This study evaluates the influence of ranking reports on university brands' credibility and perceived differentiation. Signaling theory is applied to link ranking with credibility and perceived differentiation. An experimental approach was used to collect data and to test the hypothesis. Data was collected from 328 participants in the UK regarding…

Driven by a shifting landscape and increased competition for students, institutions of higher education (IHE) are working to differentiate themselves to consumers in order to attract new students. These differentiation efforts have increasingly focused on the adult, non-traditional student demographic. As IHEs strive to include claims of quality…

The literature of brand management in higher education lacks significant research in two key areas: 1) theoretical models of the evaluation of brand equity and its impacts on supportive behaviors, and 2) a focus on alumni as a critical stakeholder group to higher education institutions. The new model of alumni-perceived higher education brand…

Issues of the phenomenon of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) and its integration into current online and campus education to enhance higher education quality in universities is gaining importance. This large scale form of online education has the potential to escalate the reputations of universities and increase the global access to their…

Distance education institutions, students and staff have often had to overcome negative perceptions about the overall quality of their programmes and qualifications. In this paper, we identify four of the major challenges cited as undermining the credibility and effectiveness of open, distance and e-learning (ODeL): the quality of teaching,…

Using ideological analysis as a frame, researchers analyzed institutionally created commercials (PSAs) that appeared in 28 U.S. college football bowl games over a seven-year period (2003-2009) to better understand the universities' brands as represented in these advertisements. They found many common elements such as showing traditional…

While much research on quality assurance in higher education has centred on issues related to the impact on teaching and learning and academic staff, there is a significant gap in the area of quality assurance and academic governance. Within Australia the roles of university academic boards (also known as academic senates or faculty senates) have…

Blogs serve multiple purposes, resulting in several types of blogs that vary greatly in terms of quality and content. It is important to evaluate the quality of blogs, which requires appropriate evaluation criteria. Unfortunately, there are minimal studies on framework and the specific criteria and indicators for evaluating the quality of blogs.…

The arrival of university ranking has changed the landscape of higher education all over the world and is likely to continue to influence further development nationally and internationally. This article provides an overview of rankings systems in which Australian universities feature and it goes on further to discuss the impact ranking systems…

IMHE-Info is the newsletter published by the Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) programme. This issue includes: (1) How Do Rankings Impact on Higher Education?; and (2) OECD International Assessment of Higher Education Outcomes. IMHE News, publications of interest and upcoming events are included.