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This case study explores the potential for democratic governance in state-regulated Arab higher education systems focusing on institutional committee members' adoption of deliberative, empowered and participatory evidence-based decision-making practices while engaged in university policy development. Amidst a landscape characterised by the forces of globalisation and internationalisation, coupled with an intensifying focus on quality assurance and accreditation that increasingly shape governance structures, this research examines decision-making at the practical micro-level within an Arab State institution. This university, mirroring others in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, functions within a largely centralised political system where government bodies exert substantial influence. By presenting an illustrative case of grassroots democratic evidence-based decision-making during committee members' formulation of a new institution-wide policy, this study aims to partially bridge the conceptual and applied research void. It delves into the opportunities and challenges of practicing shared, evidence-based decision-making in multiplex universities operating within characteristically state-regulated, management-centric political contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competition in higher education is intensifying worldwide and gaining increasing scholarly attention. However, it is not always easy to observe how competition actually takes place. Our research focuses on one example where competition becomes not only visible but also analyzable: State-led funding contests exemplified by the Excellence Initiative (EI) in Germany. While funding contests in Germany have been established as contests between universities, at the same time they have changed the rules of competitive games between federal states. In our contribution we demonstrate and analyze the multiplicity of competition at the interface between universities and federal states. By reconstructing how federal states play different roles in relation to universities' performances in funding contests, we shed light on a twofold relationship. On the one hand, federal states are folded into competition between universities because they support 'their own' universities with advice and financial resources when the universities prepare to participate in the contests. The federal states are therefore important for the positions universities can take as organizational actors in competition. On the other hand, universities are folded into the competition between federal states because the states at least partly take agency when they view their competitive position vis-à-vis the other federal states as being dependent on 'their' universities' performance in the contests. In this context, they become competitive actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops a country case study on the Polish higher education (HE) system governance regime by using the governance equalizer model to analyse how each reform over the last three decades has altered its formal power structure. In particular, we focus on the most recent HE governance reform (Law 2.0), which has not yet been addressed from a system governance perspective. Findings show Poland's enduring unfitness in any ideal-type HE governance theoretical framework. Despite a series of reforms, the Polish power-sharing arrangement is still a compromise that combines the preferences of policymakers towards the market model with the legacy of the institutionalized, deeply-entrenched, and change-resistant academic self-governance model reintroduced in 1990. Thus, even after Law 2.0, Polish HE system governance is still stuck at a crossroads of academic self-governance and market models because the past is constraining feasible policy alternatives and new policies are adapted to existing principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates the reforms of university governing boards in Hungary and Poland. It seeks to fill that void and advance existing knowledge about the implementation of boards (councils) in CEE countries despite the great interest in HE dynamics in the region. The juxtaposition of the two countries is intentional because both share key characteristics, such as a common historical background (e.g. a communist past), geopolitical location (Central and Eastern Europe), the same institutional foundation for universities (i.e. the Humboldtian tradition) and domestic politics dominated by right-wing populism. With this in mind, it is interesting to note that the two countries, which are inspired by the same hegemonic policy ideas of NPM and had considerable similarities with respect to HE, arrived at different outcomes. This study therefore focuses on the process of policy translation and attempts to identify critical junctures that have led to structural divergence in the university governance model in the two countries. To achieve this, the research examines two parallel reforming processes that led to the introduction of new university governing bodies: consistories (2015) in Hungary and university councils (2018) in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality training demand has increased due to the complexity of modern society. As education is the fundamental foundation for people’s progress, this research is interested in analyzing the offer of doctoral programs in education in Chile ( quality and quantity), aiming to generate information for the decision-making process of the various interest groups. This research was a descriptive study involving primary and secondary sources of information (scientific articles, enrollment database, and web pages); a relevant source is the Higher Education Information System of the Chilean Ministry of Education, whose version is updated until July 2022. A growth of 2,680.5% was detected in the enrollment of postgraduate students in Chile between 1984 and 2022, which exceeds the higher education system, which has multiplied its enrollment by 6.8 times in the same period, which in the specific case of doctorates is 46 times. The relevance of accreditation systems underscores the need for a more substantial commitment to ensure quality education at all levels, especially in doctoral programs in this area.

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The rich body of literature that has sought to shed light on how global trends shape public sector institutions at the local level frequently claims that globalization is significantly transforming national institutions. Against that backdrop, the term governance is actually a multifaceted concept representing an ongoing process characterized by complex interactions between globally spreading movements and locally inherited interests. Focusing on transitions in governance and on the variations found in governance at the local level, the present study aims to make a conceptual contribution to existing characterizations of the dynamics of higher education in the context of globalization. After reviewing studies on changes in the governance of higher education, this paper identifies the limitations and implications of various theoretical approaches to describing the transformation of governance in the education sector. We then construct a hybrid analytical framework combining the main elements of institutional analysis (i.e., rational choice, sociological and historical institutionalism) with theories of public policy as a novel way of conceptualizing and operationalizing educational governance. While some scholars might be hesitant to embrace such an approach, we would argue that it deserves consideration. The framework provides an explicit conceptual construct for advancing the theoretical understanding of the concept of hybridization, which is of great utility for identifying the nuances of higher education governance in transition. Moreover, the analytical framework presented herein contributes to a more find-grained understanding of educational transition and extends previous empirical studies on dynamics in the higher education sector. The results can not only supplement the current approach to studying HE governance but also outline a possible trajectory for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While literature on university governance in Canada has identified key challenges that need to be addressed, it largely overlooks calls for change towards indigenization within post-secondary institutions. Efforts towards indigenization are being made in practice, but little has been done to reflect on what this means for university governance specifically. This paper contributes to this gap in understanding by drawing upon experiences within Yukon College's transition to Yukon University. We identify three challenges that have emerged in the institution's approach to grappling with the intersection of university governance and indigenization, including questions related to who is driving the process, who represents Indigenous voices, who defines truth and knowledge, and how power dynamics can be shifted. We demonstrate how these challenges are playing out at Yukon University, how the institution is responding to them, and the broader issues they reveal. We also identify three opportunities that may be useful for other post-secondary institutions, including opportunities to move towards taking action, ensuring accountability, creating safe spaces, and addressing power dynamics. We hope to spark broader discussions and reflections from post-secondary institutions regarding the relationship between university governance and indigenization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Not only playing a role in creating and spreading knowledge, higher education institutions can also make a positive contribution to a nation's economic development and its social welfare improvement. The Chinese government has made some adjustments to its state management policy toward higher education; subsequently, massification of higher education was achieved, and several top world ranking and world-renowned universities were built as a result of projects 985 and 211. This study focuses on analyzing China's higher education system, law/legal system, and by-law documents on improving higher education; from that, the research can identify the core problems in the development of higher education system in China as well as the content needed to be solved in the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incentive to strengthen university governance system has three implications: (1) improving the quality of the university education system, and thus providing students and the general public value for money, (2) enhancing the utilization of resources invested in university education, and (3) contributing significantly to the formation of human capital, quality of public leadership, and best services to the society. However, there are limited studies on how this can be realized in Ghana. This is a qualitative study seeking to explore the following questions: What is needed to ensure desirable university governance? And how can it be achieved? In-depth interviews and documentary research were used to collect data from twenty-three participants. The study examines key governance issues such as funding, accountability, infrastructure, trust, and regulation. The study contextually contributes to the literature on university governance and management by bringing to the fore the incentives needed to enhance it for a better output to meet the development needs of the Ghanaian economy and the African continent with similar challenges as a whole.

Universities are tasked with providing rigorous education and training for successful entry into disciplinary and professional fields. Their instrumental roles are situated within broader commitments to political communities through cultural stewardship. As such, the process of socializing students with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of democratic citizenship is a complementary and acute obligation of institutions of higher education. Student Associations arguably serve as strategic enablers of this key responsibility through their unique identities as laboratories of shared governance. When students participate in co-creating their educational and community experiences, the dividends for learning and development escalate. The deliberative processes and activities of student associations resemble those ideal in the broader civil society and should be supported. We suggest that the respective aspirations and impact of universities and student associations are mutually bound though an experiential curriculum of democratic citizenship. Hence, we propose that it is in universities’ interest to provide and protect funding for student associations and their activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the development of the structures of university governance at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem between the 1920s and 1960s. The model that ultimately prevailed, a state-sponsored model of governance, dominated the higher education system in Israel until the early 2000s and was characterised by the dominance of academic faculty, a status that the government accorded to the faculty in exchange for their acceptance of the state's normative vision for universities' role in society. Two main governance models that were instituted at the HU are identified: (1) the Diaspora university, 1925-1950, a distinctive governance model that emerged in the pre-state period and was controlled by Jewish communities in the Diaspora, and (2) the state university, 1950s-2000s, which shifted the centre of gravity to the state. These models are further divided into sub-models and the processes described through which academic autonomy was institutionalised during a period of nation-building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to strengthen their international presence, universities pursuing a world-class status are striving to increase their internationalization. Internationalization implies a transformation of university governance, especially for universities in a non-English-speaking system such as Japan's. This paper examines the challenges of internationalization for Japan's top universities as a transformation process of these universities' governance. First, the historical background of Japanese higher education as an early front-runner in Asia is discussed, along with the dynamics of national identity and global trends. Second, a series of government-funded programs for research and internationalization are examined from the viewpoint of governance reform. The construction of 'world-class' universities not only implies concentrated financial investment but also a comprehensive transformation of university governance in a global context. The major challenges for top Japanese research universities in terms of maintaining and improving their international presence are also highlighted. This article suggests the importance of examining the historical and current context of university governance in East Asian higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge society assigns to the higher education an essential role, fully recognized both at EU level and globally. One of the latest challenges in the field of academic education aimed at reconsidering the role of universities in the society, together with improving and reshaping their boards' organization, which means rethinking their internal order by optimizing the organization at all levels, but also by effectively coordinating the funding, administration and resources, education and research management. It seems that the optimal solution is given by the new paradigm, the governance, as an alternative model management system for higher education institutions. The governance is one of the most current approaches in the field and addresses issues related both to higher education institutions and State authorities involved in University education. A review of the university management systems on grounds of the model of corporate governance is a challenging topic of debate by the fact that currently and internally, the concept of governance in the higher education system is still considered difficult to understand and abstract, and its related issues and implications are rather complex and insufficiently treated, discussed and explained by the professional works and publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of countries with public higher education systems have implemented privatisation policies. In Japan, the national government introduced the National University Corporation Act (NUCA) in 2004 and changed the legal status of national universities from that of government-owned public institutions to independent administrative agencies. Its objective was to incorporate them, giving their presidents discretionary power and encouraging financial independence and autonomous administration. Applying McNay’s models of university governance, this paper tracks three stages of university governance longitudinally from 1886, when Japan’s modern higher education system was established, to reveal the historical roots of problems that the NUCA is meant to address. In addition, the effects of the NUCA over the first 6-year period (2004–2009) are examined based on data analysis. Its criteria for analysis are developments in the direction of financial, administrative and intellectual independence, accompanied by increased levels of transparency and public accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the context of recent reforms within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), institutionalized student participation has become crucially relevant for the Spanish system of university governance. Nevertheless, little is known about the different models of representation, their way of functioning, as well as the mechanisms and levels of student participation in the university. Not much is known either about the impact of different models of representation on levels of participation. This study tries to contribute to this field. Data are presented coming from a survey carried out amongst all representatives of the recently created State Council of University Students (CEUNE) in Spain, as well as from young people's surveys. The greater students' participation will be, the more legitimacy their representatives will have, and the stronger their role in the making of university policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2007, a Judicial Commission of Inquiry was established by the Government of Hong Kong to investigate allegations that senior officials had interfered with the academic freedom and institutional autonomy of the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd). It concluded that a former minister had requested the President of that institution to curb the criticisms of Government policies by two of his colleagues. The report had significant ramifications including the resignation of the former minister. This article initially describes the background to the Inquiry and subsequently analyses why the situation escalated and resulted in the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry. The explanation focuses on the inherent weaknesses of the system of Governance, the political ecology of Hong Kong and recent changes to the political system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]