The third case study from a state university system focuses on recent initiatives in the public sector to inform the public, the institutions, the State, and the federal government using data from institutional research offices, student engagement surveys, and student learning assessments shared through consortia and national associations. These examples will be discussed within the structure of decision making and governance in higher education.     

成人高等教育发展:英日经验与借鉴

英、日两国成人高等教育法律制度完善,教育机构健全,入学和学习方式灵活,专业设置市场化取向明显,这为我国成人高等教育的制度建设、机构设置、专业调整,以及师资队伍优化等方面提供了有力的借鉴。     

Modernising governance: The impact on policy and research communities in the United Kingdom

This article is concerned with exploring some of the changes in governance which are taking place at global, national and local levels and which directly affect the work of professionals located in both policy and research communities. These changes are explored at the level of institutional relationships and premised on the view that groups and individuals are positioned differently in relation to policy and research. Professionals bring with them their own personal values and world views of education which exist alongside those of the institution in which they carry out their professional activities, and both individual and institution are located within wider political frameworks and structures. The article focuses on one agenda which is operating within the modernising government, that of 'joined-up policy'. Drawing on my experiences as a researcher working within the policy community, I examine the ways in which this particular agenda is working and what it means in practice for those working in policy and research communities.     

从管理到治理:高校党建引领高等教育治理现代化

历史实践证明,党的建设融入高校管理体系为建构我国社会主义高等教育体制起到奠基作用,为高等教育的健康发展提供了基本保障.长期以来,党的建设为我国高等教育治理现代化开新局、出新策、发新力,走出了一条中国特色高等教育治理的新路,成为高校治理现代化的核心组成部分.面向未来,党建引领高等教育现代化要着眼于人、着手于人,围绕"用好人""管好人""育好人"三个方面开展工作,确保高等教育治理方向正、规矩好、风气清.     

Massifying and internationalising higher education,changing labour markets and social mobility: challenges for education and urban governance

ABSTRACT

The major objective of this introductory article is to set the wider policy context for the present special issue with a particular focus to examine how the massification and internationalisation of higher education has taken place in Asia. More specifically, this introduction highlights the major arguments of articles being adopted in this issue. The contributions have been selected and gathered from presentations in various regional and international research events held in the last few years. Having experienced the growing pressure for enhancing their global competitiveness, governments in Asia are determined to expand their higher education systems to provide more learning opportunities for addressing pressing educational demand, putting additional resources to internationalising student experience and raising the research profile in order to quest for regional education hub and world-class university status. However, the rapid expansion of higher education has indeed created more university graduates than the labour market could fully absorb. It has become problematic when the global market currently experiences economic stagnation. This special issue sets out against such a political economy context to examine issues related to changing labour conditions, youth mobility and challenges for education and urban governance.