The role, scale and expectations of higher education institutions have changed dramatically in recent times as knowledge intensity has become a key determinant of economic competitiveness. Higher education institutions face increasing pressure to demonstrate their fitness to meet the needs of society and individuals. Questions about the quality, performance and productivity of higher education are central to these concerns, and of relevance to society, governments and students. This Research Handbook brings together international scholars to address these issues and propose how to move beyond them. This Research Handbook is the first comprehensive reference of its kind, laying out current research in the field and bringing it up to date with cutting-edge theoretical and empirical contributions from leading international experts. Blending new research with richly contextualised national and regional examples, the authors give authoritative insights from around the globe on how best to understand, assess and improve quality, performance and accountability in higher education. This Research Handbook will become an invaluable tool for practitioners in higher education and education policy-making as well as researchers and students of social science and public policy.

By exploring a normative model of universities as institutions with a responsibility to contribute to the public good, this book addresses the leadership, management and public policy challenges of maximizing higher education's contribution to civil society. It codifies the extensive academic literature in this field and reviews higher education and other public policies that both drive and inhibit civic engagement both globally and locally. Comparing experiences and reports of an institutional developmental process undertaken in eight distinctive universities in four European countries and guided by the editors the book explores key questions such as: what is the Civic University, and how can we use this concept to understand higher education's engagement with the outside world in varying institutional and geographical contexts? What are the appropriate internal structures and mechanisms required for a university to effectively encourage and support civic engagement activity for the greatest societal impact? How can embedding civic engagement in individual institutions and wider systems be facilitated by changes in higher education and related policies at the sub-national, national and European level? Succinct and discerning, The Civic University will be of great interest to academics working in the fields of higher education, science and innovation studies and community and city development. It will also appeal to university leaders and organisers of institutional leadership development programmes along with city leaders and policy makers at national and international levels.

University rankings have gained popularity around the world and are now a significant factor shaping reputation. This second edition updates Ellen Hazelkorn's first comprehensive study of rankings from a global perspective, drawing in new original research and extensive analysis. It is essential reading for policymakers, managers and scholars.

University rankings have gained popularity around the world and are now a significant factor shaping reputation. This second edition updates Ellen Hazelkorn's first comprehensive study of rankings from a global perspective, drawing in new original research and extensive analysis. It is essential reading for policymakers, managers and scholars.

Drawing on original international research by a cross-European social science team, this book makes an important contribution to the discussion about the future of arts and humanities research. It explores the responses of these fields to the growing range of questions being asked about the value, impact and benefit of publicly-funded research. The objective is to better understand what really matters rather than what is easily measured. The book increases our understanding of the contribution which university-based arts and humanities research makes to society and the economy by exploring how it is defined, appreciated and accounted for by researchers, policymakers and civil society. It identifies appropriate practices and methodologies to assess and demonstrate quality and value beyond the academy. The book will be essential reading for researchers and policymakers, as well as research organisations and anyone interested in the arts and humanities.

University rankings have gained popularity around the world and are now a significant factor shaping reputation. This second edition updates Ellen Hazelkorn's first comprehensive study of rankings from a global perspective, drawing in new original research and extensive analysis. It is essential reading for policymakers, managers and scholars.

Global rankings and the Geopolitics of Higher Education is an examination of the impact and influence that university rankings have had on higher education, policy and public opinion in recent years. Bringing together some of the most informed authorities on this very complex issue, this edited collection of specially commissioned chapters examines the changes affecting higher education and the implications for society and the economy. Split into four interrelated sections, this book covers: The development of rankings in higher education, how they have impacted upon both the production of knowledge and its geography, and their influence in shaping policymaking. Overviews of the significance of rankings for higher education systems in Europe, Asia, Africa, Russia, South America, India and North America. An analysis of rankings in relation to key concerns that pervade contemporary higher education. Examination of the role rankings are likely to play in the future directions for higher education. This is a significant scholarly work that analyses in depth an important development in higher education systems, and which is likely to have an important influence upon how we understand the higher education policy-making process - past, present and future. It provides new analysis and conceptual understanding for researchers, and firm evidence for policy makers to use when addressing the value of rankings in measuring the quality of their institutions. Besides bringing together a powerful cast of academics, this book incorporates contributions from heads of important international higher education organisations - from both those involved in making and also in administering key decisions. This timely, reflective and accessible book forms crucial reading for those studying the subject of rankings, as well as the broader implications and unintended consequences of rankings on national higher education policies. Extending beyond academic researchers and students, this book will also be of significant interest to policymakers, higher education leaders and key stakeholders.

Global rankings and the Geopolitics of Higher Education is an examination of the impact and influence that university rankings have had on higher education, policy and public opinion in recent years. Bringing together some of the most informed authorities on this very complex issue, this edited collection of specially commissioned chapters examines the changes affecting higher education and the implications for society and the economy. Split into four interrelated sections, this book covers: The development of rankings in higher education, how they have impacted upon both the production of knowledge and its geography, and their influence in shaping policymaking. Overviews of the significance of rankings for higher education systems in Europe, Asia, Africa, Russia, South America, India and North America. An analysis of rankings in relation to key concerns that pervade contemporary higher education. Examination of the role rankings are likely to play in the future directions for higher education. This is a significant scholarly work that analyses in depth an important development in higher education systems, and which is likely to have an important influence upon how we understand the higher education policy-making process - past, present and future. It provides new analysis and conceptual understanding for researchers, and firm evidence for policy makers to use when addressing the value of rankings in measuring the quality of their institutions. Besides bringing together a powerful cast of academics, this book incorporates contributions from heads of important international higher education organisations - from both those involved in making and also in administering key decisions. This timely, reflective and accessible book forms crucial reading for those studying the subject of rankings, as well as the broader implications and unintended consequences of rankings on national higher education policies. Extending beyond academic researchers and students, this book will also be of significant interest to policymakers, higher education leaders and key stakeholders.

It is widely accepted that higher education in the 21st century across the OECD is operating in a changed and challenging environment. The last decades have witnessed an explosion around the world in the number and type of higher education providers. New higher education institutions (HEIs) have been established under the auspices of both public and private benefactors to meet broad socio-economic and political objectives. This is in contrast to older universities, which had primarily served as the breeding ground for the elite. However, new HEIs are facing many challenges associated with their status. As higher education systems, nationally and internationally, become more competitive, barriers to entry are also rising. Governments are asking how higher education can be restructured to be a more efficient economic driver. Students and their parents are also making more demands. Defining research and measuring its output has become a somewhat controversial issue, as questions are being asked about which institutions should do research and what kind of research they should do. How are higher education institutions responding to these challenges and trying to shape their future? Given the increasing competitiveness and greater geo-political significance of higher education and research, and the under-developed profile of many new HEIs, this study seeks to examine the processes and strategies being devised by new HEIs to grow research. By focusing on new HEIs, this book provides a unique profile of the experiences of a group of institutions that has hitherto been unidentified and unexplored. It analyses results drawn from an in-depth study of twenty-five HEIs from across sixteen countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hong Kong China, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.