Blog

For more than a decade we have been talking about the key issue for both undergraduate education and research - how do we sustainably fund undergraduate education? A solution will not come easy. It requires leadership. 

Quality is an increasingly important concept and virtue for higher education, and for governments. The UK government has introduced the Teaching Excellence Framework. Will it work?

Higher education has long argued that it is a public good because of its contribution to societal goals. These assumptions are coming under growing public scrutiny as universities seek to pursue their own agenda, at home and increasingly internationally. This report looks at some of the issues. 

As questions are asked about the relevance and value of our public institutions, the public is also asking whether higher education is serving its interests. Those interests inevitably vary depending upon who is asked – students, parents, employers, politicians, etc. There is no single blueprint. But there is the necessity for higher education institutions to learn from each other and by working together to develop frameworks for institutional leadership and management that recognise the importance of civic engagement and institutionalise this activity into the academic structure and professional support mechanisms of the university.

Universities around the world, many more than will ever publicly admit it, are currently obsessed with gaining status in one or more national or global ranking of universities. They should quit now. 
Although some may succeed in becoming ranked or may improve their numerical scores marginally, it is almost never worth either the resources required or the substantial changes in mission or academic programmes necessary.

Rankings have acquired legitimacy because their methodology appears statistically rigorous and independent. They also appear to be the only way to compare performance and quality internationally. But, rather than using rankings, governments and HEIs should focus on benchmarking – such as that promoted by ACU. This uses a sophisticated combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to embrace and embed the full spectrum of teaching/learning, research/discovery and innovation/engagement. 

International mobility is a global phenomenon, and growing. Once seen primarily as cultural exchange, internationalisation is now recognised as essential for strengthening the interconnectivity of higher education institutions, and countries, in an increasingly borderless and interdependent world. However, not all students are willing or able to spend time abroad. Strengthening and embedding internationalisation “at home” and “on campus” is therefore more vital than ever. 

Universities need to rethink what it means to be a public institution in the 21st century, in part because the publics which support higher education through taxation need to believe that they are getting value. But also, higher education needs to make itself relevant to the global challenges that threaten the future of humankind. This reformulation of an old idea, the civic university, challenges us to ensure that through teaching, research and engagement, universities place themselves at the centre of the local-regional-global nexus, working multi-laterally and multi-dimensionally, to make a difference.