ABSTRACT Introduced into the Ukrainian higher education sector in 2019, the performance-based funding policy has experienced volatile implementation. Reinstated in 2024, it coincided with the public grants reform and consolidation of the higher education network. This article presents an implementation analysis conducted to understand the organisational responses of Ukrainian higher education institutions towards the performance-based funding policy and to uncover the possible changes it has prompted in their behaviour. The analysis relies on primary data collected from 28 respondents representing leadership and operational and research managers at 22 higher education institutions, including those that have benefitted from the performance-based funding policy implementation and those that have not. The concurrent mixed-method research design is anchored in parametric factorial analysis of the respondents’ perceptions and thematic analysis of their confidential semi-structured interviews. Drawing on Oliver’s strategic response framework, the article elicits diverging strategic responses of higher education institutions adopted in reaction to the performance-based funding policy and outlines the institutional changes triggered by it, including with regard to internal incentive systems. The article brings forward policy recommendations for better implementation of the performance-based funding policy, including during the full-scale Russian war on Ukraine.

ABSTRACT Brazil's higher education landscape, the largest in Latin America, is undergoing a quiet revolution. This essay examines two pioneering innovations that are reshaping access and learning: the Interdisciplinary Higher Education Formation Program (ProFIS) at the University of Campinas (Unicamp) and the implementation of Interdisciplinary Bachelor's Degrees (Bacharelados Interdisciplinares) at federal universities nationwide. These programmes demonstrate that structural flexibility and social inclusion can advance together, offering actionable models for system-wide transformation. By analyzing their design, outcomes, and scalability, this essay advocates for policy shifts that embed general education cycles, promote new institutional types, and restructure governance to foster permeability, experimentation, and inclusion across Brazil's tertiary sector.

ABSTRACT This study presents the first sector-wide application of the PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental) framework to Australian public university annual reports. Using a mixed methods design that combined qualitative thematic coding with quantitative frequency analysis, 1,312 macro-environmental references were identified across 37 institutions. Findings reveal universities’ responses to shifts in government funding, visa regulations, enrolment volatility, inflationary pressures, digital transformation, regulatory complexity, and sustainability imperatives. Results also indicate considerable institutional variation in how these external forces are interpreted and reported. By treating annual reports as strategic artefacts rather than administrative outputs, the study highlights their value as tools for systematic environmental scanning in higher education. The study’s contribution is twofold. First, it fills a gap in higher education research by demonstrating a replicable, evidence-based methodology for analysing institutional reporting. Second, it provides practical insights for policymakers and university leaders, supporting the alignment of strategies with external dynamics and strengthening decision-making. In doing so, the analysis advances understanding of how Australian universities respond to shifting macro-environmental conditions and provides a model adaptable to other national contexts.

ABSTRACT Most mergers in higher education have really been acquisitions of smaller and more vulnerable institutions by larger and stronger ones. The aim has been to produce more financially robust and academically resilient institutions. But mergers have been the exception. The institutional landscape of most public higher education systems has changed only slowly. However, more competitive market conditions, combined with continuing funding constraints, may change that picture. But mergers should not be seen as a ‘magic bullet’ by national policy makers and institutional leaders.

ABSTRACT India’s One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) initiative proposes a groundbreaking model to democratise access to scholarly knowledge by negotiating nationwide subscriptions to paywalled academic journals. This paper critically examines ONOS’s potential to transform India’s research ecosystem, addressing its objectives, implementation challenges, and socio-economic implications. Through a comparative analysis of global models – such as the EU's Plan S, Germany's Projekt Deal, Egypt’s Egyptian Knowledge Bank, South Africa’s national licensing consortium, and Peru’s open-access repository; the study identifies key lessons for India. While ONOS promises to bridge the urban-rural knowledge divide and reduce institutional costs by 30–40%, its success hinges on overcoming publisher resistance, funding uncertainties, and infrastructural inequities. The paper advocates for a hybrid approach that integrates ONOS with open-access mandates and public-private partnerships to balance affordability and sustainability. By contextualising ONOS within India’s ambitions under the National Education Policy 2020, this research underscores the initiative’s role in fostering inclusive growth and positioning India as a global research leader.

ABSTRACT Postgraduate research delays continue to challenge higher education systems, particularly in developing countries such as Ghana. This study investigates postgraduate students’ perceptions of the factors contributing to these delays in a selected public university. Using a qualitative interpretivist approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 25 participants, including delayed candidates, continuing students, and those who completed their programmes on time. The findings show that institutional inefficiencies, limited research support, and student-related constraints significantly contribute to delays. Bureaucratic bottlenecks, slow and inconsistent feedback from supervisors, and inadequate access to essential research resources emerged as dominant institutional issues. Supervisory challenges, such as high workload, weak mentorship, and irregular communication, were also identified as major barriers that hinder students’ progress. Some participants perceived gift-giving practices as potentially influencing supervisor responsiveness, though others attributed delays to broader systemic problems rather than personal incentives. Drawing on Institutional Theory and Social Exchange Theory, the study explains how structural constraints and interpersonal dynamics shape research timelines. The study recommends strengthened supervision policies, digital research monitoring systems, increased postgraduate funding, and improved research support structures. These interventions are vital for enhancing efficiency and promoting the timely completion of postgraduate research within Ghanaian universities.

ABSTRACT As educational systems have expanded, inclusion has become a global educational demand and a central component of contemporary educational policies. Higher education faces challenges in ensuring access, retention, and graduation for underrepresented groups, particularly students with disabilities. Consequently, it is essential to analyse how inclusion policies function in practice. This article explores how higher education policies and narratives influence the construction, redefinition, and questioning of disability and inclusion. We analysed the inclusion policies and narratives of three universities in Chile, along with insights from staff members of their inclusion programmes. We adopted a post-qualitative approach informed by Deleuzoguattarian assemblage theory and Michael Feely’s three-stage analytic process, using Suzanne Mettler’s policyscape framework to trace the relational dynamics. We observed that while ableism strongly influences policies, narratives, and subject formation in higher education, regulatory processes around disability also allow for subverting material agencies and fostering new relationships. This article promotes a deeper analysis of ableism within institutional diagnoses in higher education to enhance understanding of educational experiences beyond pedagogical dimensions. This implies incorporating social, emotional and other aspects into educational policies and programmes. We propose improvements to university inclusion and disability policies for international implementation and adaptation.

ABSTRACT In common with moves internationally, the direction of post-compulsory education policy in Scotland has been towards the development of a coherent tertiary sector. Using documentary analysis of government and government-commissioned policy documents, this paper considers what the policy direction being pursued by the Scottish Government tells us about the role of Scotland's colleges within a future tertiary sector. Through thematic analysis of four major policy documents the paper identifies seven ‘purposes’ of college education – individual employment and skills development; economic growth and employer needs; delivering government priorities; access and inclusion; providing a route into higher education; sectoral coherence and collaboration; and enriching culture, society and individuals. Using Biesta's three domains of educational purpose (qualification, socialisation and subjectification) as an analytical framework, the paper finds an emphasis on qualification and socialisation, with less focus given to learner agency and subjectification. It is proposed that this limits the ambition for the contribution of college education to the wider tertiary sector and entrenches existing inequalities and divisions within the system.

ABSTRACT This research examines the implications of the 2014 Education and Training Policy (ETP) and its 2023 edition on higher learning institutions (HLIs) in Tanzania. It explores both intended concerns, such as the quality, accessibility, and relevance, and the unintended consequences of leadership, governance, and resource allocation, all with the interest of looking at how the new policy defines all these aspects. This research employs a qualitative method with a systematic review approach focused on reviewing key Tanzania policies, such as the ETP 1995, ETP 2014, and its 2023 edition, alongside other relevant published research, policy reports, and case studies. Different aspects of HLIs are illustrated in how this policy impacts them. These aspects include the system and organisation structure and design, content and curriculum, leadership management and governance, mode of delivery, and learning support services. The study adds to the present body of literature by presenting key policy recommendations and suggestions that policymakers, educators, and other stakeholders may use to address the existing challenges and capitalise on the new policy opportunities for HE transformation. The recommendations in the paper are also meant to enhance the possibilities of developing an efficient and well-equipped higher education system in Tanzania.