In this commentary, author John Saltmarsh reflects on "Journal of Public Service and Outreach" article "Ensuring the quality of outreach: The critical role of evaluating individual and collective initiatives and performance," written by Ernest A. Lynton and reprinted in this 20th anniversary issue of "Journal of Higher…

India desperately needs good governance in colleges and universities so as to create a culture of innovation, and entrepreneurship so as to become and remain competitive in world market. Poor governance and poor leadership is observed to be the root cause for all ills in university education. Indian students and professors are brilliant but…

The article aims at improving the quality of higher and technical education in India to world class standard. Institutions in knowledge economy are reckoned to be the drivers of development. Indian institutions are making efforts, investing money, appointing professors, students are studying hard but due to the lack of marketing strategy, their…

This account of practice considers action learning within an accredited leadership course at a post-1992 university. It outlines a more individualistic approach than that envisioned by Reg Revans and questions how this technique, inherited from a Staff Development colleague, could potentially be improved.

The recent economic downturn has had a serious effect on public higher education, and problems will linger for some years hence. The impact of this disinvestment has been particularly severe for the University of California. The dramatic decrease in state funding has necessitated large relative increases in education and registration fees for our…

It has been exactly twenty years since the term "university rankings" came into being in China, and people have become relatively rational about the process, after an impetuous beginning. In a sense, the appearance of university rankings in China indicates the birth of something new, or the beginning of social voices in higher education…

Public cuts in financial support have hurt public colleges and students. The author argues that the fault lies in part with the colleges themselves. Many public-university administrators are incapable of convincing political and business leaders of the need for financial support because they are no longer fully convinced themselves. They have…

Systems designed to ensure that teaching and student learning are of a suitable quality are a feature of universities globally. Quality assurance systems are central to attempts to internationalise higher education, motivated in part by a concern for greater global equality. Yet, if such systems incorporate comparisons, the tendency is to reflect…

There has been, and remains, much criticism of the external monitoring of the quality of universities' learning and teaching by bodies such as the QAA largely on the grounds that it is essentially a bureaucratic collection of data that does little, if anything, to help in improving or enhancing the learning and teaching. In this article, while…

Discusses competition and profit in higher education and the effect of the profit motive on educational quality. Describes the impact of the lucrative executive education field, extension education, the Internet, and the hidden curriculum of advertising and corporate dollars in universities. (SK)

Discusses issues in the quality assessment of extension programs, including clarifying extension's mission, defining "university level," strengthening institutional links, maintaining instructional quality, and dealing with unprepared students. (SK)

Presents an interview with "U.S. News & World Report" editors explaining how their annual undergraduate rankings work, what they measure, and how an institution can do better. (EV)

Examines issues of academic ethics and educational quality, especially the ways in which they conflict with pragmatic considerations in continuing education. Discusses increasing fragmentation and lack of unity within the academic community. (SK)

Presents an open letter addressed to Morton B. Zuckerman of "U.S. News & World Report" concerning the magazine's survey/article "America's Best Colleges" which received a great deal of public attention. Criticizes the survey for failing to help families make better choices among institutions and failing to encourage colleges to do a better job for…

Explains the impossibility of community colleges acquiring stature based on nearby four-year institutions' perceptions of them. Describes characteristics that contribute to excellence in community colleges (e.g, clarity about purposes, and action plans tied to purposes, goals, and short-term objectives). Offers a rationale for focusing on…