This study used multiple streams framework to analyse the motivation of reform from 211 Project and 985 Project to the Double-first-class Plan in China. Results indicate that all the three streams (problem stream, policy stream, and political stream), opening of policy window and policy entrepreneurs' effort played important roles in promoting the…

Using data from 27 European countries in the academic years 2005/06, 2010/11, and 2015/16, we investigate the association between student funding policies and student labour during term time -- a phenomenon often seen as detrimental for higher education outcomes. Income substitution effects between entitlements to different types of financial aid…

It is a general understanding that higher education has characteristics of an "experience good" because the quality cannot be determined before receiving the service, which induces information asymmetry. In response to reducing the asymmetry, external assessment tools like international accreditations have emerged in higher education,…

Graduate outcomes are becoming increasingly prominent within higher education (HE) policy, driven by national governments keen to demonstrate 'value for money'. The majority of HE policy in this area uses narrow economic metrics, such as employment status and salary, often derived from national surveys of graduates. This paper uses critical…

Policy implementation is crucial because if the policy is not implemented as planned, the policy objectives will not be achieved, and the whole policymaking process can be considered a total waste of time, energy, and resources. Regarding the essential nature of policy implementation, this study was focused on exploring factors hindering the…

This study describes a key feature of modern, democratic policy making, namely the relation between stakeholder input and policy output. In the Nordic countries, there are long traditions for and democratic values attached to the dialogue between the government and civil society when developing policies for the educational sector. The case…

The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is based on a quantitative and accumulative understanding of time, which increasingly frames academic practices and notions of learning in higher education (HE). By example of a recent Danish policy reform, the article explores the connections between the ECTS, new institutional…

Any institutional policy will only be a paper tiger unless the intended recipients of the policy know and understand it. Student anti-bullying policies at universities in Australia have been researched to determine the quality and usability of the content, but research is lacking in how students understand and use these policies. Bullying amongst…

This study synthesized the effect of performance-based funding (hereafter, PBF) through multi-stages of a systematic literature review based on 36 articles. In addition, this study analyzes how policy design relates to the effectiveness of PBF in individual states. Similar to other meta-analyses, this study found that PBF policy is not effective…

This study presents a corpus analysis of academic integrity policies from Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) worldwide, exploring how they address the issues posed by technological threats, such as Automated Paraphrasing Tools and generative-artificial intelligence tools, such as ChatGPT. The analysis of 142 policies conducted in November and…

Greater participation in higher education and the improvement in completion rates are on the agenda in most European countries. At the same time, higher education has been through a range of reforms (e.g. the Bologna process) making higher education systems more similar, even though regime-inherent differences still exist. With the backdrop of…

This article investigates how policy learning could be used as an analytical tool for studying the development process of Bologna study cycles (Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate's or Ph.D.) in the Ukrainian higher education context. The development of the Bologna study cycles in Ukraine is associated with the fact that Ukraine joined the Bologna…

This article analyzes the China Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) education policy using a critical policy discourse approach. At the textual level, this paper focuses on policy framing by identifying how diagnostic (problem definition), prognostic (solutions), and motivational (rationales) framings are described in two foundational BRI education…

Policy experimentation (PE) has been regarded as an integral element in defining China's reform capability. However, few studies have investigated the processes of PE in China's education reforms, as well as the policy conditions required for PE's successful initiation, implementation, and inclusion into the policy process. Through an empirically…

The University Enrollment Quota Policy in China determines the proportion of Chinese University Entrance Exam (known colloquially in China as the Gaokao) takers in each province that is admitted to the country's universities each year. This policy strongly favors Gaokao takers from just eight provinces, while those from the other 23 provinces have…