University rankings have gained prominence in tandem with the global race towards excellence and as part of the growing expectation of rational, scientific evaluation of performance across a range of institutional sectors and human activity. While their omnipresence is acknowledged, empirically we know less about whether and how rankings matter in…

Charities are facing a crisis in recruiting board trustees. Additionally, boards have been criticised for lacking diversity and being unrepresentative of society. The purpose of this paper is to propose a solution to the problem of trustee recruitment, by considering university business students as trustees. Through an analysis of advertised…

Purpose: Universities in the United Kingdom, like their counterparts globally, are confronting difficulties associated with the well-being of students. The origins of these challenges are complex, exacerbated by various global events. In response, universities are trying to address these growing concerns and the escalating need for student…

The members of the governing boards of schools, colleges which provide vocational education and training, and universities in the UK have traditionally been volunteers. In some contexts, however, for example, colleges in Northern Ireland, governors are now paid. Whether volunteer governors in other or all settings should be remunerated is the…

Recruitment is one of the main strategic tools for universities, which aim to hire the best possible candidates for their academic positions. However, not every institution can hire whom they perceive as the best. Our paper investigates what are perceived to be the most pressing hindrances to attracting the best researchers. We focus on national…

Student academic representation is a staple feature in UK and international higher education. It provides a vital quality function whereby students, who are elected representatives of their programme, canvas the opinions of peers to inform quality assurance processes. In the UK, there is increasing regulatory pressure for universities and student…

This paper argues that a data-driven, niche-focused approach to strategy development will assist Higher Education Institutions to direct their financial resources to greater effect by providing a more tailored service to students, therefore, increasing student satisfaction and creating brand loyalty. This approach will give institutions greater…

Brexit raised the question of whether the UK will continue to attract internationals. Here the focus is on academic staff - a critical component of the "War for Talents" discourse and current geopolitics in the field. Despite a clear trend of loss of EU internationals, at least among western EU countries, the UK more than compensates for…

The "Spring 2024 Snapshot on International Educational Exchange" continues the commitment of the Institute of International Education (IIE) to map the current state of international educational exchange to and from the United States. The report presents data from 662 U.S. higher education institutions in two sections: (1) current trends…

Recent events show a government in constant changes of mind about how to control implementation of frequently changing policies, and the inefficiencies and inequalities that result from capitalistic approaches to public service functions. These same factors feature within higher education (HE), demonstrating that the values, culture, decision…

Purpose: This paper focusses on demonstrating the role of social media engagement and considering emotional intelligence (hereafter EI) as a critical concept to successful employment, mainly when individuals fail to reach the desired employment despite "meeting" the role requirements. Design/methodology/approach: The authors adopted a…

Post-pandemic, there is a growing recognition that higher education needs to take a more proactive role in addressing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals -- the 17 goals for 2030 that aim to balance global economic development with the need to tackle climate change and protect our natural ecosystems. This change of focus has profound…

The academic professoriate is a determinant of successful higher education systems. Yet, recently, worsening conditions of employment, deteriorating salaries, and threats to job security have made the academic profession less attractive, especially to young scholars, in several countries. This paper investigates the salaries as well as the…

This paper examines the extent to which Neoliberalism features in undergraduate prospectuses of UK universities, using Michel Foucault's lectures at the Collège de France, and subsequent writers on Neoliberalism, as an analytical lens. Prospectuses convey an impression of the outcomes students might gain; the specific research question is, 'To…

Purpose: In an uncertain and competitive higher educational landscape, expedient management of professional capital could increase knowledge capital by ensuring the recruitment and retention of experienced and highly qualified academic staff. In this paper, a case study of a private university aims to evaluate the talent management of academic…