Over the last decade the structure of higher education in most countries has undergone significant change brought about by social demands for expanded access, technological developments, and market forces. In this period of change the traditional concerns with access and cost have been supplemented by a new concern with academic quality. As a consequence, new public policies on academic quality and new forms of academic quality assurance have rapidly emerged and swiftly migrated across continents and around the globe.

The growing public debate about academic quality assurance within and across countries however has not always been well informed by analyses of the strengths and weaknesses of these new policy instruments. The Public Policy for Academic Quality Research Program (PPAQ) was designed to provide systematic analyses of innovative external quality assurance policies around the world. This volume presents the fourteen analyses of national policies on academic quality assurance conducted as part of the PPAQ Research Program utilizing the knowledge of informed international scholars. Each policy analysis examines the policy goals, implementation problems, and impacts of these newly developed national quality assurance instruments. The book concludes with an assessment of the lessons learned from these collected policy analyses and outlines the framework conditions that appear essential for assuring academic standards in the university sector.

This state-of-the-art reference collection addresses the major themes, theories and key concepts related to higher education policy and governance on an international scale in one accessible volume. Mapping the field and showcasing current research and theorizations from diverse perspectives and authoritative scholars, this essential guide will assist readers in navigating the myriad concepts and themes involved in higher education policy and governance research and practice. Split into two sections, the first explores a range of policy concepts, theories and methods including governance models, policy instruments, institutionalism and organizational change, new public management and multi-level governance. The second section addresses salient themes such as institutional governance, funding, quality, employability, accountability, university rankings, widening participation, gender, inequalities, technology, student involvement and the role of higher education in society. Global in its perspective and definitive in content, this one-stop volume will be an indispensable reference resource for a wide range of academics, students and researchers in the fields of education, education policy, sociology, social and public policy, political science and for leadership.

This volume presents the most comprehensive international discussion of the role of markets in higher education ever published. It reflects on both the political and economic implications of the rising trend towards introducing market elements in higher education. The book draws together many leading international scholars in the economic and policy analysis of higher education to explore different theoretical perspectives and present new empirical evidence on market mechanisms in higher education in several Western countries.

The authors present a dispassionate and ideologically neutral view of the advantages and disadvantages of the introduction of market-mechanisms in higher education and of its effects in terms of access, equity, quality of provision, student learning, research and scholarship, and so on. And they balance the performance of markets in higher education against the alternative of more, or a different kind of, governmental intervention.

The book will be of interest to researchers, university staff, students and government professionals working in the areas of higher education, comparative education, economics and public policy.

Over the last decade the structure of higher education in most countries has undergone significant change brought about by social demands for expanded access, technological developments, and market forces. In this period of change the traditional concerns with access and cost have been supplemented by a new concern with academic quality. As a consequence, new public policies on academic quality and new forms of academic quality assurance have rapidly emerged and swiftly migrated across continents and around the globe.

The growing public debate about academic quality assurance within and across countries however has not always been well informed by analyses of the strengths and weaknesses of these new policy instruments. The Public Policy for Academic Quality Research Program (PPAQ) was designed to provide systematic analyses of innovative external quality assurance policies around the world. This volume presents the fourteen analyses of national policies on academic quality assurance conducted as part of the PPAQ Research Program utilizing the knowledge of informed international scholars. Each policy analysis examines the policy goals, implementation problems, and impacts of these newly developed national quality assurance instruments. The book concludes with an assessment of the lessons learned from these collected policy analyses and outlines the framework conditions that appear essential for assuring academic standards in the university sector.

This volume presents the most comprehensive international discussion of the role of markets in higher education ever published. It reflects on both the political and economic implications of the rising trend towards introducing market elements in higher education. The book draws together many leading international scholars in the economic and policy analysis of higher education to explore different theoretical perspectives and present new empirical evidence on market mechanisms in higher education in several Western countries.

The authors present a dispassionate and ideologically neutral view of the advantages and disadvantages of the introduction of market-mechanisms in higher education and of its effects in terms of access, equity, quality of provision, student learning, research and scholarship, and so on. And they balance the performance of markets in higher education against the alternative of more, or a different kind of, governmental intervention.

The book will be of interest to researchers, university staff, students and government professionals working in the areas of higher education, comparative education, economics and public policy.

In times of rapid international political and economic change the great universities of Europe and North America are being transformed. Public expectations about access to higher education, government concerns about the role that universities can play in innovation and economic development, and the application of the principals of market economics to the university systems of all countries have created a new context for higher education. Universities whose governance and organization have been among the most stable and predictable in modern society are experiencing unprecedented pressure for change. Social demands in Europe are leading for the first time in history to a corporate form of university, similar in structure to American institutions.
American universities are confronted with new levels of national and international competition as well as new government policies.

The papers of this volume are the outcome of the remarkable process of discussions which took place during the 1995 international symposium on the future role of the university held in Vienna, Austria. The papers have been thoughtfully revised to reflect the insights and contributions of the participants at the symposium and the editors have provided a synthesizing introduction and conclusion. The respective chapters are rich in scholarly insight regarding the complex intersection between public policy and university organization.