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This paper aims to scrutinise the zero-tolerance approach in relation to gender-based violence in higher education and research in the EU. Employing conceptual analysis and the EmilyTest analytical tool, we assess the comprehensiveness and appropriateness of existing national-level zero-tolerance policies in tackling gender-based violence within the framework of the institutional change approach to advancing gender equality. We aim to contribute to the ongoing discourse on designing impactful strategies to combat gender-based violence in higher education and research institutions. This examination sheds light on the applicability and efficacy of the zero-tolerance approach, offering insights for policymakers and educational practitioners seeking to influence and enhance gender-sensitive practices in academia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This ethnographic study analyzes the barriers women encounter in achieving their goals at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. Employing a discursive approach, the study seeks to identify symbols promulgated by various policy actions that legitimize or delegitimize specific gender relations. It draws from feminist theories and Lisa Rosen's symbolic policy framework to examine the chasms between policy actions and their implicit meanings, situated within the larger sociocultural context. The findings of this study suggest that the campus culture empowers female students by providing opportunities for them to shape their beliefs and also to question internalized 'common knowledge' mediated by their families and culture. However, women's occupations remain centered on the domestic reality. As women aspire to occupy greater positions of power, they are constrained by normative gender roles. Rituals of policy create mystifications about these constraints which, in turn, allow men to wield power and attribute their success to individual merit rather than systemic processes that reinforce structural gender inequities. This study advocates a shift away from the instrumentalization of policies and integrating caste, gender, and class diversity into institutional policies. This shift is essential to reenvision policies shaped by sociohistorical masculine attributes, and characterized by themes of rationalization, detachment, and impartiality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an era where many states' postsecondary education governance dynamics are evolving, we set out to understand whether state-level governing boards with centralized governance functions affected institutions' decisions to engage in in-person instruction during the fall of 2020, the first fall of the Covid-19 pandemic. We examined sociopolitical features related to the strength of governance functions of centralized state boards. The data alluded to linkages between Republican control and lower bachelor's degree attainment linking (β = −.45) with weaker centralized governance. We also found a negative effect from increased centralized governance functions (β = −.12) to in-person instruction at public 4-year institutions for fall 2020. This paper gives a real-time opportunity to see if the characteristics of governing boards influence return to campus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This critical discourse analysis explores cosmopolitan nationalism as neoliberal reform within East Asian higher education (HE). Placing cosmopolitan nationalism within the Foucauldian genealogical oeuvre, we draw comparisons between Chinese, Japanese, and Korean HE policy to expand the theoretical basis of this emerging framework. Against this background, HE policy draws our gaze towards the tensions inherent to State-level demands for ‘enterprising’ units of human capital, or homo œconomicus. By producing graduates that are simultaneously internationalized and nationally-bound, HE pressures learners to incorporate the de-facto dispositions, skills, and credentials deemed necessary to the global market order. Here, policy maneuvers demonstrate a broadly analogous yet, unique predilection for nationalistic rhetoric during their resistance and accommodation of Western-led neoliberalism. Nonetheless, State responses to said hegemony demonstrate conflicting approaches to the knowledge economy and, for that matter, which citizens are deemed ‘worthy’ of the ‘right kind of’ education. Results indicate that, despite a shared cultural legacy, the socio-political realities of each HE provider engender, to varying degrees, friction between the intended and material outcomes of HE marketization. Thus, we seek to provide greater insight for scholars of educational markets to interpret the forces and mechanisms shaping neoliberal character-building, both regionally and in alternative contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes how one Australian university achieved deep assessment reform through transition to the Southern Cross Model: a 6-week, immersive block learning approach. There are few studies that explicitly discuss the governance, policy and people changes required to effect whole-of-institution shift. Addressing this gap, this case study draws on a mixed-method investigation of policy reform and student achievement data. It outlines the tenets underpinning the university’s new assessment approach, and how these were translated into practice. A principles-based approach was developed, providing the foundation for pedagogical change. Analysis of the quantitative data demonstrates a significant increase in student pass rates and, over time, student satisfaction with assessment, workload and skills development. The findings underscore how essential whole-of-institution assessment reform is in transitioning to an immersive block model. Implications and recommendations are offered for other institutions seeking to transform assessment and drive enhanced learning and teaching outcomes through institution-wide change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Equity is increasingly seen as a core value for higher education systems around the world. (In)equity is often measured through construction of achievement gaps, quantifying the relative outcomes of two populations of students. Institution-level gaps are embedded in the policy landscape of HE, becoming performance metrics in their own right. These gap metrics increasingly inform the actions of governments, regulators, institutions and educators. This theoretical article scrutinises the technical and conceptual construction of achievement gaps through using the dominant UK conception of the institution level degree classification 'awarding gap'. Drawing on Adam's Equity Theory of Motivation, Rawls's Distributive Justice and the Capability Approach as theoretical perspectives, I highlight multiple structural weaknesses in the conception of the awarding gap. I illustrate the implications of this metric by analysing simulated awarding gap data for a fictional institution, and through the perspectives of five idealised stakeholders. I identify multiple technical and theoretical limitations of the institution level awarding gap metric, including examples where the threshold-based nature of the awarding gap fails to capture statistical differences between groups, thereby undermining its utility in identifying inequity. I call on the sector to develop metrics that more accurately capture (in)equity of outcomes and align better with theoretical frameworks, thereby creating more powerful explanatory metrics that can inform meaningful action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Sessional academics undertake a large proportion of teaching and marking and are essential for current university structures and student success. Employment of sessional academics has primarily been driven by cost savings and flexibility in hiring practices for employers, in addition to managing academic staffing shortages. Despite the increase in sessional employment, little is known about the experience of sessional academics regarding support and processes for integrating them into university structures. This scoping review focused on identifying the facilitators and barriers experienced by sessional academics during the onboarding process. Two university departments that can contribute to improving the onboarding process are identified: human resources and the individual academic unit. Six subthemes were identified during the literature analysis to support onboarding: contractual, orientation, resources, communication, mentoring and belonging. These themes have been explored and discussed and key recommendations have been made for policymakers and managers, with further research proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive understanding of higher education internationalization remains elusive within the European context, despite the guidance offered by the European Union (EU) through policy principles, notably the Bologna Process. As a result, Member States face challenges in developing and implementing effective internationalization strategies. Typically, these prove unsustainable due to their overly ambitious and broad focus, leading to inefficiencies such as inadequate allocation of resources, and to fragmented approaches that often fail to produce cohesive, functional systems. This paper argues that establishing clear definitions, priorities and coordinated action plans involving key stakeholders could enhance the formulation of more feasible and impactful regulatory strategies, facilitating a smooth internationalization in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The opposite would increase the likelihood of wasteful investments and mismanagement, affecting the stability, reliability, and sustainability of advancements in this area. This article contributes to the delineation of a higher education internationalization model drawing from an examination of Estonian institutional policies and regulatory trends. Through a partial institutional review, it explores the challenges, opportunities, and prospects inherent to cultiva ting a well defined, principled and comprehensive internationalization approach, emphasizing the necessity of meaningful stakeholder involvement for the creation of reflective regulatory frameworks to ensure the attainment of tangible and measurable goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Experiences of sexual harassment are common among university students. At the same time, research shows that victims and bystanders find it difficult to determine when an incident meets the criteria for sexual harassment. The aim of this study therefore was to obtain a richer and deeper understanding of the obstacles that university students encounter in identifying sexual harassment in the academic environment. Methods: Individual interviews and focus groups were conducted with a total of 85 students at the bachelor's, master's and doctoral level in five European countries (Belgium, Croatia, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden) between 2020 and 2022. Thematic analysis was used to identify obstacles in identifying sexual harassment. Results: The obstacles described by participants were found to fall into three main categories: (1) preconceived notions about what constitutes sexual harassment that did not necessarily concur with lived experiences, (2) navigating an often blurred or ambiguous line between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour and (3) the existence of competing interpretations of what had happened. Conclusions: The results point to a gap between the participants' lived experiences and their interpretations of them, which include difficulties positioning their experiences within their theoretical understanding of sexual harassment. Policy Implications: Measures to counteract the obstacles faced by victims and bystanders in identifying sexual harassment in academia should target this cognitive gap, for instance by addressing the stereotypes that characterize preconceived notions about sexual harassment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, universities have become defining elements in many (European) cities. Cities such as Oxford or Berkeley are publicly known because they are home to globally renowned academic institutions, which are considered 'brands' of the city. In this reflexive essay, I approach the university-city entanglement beyond the apparent role of academic institutions as economic and marketing factors for cities. Particularly, I reflect on the normative and scientific-practical implications of doing research 'within' a certain local. How may this positionality affect research practice, when academic work is conceived as property of the local? How can researchers reflexively engage with the local and maybe even contribute to solving local and global challenges? Rather than providing conclusive answers to these questions, this piece aims to stir up a debate among local government and governance scholars. I conclude that the 'local' of academic practice deserves far more attention as a category of reflexive research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Numerous NGOs and donors from high-income countries (HICs) offer diverse funding to assist LMICs. A collaborative effort in nutrition programs in urban communities was conducted by an international NGO with a local university, representing the NGO’s first mode of partnership with academia. This study used realist evaluation to understand how and why Positive Deviance/Hearth intervention conducted by NGOs collaborated with university work or failed to work in urban population. We uncovered the underlying mechanisms that lead to certain outcomes in different situations of academia-NGO partnership. The initial program theory was formulated after discussions with main program officers from both NGO and academia. We conducted stakeholder interviews and FGD, along with validation and reviewing secondary data. The initial program theory underwent testing and refinement through a series of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) involving program officers and local government health offices. We adhered to the RAMESES II reporting standards for realist evaluations when presenting the findings. Five Context Mechanism-Outcome (CMO) configurations are identified from three program theories. Our findings illustrate the importance of considering the local context of the population when implementing standardized international NGO interventions. All the CMOs indicate that at the very least, collaborative programs between academia and NGOs should involve more stakeholder involvement and build clearer expectations between stakeholders.

ABSTRACT Access to higher education is often competitive, and much attention has been placed on the question of admission decision‐making in such high stakes situations. We identify various approaches to distributive justice and consider these under the framework developed by Pike distinguishes between ‘egalitaria’ (everyone gets the same); ‘necessitia’ (people get what they need); ‘desertia’ (people get what they deserve); and ‘marketia’ (the market decides what people get). Considering applicants in context is one approach to deciding admissions designed to enhance fairness and support social justice. This approach is practiced in a range of countries including the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan and operates under names such as Contextual Admissions (CA), Holistic Assessment (HA) or Holistic Review (HR). This thought piece considers the philosophical/normative and practical reasoning approaches that underpin CA. We use the case of English higher education to illustrate the political and philosophical debates, to highlight practical challenges and potential limitations and to identify further considerations for realising the benefits of contextualising university applicants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT English university admissions increasingly make use of contextual offers, where applicants with certain socio‐demographic characteristics can be offered marginally lower entry conditions. This paper presents novel insights into the impact of contextual offer policy on one institutions' patterns of enrolment in 2022/2023 via a mixed methods contribution analysis. We present evidence that the policy contributed to widening access for targeted students despite the institutions' small and highly selective intake. This effect appears to be driven by increasing applicants' likelihood of accepting an offer and acting as a safety net at confirmation. While contextual offer policies thus appear to be an effective tool to improve targeted students' enrolment at an institution, we find evidence of marginally lower year‐one outcomes for students admitted with contextual offers, highlighting the need for further research to understand the impact of contextual offers on student outcomes and experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Research on higher education policy in the United States often seeks to understand commonalities across state contexts to understand broader concepts influencing decision‐making. However, this minimises the importance of abstract and distinct factors impacting policy processes within a state. While researchers in other fields attribute these non‐tangible characteristics to a state's culture, a similar concept has yet to emerge within the higher education policy context. By considering gaps within the literature, the current exploratory case study considers two statewide postsecondary sector changes in Utah that occurred in 2019–2020 and the distinct state‐level values that were commonly influential during these processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In the face of global challenges, higher education is regarded as an important force to promote the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Existing research has focused on articulating and analyzing the impact of value shaping for sustainable growth in higher education, although articulation and systematic analysis of higher education policy remain lacking. Methods: Based on the policy tool perspective, this paper constructed a three-dimensional analysis framework by using content analysis and the PMC index model to undertake a thorough analysis of higher education policies published at the central level in China from 2009 to 2024. Results: This study found that current higher education policies had multiple impacts on the formation of sustainable development values: (1) In the four dimensions of sustainable development proposed by the United Nations, China's higher education policy had shown clear guiding ideology and action direction; (2) In shaping sustainable values, China's higher education policies showed clear progress in three key dimensions; (3) The value and innovation of this study in shaping the values of sustainable development in higher education policies were primarily expressed in the following aspects. Discussion: This paper suggested a way for optimizing the design of China's higher education policies, providing empirical data and theoretical support for China's higher education policies to better promote the ideals of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract\nPlain language summaryU.S. higher education is facing an ongoing assault via state legislation targeting divisive concepts, such as teaching critical race theory and initiatives supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion across campus. Although attacks to foundational aspects of postsecondary education in the U.S. are not new in the history of the sector, the current policy trend offers an opportunity to gain insights into how institutions and various stakeholders respond to these events and the ethical tensions these individuals may face. Using qualitative content analysis, this study examines publicly available statements and other responses by stakeholders of public 4-year institutions in the Southern United States, as defined by membership in the Southern Regional Education Board. This region of the country has become an epicenter for the introduction and adoption of these types of policies; the region also encompasses a diverse group of states politically and regarding institutional representation within public postsecondary sectors. Ultimately, this study seeks to understand how characteristics of higher education influence responses by institutional stakeholders in this regional context.Anti–higher education sentiment has been increasingly vocal across the United States, particularly from conservative politicians and media since President Trump’s Administration took office in 2017. While anti–higher education commentary is not a new phenomenon, the particular focus of this most recent wave centers on practices and programs aligning with critical race theory (CRT) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and has resulted in a growing number of proposed and enacted state policies targeting these areas. A fundamental question, however, centers on how public institutions and their institutional stakeholders respond to these policies. This study reviews 82 publicly available responses by institutional presidents, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and trustees from public 4-year institutions located in the Southern United States. These data were systematically collected and analyzed through the theory of stakeholder saliency, and several themes emerged. For example, despite expectations that state contexts, such as partisan state politics or number of postsecondary institutions, might influence the number, content, or character of responses, findings suggest that the seriousness of these attacks may have superseded many of these differences, with many responses focused on reacting to active bills and adopted policies rather than proactively voicing concerns about national and regional trends. Students, faculty, and staff were often more vocal in their opposition to these policies, whereas presidents and other institutional leaders attempted to remain more neutral, potentially because of their role and position in relation to the policymakers. Given the use of publicly available responses, findings highlight the potential disconnect in media coverage of key stakeholders as well as the representative institutions included in the coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discourse regarding globalisation and particularly 'global competition' has appeared in a range of socio-economic areas and higher education is no exception. Global competition has been the policy context in which a range of national excellence initiatives have been developed. These have often involved competitive processes with significant funding as a core incentive for universities to participate. Several countries have implemented these to build 'World Class Universities' (WCU) but often this concept is linked to global rankings and a western model of what world class is. The aim of this study is to critically examine the characteristics of China's WCU policies, particularly as a competition discourse. It aims to go beyond Western-centric paradigms to capture a more inclusive and diverse understanding of competitive dynamics across various cultural and regional contexts. The article first draws upon critical globalisation studies, then it reviews 'indigenous' Chinese policy concepts of 'world class-ness' in HE, next it examines the construction of higher education (HE) competition in the Chinese national and institutional contexts, and finally it conducts a thematic review of the main Chinese WCU policies and the strategy and implementation documents of the 'core' WCU institutions with respect to the indigenous concepts. Our study's findings will contribute to a nuanced understanding of competition in HE settings – it examines and challenges the tendency of the competition discourse to reduce distinctions between national contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mandatory fees in higher education have increased substantially in recent years. These increases have changed the net cost of attendance for students from semester to semester. Coupled with these changes, we are witnessing an increase in students from diverse lived experiences who are traditionally unaware of costs associated with their attendance. As fees typically support services and programs that promote student retention and matriculation, students should be aware of these services and programs. Because these students have varied perceptions of costs and understandings of resources and systems in higher education, it may shape their payment methods. Our findings suggest that university knowledge, attitudes towards mandatory fees, and several of the academic capital subsets all shape student payment methods. Furthermore, race/ethnicity significantly predict how students pay for their education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Due to the intense competition that both public and private higher education institutions face, academic administration and strategic planning have gained importance in recent years. Among these are the demands for resilience, sustainability, identity, and quality. Objective: Given the growing globalisation in the education sector and the significance of university rankings in gauging academic excellence and prestige, this study investigates the impact of strategic planning on global university rankings in Thai public institutions. Methodology: The present study used a mixed-methods approach, combining an exploratory and descriptive approach. Thai public universities were selected based on criteria like participation in the global university ranking system. Data were collected using scales, while results were presented in tables. Results: The study showed that global university ranking plays a huge role in influencing strategic planning among public universities in Thailand. However, despite the global rankings motivating Thai universities to enhance their international visibility, academic brilliance, and research output, they also encountered significant constraints, such as limited lecturer resources in specific areas of broader educational goals. Conclusion: This strategic orientation toward rankings could potentially result in opportunities for international collaboration and competitiveness; nevertheless, it could also exacerbate existing disparities within the university. Contribution: This study offers a unique contribution by comprehensively examining the impact of university rankings. It provides a nuanced understanding of the strategic planning by Thai public universities, which may also be applied in universities in developing countries. Key recommendation: This study contributes to the ongoing discourse on the role of global rankings in determining higher education strategies by discussing the implications for policymakers, academic leaders, and stakeholders who aim to compete in the university's global ranking and participate in the global educational environment.

Currently, Indonesia has 122 State Universities (PTN) under the Ministry of Education and Culture and other ministries. Improving the quality of the selection process for new student admissions at PTN is critical for Indonesia’s human resources development. Then in 2019, there was a transformation with the implementation of the exam becoming a Computer-Based Written Exam (UTBK) which was previously a Print-Based Written Exam (UTBC). This triggered a change in the organization organizing the selection, which was previously led by PTN in rotation to being led by the Higher Education Entrance Test Institute (LTMPT). Thus, this study aims to analyze the process of compiling organizational design and categorizing the complexity of the organization implementing the selection of state universities in Indonesia. The method used in the participatory research study and data collection used observation and in-depth interviews. The results of this study are based on strategies and directions in implementation, structure and process, and culture and leadership in the implementation of university entrance selection. This study highlights the changes that can be made from a hierarchy to a model heterarchy. Based on this analysis, good planning and management are needed in the organization’s business processes, to implement heterarchical relationships, more inclusive strategies, good financial governance, and leadership.

The article "Unseen Obstacles: Gender Leadership Disparities in Public Health Academia" discusses the findings of the World Federation of Public Health Associations' Global Public Health Education Benchmarking Project (GPHEBP) on gender disparities in public health academia leadership. The study reveals that women are underrepresented in leadership roles despite comprising 70% of the global healthcare workforce. The research team recommends strategies such as mentorship programs, transparent recruitment processes, leadership training, and context-specific solutions to address these disparities and promote gender equity in public health leadership. The article emphasizes the importance of gender diversity in leadership for improving decision-making, innovation, and inclusive health policy development. [Extracted from the article]

Academia is increasingly populated but remains saturated with problems of exclusion, inequality, and injustice. However, policies aimed to govern the sector are criticized for corrupting the core of the academic practice, overlooking complexities, and perpetuating old and constructing new forms of inequalities. We thus need more empowering ways to design policies which can productively transform academia into good spaces to inhabit. To this end, we take a novel approach by viewing higher education policies as world-making spaces. Through 'social world/arena mapping' of the Norwegian research and higher education policy, we find that the policy articulates diverse worlds with different logics and purposes for academics to inhabit. However, the actors in these worlds remain passive, and seemingly 'universal' actors, able to simultaneously inhabit all the different policy worlds, while systemic inequalities which permeate the sector are largely overlooked. We argue that acknowledging this shortcoming is pivotal to finding new ways to (re)create sustainable spaces in research and higher education that ensure inclusive environments and function as democratic institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Anglophone neoliberal jurisdictions, policy highlights the private goods associated with higher education but largely neglects the sector's contributions to public good not measurable as economic values, including non-pecuniary individual benefits and collective social outcomes. Governments are silent on the existence and funding of most public goods. The paper reports on understandings of the public good role of higher education in England after nearly a decade of full marketisation. The study, part of a cross-national comparison of 11 countries, consisted of a review of major policy reports, and 24 semi-structured interviews in universities (13) and among higher education policy professionals (11) including regulators, national organisations and experts. England has no policy language for talking about outcomes of higher education other than attenuated performative outputs such as graduate salaries, research impact, knowledge exchange and widening participation, understood as individual access to education as a private good. Awareness of multiple public goods has been suppressed to justify successive fee increases and the imposition of a market in the centralised English system. This has coincided with a shift from direct government funding and collaborative stewardship by state and institutions, to student funding and top-down regulation. Nevertheless, most interviewees, including regulators, advocated an open-ended public good role and provided many examples of public goods in higher education, though the concepts lacked clarity. The policy notion of a zero-sum relation of private and public outcomes, corresponding to the split of private/public costs, was rejected in favour of a positive-sum relation of private and public outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three trends have characterized state policymaking for higher education in the 21st century: divestment, accountability, and race neutrality. These policy agendas are often justified as an attempt to optimize system efficiency and performance by making institutional actors (agents) responsive to the demands of state officials (principals). In this manuscript, we present quantitative evidence that these three policy initiatives have not achieved their stated purpose. We use contemporary social theory to explain why this is the case. Finally, we call for deeper re-engagement of states and their higher education systems in place of transactional and technocratic models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) technologies in higher education has raised concerns about academic integrity, assessment practices and student learning. Banning or blocking GenAI tools has proven ineffective, and punitive approaches ignore the potential benefits of these technologies. As a result, assessment reform has become a pressing topic in the GenAI era. This paper presents the findings of a pilot study conducted at British University Vietnam exploring the implementation of the Artificial Intelligence Assessment Scale (AIAS), a flexible framework for incorporating GenAI into educational assessments. The AIAS consists of five levels, ranging from "no AI" to "full AI," enabling educators to design assessments that focus on areas requiring human input and critical thinking. The pilot study results indicate a significant reduction in academic misconduct cases related to GenAI and enhanced student engagement with GenAI technology. The AIAS facilitated a shift in pedagogical practices, with faculty members incorporating GenAI tools into their modules and students producing innovative multimodal submissions. The findings suggest that the AIAS can support the effective integration of GenAI in higher education, promoting academic integrity while leveraging technology's potential to enhance learning experiences. Implications for practice or policy: • Higher education institutions should adopt flexible frameworks like the AIAS to guide ethical integration of GenAI into assessment practices. • Educators should design assessments that leverage GenAI capabilities, while supporting critical thinking and human input. • Institutional policies related to GenAI should be developed in consultation with stakeholders and regularly updated to keep pace with technological advancements. • Policymakers should prioritise research funding into the impacts of GenAI on higher education to inform evidence-based practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The share of international students studying in traditionally major hosts fell from 63% in 1999 to 40% by 2019, while the shares of other countries grew. What are the primary factors behind the broadening of international education? I extend the small literature on the flow of international students into non-OECD countries by better measuring relative university system quality. This is found to be a driver of international enrollments for non-OECD and non-English-speaking OECD host countries. The results suggest that economic growth and rising university quality are behind the broadening of international education to a wider variety of host countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore scientific mobility patterns, we leverage a rich bibliometric dataset on Taiwanese academia. We investigate the movement and productivity of 21,051 highly active researchers who published while affiliated with Taiwanese higher education institutions based on 30 years' worth of publication and affiliation records from 1991 to 2020. The analysis shows evidence of brain drain in Taiwan since the 2010s, with the U.S. the top destination for researchers moving from Taiwan (as well as the largest source of inbound researchers). China comes a close second to the U.S. as the top destination for outbound scholars. Studying how Taiwan's universities recruited talent after the country adopted the 2005 excellence initiative, we discover that the numbers of scholars recruited by World Class Universities (WCUs) and non-WCUs surpringly converge with WCUs exhibiting a dramatic decrease in new recruits. Our evidence uncovers that inbound scholars, after their move, are more productive than non-mobile colleagues; however, this effect declines over time. We discuss implications for the study of excellence initiatives, their (un)intended consequences, and mechanisms of talent circulation that greatly impact research production and research university development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the vigorous trend of international publication as a crucial research performance indicator, English claims the status of the uncontested global language of academic publishing. In this study, after providing a sketch of the policies of writing and publishing in English in Iran (reflected in national policy documents and university bylaws), we probe the perspectives of nine Iranian higher education policy experts about these policies through semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal that while policy documents indicate strong orientations in favor of publishing in English, the main justifications behind these policies appear to be vague ideas of demonstrating local academic capabilities and winning international reputation. However, the participants admit that ignoring the peculiarities of different academic fields and neglecting real-life research concerns while overemphasizing the number of research products are the main pitfalls of the policies. Their view of these problems and their suggested solutions indicate little consideration of the concern over the dominance of English in the world today. We discuss some aspects of this concern in relation to the neocolonial status of English in non-Anglophone countries where other languages and cultures can be overshadowed by a dominant so-called global academic lingua franca. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current Information Age, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is switching from a natural resource-based economy to a knowledge-based one, requiring a preparation of the workforce. Entrepreneurship stands to promote the knowledge economy through the creation of innovative products, services, and technology; however, the majority of UAE workers are currently government employees. To establish a foothold in the knowledge economy, the UAE needs to invest in entrepreneurship education to create a prepared and effective workforce. The purpose of this study is to generate insight into the status of integration and implementation of entrepreneurship in higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UAE. A qualitative approach based on thematic analysis of selected documents and semi-structured interviews was used to understand how entrepreneurship education is integrated and how educators in HEIs are implementing the integration. The findings of this study show that the integration of entrepreneurship education in UAE HEIs is still in its early stages. Where entrepreneurship education is implemented, course content needs to be contextualized so that it is accessible and relevant to students in the UAE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores academic middle managers' perspectives on a mission-driven university strategy in a Danish context, offering insights for institutions implementing similar strategies. The case of a Danish university highlights the vital role of academic middle managers in navigating strategic uncertainty. Success requires a nuanced understanding of organizational dynamics and aligning initiatives with institutional goals. The study, based on interviews with ten academic middle managers, reveals complexities and challenges associated with mission-driven innovation in higher education, through a phenomenographic and thematic analysis, concerning current impressions and experiences, the perceived barriers to implementation, and the perceived affordances of transforming into a mission-driven university. The findings emphasize the significance of overcoming internal resistance and establishing institutional support, providing valuable considerations for higher education institutions and their academic middle managers in implementing mission-driven innovation strategies, and have the potential to support the design and implementation of future higher education strategies for sustainability, pertaining to the responsibilities, interactions, and mediations across and among the upper management and the academic staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Objectives: to analyze the legislation issued during the COVID-19 pandemic for nursing education and immediate consequences. Methods: documentary research, whose source was the legislation issued for nursing education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thirty-two documents were analyzed and submitted to a collection instrument. Results: contradictions and consequences for nursing education following the guidelines and law of guidelines and bases were revealed. The consequences of the law affected the quality of teaching, equal access, exemption from minimum school days and course abbreviation. Regarding the guidelines, there was a lack of conditions for developing skills, in addition to the attempt to update them. Concerning internships, acting during the pandemic put students at risk, and their abbreviation prevented them from consolidating knowledge and skills. Final Considerations: remote teaching did not guarantee the quality and equality of teaching, weakened the development of skills, not taking into account nursing’s educational needs.

IntroductionIn the face of global challenges, higher education is regarded as an important force to promote the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Existing research has focused on articulating and analyzing the impact of value shaping for sustainable growth in higher education, although articulation and systematic analysis of higher education policy remain lacking.MethodsBased on the policy tool perspective, this paper constructed a three-dimensional analysis framework by using content analysis and the PMC index model to undertake a thorough analysis of higher education policies published at the central level in China from 2009 to 2024.ResultsThis study found that current higher education policies had multiple impacts on the formation of sustainable development values: (1) In the four dimensions of sustainable development proposed by the United Nations, China's higher education policy had shown clear guiding ideology and action direction; (2) In shaping sustainable values, China's higher education policies showed clear progress in three key dimensions; (3) The value and innovation of this study in shaping the values of sustainable development in higher education policies were primarily expressed in the following aspects.DiscussionThis paper suggested a way for optimizing the design of China's higher education policies, providing empirical data and theoretical support for China's higher education policies to better promote the ideals of sustainable development.