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The release of the 2014 REF results in the UK is a timely reminder that many national governments have aimed to increase the research productivity of universities, by introducing performance-based research systems. This paper examines whether there is a relationship between attitudes to these research systems and research productivity, using interview data from three universities in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. It concludes that attitudes are not strongly related to productivity, and that only a better understanding of system limitations will help to improve them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Widening access to higher education is a challenge currently under discussion in Australia and the United Kingdom. The increasing number of alternative entry programs offered by universities has made tertiary study, including law study, more accessible. One concern with widening access to legal education is the ability of students entering law school through means other than very high academic scores to undertake a law degree successfully. Students who enter law school are generally referred to as “high achievers”, having qualified through an admission policy based on competitive rankings. The implementation of equitable access programs in some Australian universities has resulted in a number of places being made available to final year high school students who meet the eligibility criteria. Lowering the entry requirements to some courses provides opportunities for students whose circumstances have affected their ability to attain competitive ranking scores. The Principals’ Recommendation Scheme (PRS) is one of these programs. The University of Technology Sydney in New South Wales, Australia commenced the PRS in 2012. UTS:Law was one of the first Faculties to develop a strategy to support these students. The Faculty is committed to resourcing all students in their study and, as a result, is engaged in the ongoing evaluation of the academic and co-curricular programs provided to students. This paper explains the implementation of the PRS and the relevant support infrastructure available to students. It also considers the research into student retention and academic success and makes a preliminary assessment that, to date, the PRS students are succeeding in the transition from secondary education to law school, and that the existing infrastructure is accommodating the needs of these students. The PRS is an alternative entry scheme that provides a model for consideration by other law schools, committed to widening access to legal education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates computing students' entrepreneurial intentions, motivations, recognisable barriers and encouragements towards entrepreneurship, with a focus on gender. Two universities, one in Australia and one in the UK (n = 247), were used as locations for the research to consider two distinct contexts. In each university there were similarly high levels of interest in entrepreneurship among computing students, however some significant differences in responses were found, especially between male and female participants. Job flexibility was a strong motivation for the UK-based female participants; while female participants at the Australian university identified internal barriers (such as lack of confidence and experience). Enablers to entrepreneurial activity were identified, including access to incubators and academic support. Directing such support towards computing students, while recognising gender differences, could increase interest in, and take-up of, entrepreneurship. Recommendations are made regarding how universities can best support would-be entrepreneurs and encourage inclusive entrepreneurship into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable procurement is a growing phenomenon and a key component of organizations’ corporate responsibility and sustainability strategy. The focus of this paper is sustainable procurement (SP) at universities in Australia and the United Kingdom. The study identifies a dearth of academic research into SP at universities and presents actionable insights gained from practitioners. Results from qualitative data collected from Australian and UK universities highlight the continued dominance of price in procurement decisions and the practical challenges faced in changing the status quo both internal and external to the university. Implications for theory, research and policy are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Concerns regarding the nomenclature of university administration in Australia and the UK have featured in the higher education literature for over a decade. In response, a significant nomenclature shift is occurring, with Australian universities replacing the term ‘General Staff’ to describe all administrative and technical staff, in favour of ‘Professional Staff’. Following nomenclature trends in the UK, this change has been in gestation for some time having been championed by individuals, groups, professional associations and more recently a national staff union. This paper presents the findings of a doctoral study regarding the nomenclature preferences of 194 Australian university research support staff. It provides insight into the motivations behind the nomenclature shift, with an emphasis on the dissatisfaction expressed for the term ‘Non-Academic Staff’. Drawing on these findings, this paper suggests an aspirational framework for university professional staff in the form of a ‘nomenclature ladder’ for sector-wide application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the UK, government is both concerned with improving the performance of public services, including higher education, and with ensuring that the public is aware of improvements in services, to convince the public of the effectiveness of the current regime. Success is both an effect of and a dynamic in the process of evaluating performance, and increasingly 'excellence' is established as a performance outcome. Drawing on a critical review of relevant theory and research, primarily from the UK, Australia and the USA, and illustrated by the author's experience of winning a National Teaching Fellowship, this paper examines teaching excellence in the context of two recent schemes: the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme and the Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. The performance culture in the public sector and the use of excellence as a success criterion are critically analysed. Assumptions about the transfer of excellent practice are explored. Questions about the interaction of competition and equalities issues are raised. The paper ends with arguing that if excellence schemes are to be an established feature of public sector systems, then we must develop strategies to enable them to be implemented equitably, transparently and fit for purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent period can only be seen as one of rapid and substantial churn as UK governments have attempted to widen participation, strengthen the national system of innovation and control the direct public costs of higher education. Very similar issues have dominated the debate in Australia. This paper compares the current position of two higher education systems which have done similar things but in a different order, and in different social, political and economic settings. The paper, in a longer version that is available on the HEPI website, was first presented in HEPI's annual lecture series. The version published by HEPI contains all the tables and figures used in the lecture. In 2003, in the first of the HEPI lectures, Lord Dearing addressed four themes: finance; competition and growth; diversity of provision and the role of Higher Education in society. Despite all the changes in the past decade, all these issues remain at the core of the debate on the design of effective higher education systems. With reference to these themes, the paper considers: the organisation of the two university systems; entry standards and social equity; the effect of deregulating student numbers; research patterns; and the relationship between business and universities. The technical analysis of student support mechanisms and loans structure is not investigated because detailed coverage has already been given in a number of studies commissioned by HEPI during 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this paper is to map the pattern of awards for research degree supervision in institutions in Australia and the United Kingdom. In particular, it explores the scope of such awards, their objectives, the criteria for nomination, the evidence required to be submitted, the composition of award panels, the criteria for award, and the rewards and conditions attached to success. Marked differences are found between these features in the two systems, which it is argued stem mainly from the fact that in Australia institution-led awards are the norm, while in the UK student-led awards are predominant. In conclusion, it is suggested that, while institution-led awards seem more likely to be effective in identifying, recognising and rewarding exemplary supervision, students can and should have an important role to play and, hence, that optimally all stakeholders should be involved in the awards process. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Conventional student-led evaluation is now an orthodox feature of the North American, UK and Australian higher education landscape. Increasingly, it is guiding major institutional decisions around educational quality, academic promotion and more recently institutional funding by government. Yet significant research around student-led evaluation has demonstrated that this form of student opinion-based evaluation remains highly fragile and susceptible to multiple forms of influence. This paper argues that student-led evaluation of itself is not sufficiently robust to appropriately inform notions of educational quality or pedagogical capability of academics. An alternative approach to evaluation in higher education is proposed, broadly drawing on the conception of fourth generation evaluation. The model foregrounds academic collaboration in shaping a professional evaluative framework at an activity level (i.e. programme or sub-discipline level) based on an ongoing dialogue between peers and with students, as well as qualitative evaluation of student learning. The model attempts to make tensions and conflicts in the teaching and learning context more explicit and the active focus of evaluative efforts to devise appropriate and sustainable responses to improve the quality of learning and professional practice. This paper presents some preliminary research on the effectiveness of this model in its initial piloting in postgraduate programmes in an Australian university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article builds on prior arguments that research on issues of social justice in education has often lacked constructive engagement with education policy-making, and that this can be partly attributed to a lack of clarity about what a socially just education system might look like. Extending this analysis, this article argues that this lack of clarity is perpetuated by a series of contradictions and dilemmas underpinning ‘progressive’ debate in education, which have not been adequately confronted. At the heart are dilemmas about what constitutes a socially just negotiation of the binarised hierarchy of knowledge that characterises education in the UK, Australia and elsewhere. Three exemplar cases presented from contemporary education curriculum policy in England and Australia are used to illustrate these dilemmas. We then extend this argument to a series of other philosophical dilemmas which haunt education and create tensions or contradictions for those concerned with social justice. It is maintained that we need to confront these dilemmas in efforts to extend conceptual clarity in what it is we are seeking to achieve, which in turn can better equip us to provide the empirical and conceptual information necessary to effectively engage policy-making to remediate inequalities in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid digital transformation is taking place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing organisations and higher educational institutions to change their working and learning culture. This study explores the challenges of rapid digital transformation arising during the pandemic in the higher education context. This research used the Q-methodology to understand the nine challenges that higher education encountered, perceived differently as four main patterns: (1) Digital-nomad enterprise; (2) Corporate-collectivism; (3) Well-being-oriented; and (4) Pluralistic. This study broadens the current understanding of digital transformation, especially in higher education. The nine challenges and four patterns of transformation actors serve as a starting point for organisations in supporting technological choice and strategic interventions, based on individual, group, and organisational behavioural levels. Moreover, five propositions, based on the competing concerns of these challenges, establish a framework for comprehending the ecosystem that enables rapid digital transformation. Strategies, prerequisites, and key factors during the (digital) technology development process benefit the cyber-society ecosystem. As a practical contribution, Q-methodology was used to investigate perspectives on digitalisation challenges during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I explore the impact of linguistic super-diversity on the teaching of languages at tertiary level. Through a small-scale study of university-based language teachers in Australia and the United Kingdom, I examine to what extent these teachers have become aware of the changed language profiles that their students are bringing to the classroom and how they have accommodated their teaching approaches to reflect these changes. The results of the study reveal a rather limited level of engagement with the consequences of linguistic super-diversity. I provide some explanations and suggestions for how this could be changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional staff total approximately 23% of staff in universities in the UK, which in 2014/15 was the equivalent of 95,870 individuals (hesa.ac.uk). With their increasing span of responsibility, it is surprising that there has been little research into the careers of these staff. This study, part of a larger careers study, highlights some key attitudes to, and needs from, their careers. Via a multimethod instrument, of which only descriptive statistics are presented here, it is shown that professional staff are motivated by an integrated set of needs attributed to traditional, boundaryless and protean career theory. It is also shown that professional staff overall are satisfied in their roles, but there is a mismatch between the desire for a career and promotion opportunities, and those forthcoming from their organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has long been the suspicion amongst staff in Art & Design that the ratings given to their subject disciplines in the UK's National Student Survey are adversely affected by a combination of circumstances – a ‘perfect storm’. The ‘perfect storm’ proposition is tested by comparing ratings for Art & Design with those for a selection of other subjects chosen because they share some features that might lead to lower ratings on the survey. Data from a small-scale qualitative study are used to throw light on what might lie behind the sector-wide statistics. The comparisons suggest that there is some validity in the ‘perfect storm’ proposition. More broadly, the article points to the need for sophistication in interpreting findings from the survey, irrespective of the subject area. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

On June 29, 1990, the Review Panel appointed by Australia's then Minister for Employment, Education and Training J.S. Dawkins, to carry out a Review of the Accounting Discipline in Higher Education presented its report to the then Australian Minister for Higher Education and Employment Services--Peter Baldwin. This report represents the most recent of a number of significant developments relating to accounting education in Australia. The paper offers a review from an Australian academic accountant, who has had first-hand experience of the Australian situation. This is followed by commentaries which reflect on the comparative situation in Great Britain. The article suggests that the quality of accounting education is under threat both in Australia and in Great Britain. No support is offered, for example, for the development of a needs-based funding model; the adoption of a target staff: student ratio of 16:1, or of any other number; or the argument that small group teaching and the integration of computing into teaching methods is essential to accounting education.

Assessment at Masters Level is the subject of a three-year UK National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) project, ‘Assimilate’, which seeks to explore innovatory approaches in this field. More than 40 interviews were undertaken for the project with teachers at Masters level in the UK and internationally. Although national and institutional systems differentiate clearly in their documentation how assessment at M-level should differ from that at undergraduate level, in practice there is not necessarily such clarity. This article draws on how teachers and programme leaders on Masters level courses who were interviewed for the project described the differences in practice. It concludes that there is considerable confusion and ambivalence about what distinguishes one level from another and scope for further clarification. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article reviews 37 empirical studies, selected from 363 articles and 20 journals, on assessment feedback published between 2000 and 2011. The reviewed articles, many of which came out of studies in the UK and Australia, reflect the most current issues and developments in the area of assessing disciplinary writing. The article aims to outline current studies on assessment feedback. These studies have explored undergraduate students' wide-ranging perspectives on the effectiveness and utility of assessment feedback, the divergent styles of assessment feedback of lecturers and tutors in various disciplines, teachers' divergent interpretations of assessment criteria and confusion about the dual roles of assessment feedback, and the divergences between teachers' beliefs and practices. The review includes analysis and comparison of the research methods and findings of the studies. It identifies a research space for assessment feedback and outlines implications for further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A collaborative teaching project developed within two sport management programmes – one in Australia and one in the UK – provides the focus of this study. An online blog was used throughout the study to provide a means of communication between the two lead academics, and the project effectively used an action research method within a reflective practice context. The blog allowed for asynchronous collaboration, and charted the journey from a practical dumping ground of frustration to a supportive and reflective forum of evaluation. Reflection in-action highlighted a level of description of immediate practicalities and challenges faced in relation to the design and execution of the project, resulting in a platform for ‘real time' problem solving. Reflection on-action highlighted that the viability of the teaching project relied upon the strength of the collaborative working relationship between the academics. This multi-layered reflective approach to analysing the blog identified insightful action points for future research and embedded opportunities for professional and personal development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A significant body of work has emerged over the last 10 years investigating the experiences of international university students. These studies have covered various challenges faced by some groups of international students relating to culture, language and integration and have been prompted by the increase in international students studying in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. A smaller strand of research has also begun to focus on the experiences, perspectives and reactions of academic staff who have seen the composition of their cohorts change substantially over recent years in terms of numbers of international participants. This article reviews relevant literature in this field, reporting on a questionnaire study based at two UK post-92 universities. Respondents associated a range of traits with international students and suggested that the increasing number of international students enhanced the environment, but also required a higher level of support. This study also found that staff resorted to informal methods when developing means of adapting their practices to the increasing number of international students, preferring discussion with colleagues and students themselves to formal development programmes or advice from specialist departments such as student support. The article concludes that in order to encourage diversity in a meaningful way, universities need to recognise the challenge of increased numbers of international students and support staff accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a review of the literature concerned with leadership effectiveness in higher education at departmental level. The literature derives from publications from three countries: the UK, the USA and Australia. Surprisingly little systematic research has been conducted on the question of which forms of leadership are associated with departmental effectiveness. The analysis of the studies selected resulted in the identification of 13 forms of leader behaviour that are associated with departmental effectiveness. The findings are considered in relation to the notion of competency frameworks and, in the conclusion, their general implications are explored in relation to the notion of substitutes for leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional doctorates now form an established alternative to the PhD, both in the UK and Australia. Recent developments have seen the emergence of what some commentators call second-generation doctorates, more closely geared to the needs of professional practitioners. The current culmination of this development is represented by what might be termed practitioner doctorates, based on development projects which result in substantial organizational or professional change and (to paraphrase the widely used criterion for a PhD thesis) a significant contribution to practice. These programmes pose a challenge to traditional notions of doctoral work based on research. They can, however, be conceptualized in a way that is both robust academically and represents a high level of adequacy for the complex and far-reaching problems encountered in contemporary society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses cross-sectoral mergers of higher educational institutions in Australia and Great Britain. The institutional mergers in these countries are used as a mechanism to deal with problems of contraction and adjustment in higher education. In recent years there has been a growing trend in cross-sectoral amalgamation which involves merger of a university with a non-university institution. The opportunities for growth and innovation is enhanced with mergers between institutions possessing different strengths, courses and traditions. Some of the unique opportunities provided by mergers involve formulating innovative academic programmes, broader range of courses, creating intimate relationships with the community and establishing specialist institutes and research centres among others. However, cross-sectoral mergers raise problems related to funding, co-ordination and course accreditation. Mergers that involve the national re-organisation of higher educational systems are associated with politics. However, the operation of political factors depends largely on the structure of higher educational systems.