Amidst the international movement toward establishing more rigorous external quality assurance, the recent quality assurance reform within the Ontario public university sector involves a shift of focus from external to internal quality assurance. This paper explores to what extent organisational learning was occurring at three comprehensive…

International university rankings are a widely used measure of higher education excellence. Since publication rates are an important element in most ranking systems, pushing faculty to increase their publication in top-tier international journals is viewed by many government and university officials as an important strategy for improving ratings…

This article provides new insights into the role of public universities in regional development by looking at their involvement in Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialization (RIS3), a key element of the current European Cohesion Policy. In the latter, stakeholders from the triple or Quadruple Helix (public, private, research and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the extent and the quality of student involvement in the quality assurance process (QAP) in Egyptian higher education institutions (HEIs). Design/methodology/approach: In this study, two qualitative methods were used to explore the extent and the quality of student involvement; these were focus groups…

South African universities have been facing a critical shortage in the provision of student housing for several years now, and the establishment of public--private partnerships (PPPs) is seen as part of the solution to address the shortage (Rensburg, 2011). This article investigates the effectiveness of the Students' Representative Council (SRC)…

The period of 2010 to 2014 marked a relatively stable stage in the evolving quality assurance system for Ontario postsecondary education, particularly following massive changes after 2000. The current system consists of three frameworks overseen respectively by three quality assurance agencies--the Ontario Universities Council on Quality…

This paper identifies approaches, challenges, and best practices related to planning and designing today's academic library learning spaces. As part of the Project Information Literacy (PIL) Practitioner Series, qualitative data is presented from 49 interviews conducted with a sample of academic librarians, architects, and library consultants.…

Purpose: This paper aims to analyze and illustrate achievements and challenges of Ethiopian higher education, both at the system level and at the level of new public universities. Design/methodology/approach: Achievements and challenges at the system level are based on literature review and secondary data. Illustrative case studies are based on…

Since 1998, the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities in Ontario, Canada, has required that data on specific key performance indicators (KPIs) be made public by its publicly funded universities. The information is intended to be used by universities to demonstrate their achievements, to improve their programmes and services, and to…

This qualitative case study explores the integration of entrepreneurship education (EE) across the curricula in two public universities in Tanzania. Based on Shapero's model of the entrepreneurial event, the feasibility and desirability of EE in the selected universities are analysed. In-depth interviews and document analysis were used for data…

Public universities in Kenya are, today, turning to the use of e-learning in an attempt to cope with the rapidly increasing demand for university education. This research was conducted between February 2012 and February 2014 to determine the challenges affecting the adoption of e-learning in these institutions of higher learning. Data were…

This article derives from a qualitative study that employed a sociocultural perspective to investigate the mediation of institutional policies on teachers' classroom practices of assessment for learning in one public and one private university in Vietnam. Data included observations of classrooms, interviews with teachers, executive officers and…

In response to the emphasis on the benefits of enhanced multicultural educational experiences of international students in higher education, this study examined international students' perceptions of the influence of multiculturalism on the study programs in Malaysian public universities. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The…

The academic profession traditionally consists of three roles: teaching, research and service. The service role includes not only university-industry and university-society relationships, but also academic professionals' obligations to their internal stakeholders, such as administrators and colleagues. This paper argues that the paradigm shift in…

This paper attempts to examine how female students' roles as learners are influenced by their socially constructed gender identities and gender roles in studying English as Second Language (ESL) at a public sector university of Pakistan. The aim is to understand how female students' gender identities and gender roles affect their learning. With an…