A key policy challenge in establishing new universities is the potential risk of lower academic standards and mission drift, which can affect policy effectiveness and outcomes. While regulation and funding tend to be preferred policy instruments for securing control of higher education expansion and achieving policy objectives, this article…

The academic benchmarking process is broadly employed by private secondary education providers and educational stakeholders in Tanzania to examine the benefits and drawbacks of service delivery. The study explored the use of academic benchmarking in providing quality education in Tanzanian secondary schools. Employing a cross-sectional research…

So-called 'world-class universities' emerged on the global higher education scene following the Second World War. Their development in countries around the world, particularly since the early 2000s, has evolved into an international norm, although not without debate and contestation. This paper applies Constructivist theory to reflect on how local…

This article explores the link between modes of funding, governance and performance in higher education with the help of a case study involving three engineering colleges in West Bengal, India. It examines the major factors driving performances in the selected higher education institutions. It explains how the ability to adopt and implement…

University rankings have a growing impact on how people view the academic excellence of higher education. The complicated relationship between rankings and academic excellence is explored in this essay along with how it may affect higher education policy and practice. The importance of rankings and their influence on institutional decision-making…

This paper complements and extends the literature analysing the relationship of global rankings on universities' strategies, missions, structures, and functions. Specifically, it examines the extent to which global rankings have influenced development strategies of one Chilean university through administrator's perception and changes in the…

Purpose: This paper aims to propose a performance measurement system to evaluate the key aspects of entrepreneurial activities in Brazilian universities. Design/methodology/approach: This study was developed in two phases. Both phases consisted of a survey sent to Brazilian universities (public, private and not-for-profit) whose technology…

To make their mandate more efficient, universities have to either offer services to students either produce innovation and scientific research. From this point of view it is difficult for universities to focus their attention on economic and financial performance. Instead, it is much more relevant for the university to find models of governance…

This paper synthesizes the characteristics of university rankings that cause pressure or 'harassment' on universities and analyses possible strategies for action that can be carried out in the real context of the three main university rankings (QS, THE, ARWU), suggesting the consequences for the so-called world-class universities and others (which…

This paper elaborates on recent trends in Japanese higher education partnerships through three cases of collaboration between Japanese universities and higher education institutions in China, Mongolia, and the Southeast Asia (hereinafter referred to as ASEAN). Our analysis shows that partnerships were shaped by both top-down government policies…

This article explores the factors affecting the content of universities' mission statements. We conceptualize missions as identity narratives, a type of symbolic representation of an organization. Based on the literature on organizational identity we argue that universities need to address two major challenges when crafting their mission…

This study examined how hierarchical positions within the global field of higher education influence the selection of strategic priorities by universities in different parts of the world. The study particularly focused on universities' commitment to third missions as reflected in their strategic plans and compared to their global rankings. The…

This paper presents an analysis of strategic management systems of higher education institutions (HEIs) by identifying policy and strategic priorities and monitoring their implementation. The strategic priorities are contextualized within four scenarios that structure the mission and orientation of HEIs. The methodology is based on data collected…

Universities have become major actors on the global stage. Yet, as they strive to be "world-class," institutions of higher education are shifting away from their core missions of cultivating democratic citizenship, fostering critical thinking, and safeguarding academic freedom. In the contest to raise their national and global profiles,…

A singular vision has propelled higher education and ministries of education in Asia since the new millennium. It is a vision launched by the once rising tide of a globalized world order that spilled into higher education: in order to be competitive on the world scene, each Asian country had to build "World Class Universities," which…