ABSTRACT Debates about the employability of graduates in policy and research have increasingly focused on graduates’ employment outcomes and the development of generic employability skills. This suggests that the knowledge that students engage with in their degrees is far less important than the generic attributes they develop, which promotes a knowledge-blind conception of ‘graduateness’. This article draws on data from a seven-year longitudinal study of students who studied chemistry and chemical engineering in England, South Africa and the USA, following them up to four years after graduation. Graduates’ reflections on the most important things they gained from their degree centred on the knowledge they engaged in as part of their undergraduate degree and how this shaped their way of engaging with the world. This has two important implications. First, it highlights the ways in which the focus on generic employability and employment outcomes obscures the way in which ‘graduateness’ depends on the relations to knowledge that graduates have developed through their studies. Second, this means that focusing on graduate outcomes without taking account of these relations to knowledge provides policymakers, institutional leaders and prospective students with a profoundly misleading account of the educational outcomes of undergraduate degrees.

ABSTRACT University rankings have strongly influenced the values, practices, and policies universities adopt to be considered good universities. Thinking in terms of epistemic responsibilities (ERs) of universities provides a novel framework that could counter the traditional use of rankings and its negative effects, by accentuating other and broader responsibilities for research, teaching, and in service to society. We conducted a co-design study to develop practical tools to foster ERs. Applied co-design methodology is characterized by creativity, collaboration, and democratic knowledge formation. In an iterative co-design process with 25 participants from a range of backgrounds, we co-designed three policy tools for fostering ERs at universities: (1) organization of events and activities about the ERs to create awareness about them, (2) establishment of red teams to critically reflect on ERs and (3) setting up co-creation spaces in which stakeholders prioritize and develop university actions to foster ERs. In this study, we showed how policy for higher education can be developed using co-design methodology. Lastly, these three co-designed tools focus on realizing ERs through collaborative bottom-up processes, while also valuing the particular contexts of universities.

ABSTRACT The adoption and diffusion of blended learning in higher education have a surge in recent years, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, research on comprehensive institutional strategies elucidating the reasons and mechanisms behind institutional adoption is still limited. This gap may contribute to a lack of understanding among university leadership regarding the provision of necessary policies and essential support for both students and academics. Utilising a case study methodology, and grounded in Diffusion of Innovations theory, this study investigates the factors influencing the institutional adoption and diffusion of blended learning in a university. The study involved interviews with 24 lecturers and six university executives, and the data were analysed relying on a theoretical proposition. Additionally, various university documents were collected and subjected to content analyses. The results revealed a range of factors that either facilitated or impeded the diffusion process, including student experiences, teacher beliefs and attitudes, teacher support, teacher self-efficacy, university policies, and institutional readiness. While most of these factors contributed to the innovation process, certain elements had a negative impact, hindering the university's efforts for diffusion. Notably, the study observed the dynamic evolution of the roles played by some factors as the diffusion process unfolded.

ABSTRACT The term tertiary education has gained prominence in recent policy debates in the UK [Morgan (2023). “Labour ‘would review whole landscape’ of tertiary education.” Times Higher Education, 28 November. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/labour-would-review-whole-landscape-tertiary-education]. This paper presents findings from a review of the use of the term in academic and policy papers in the UK over the last 80 years. The analysis reveals the role of international organisations in defining this term initially as a synonym for post-compulsory education before using it as a statistical measure which became a normative guide for many member states. More recently, the term tertiary education has been used as a descriptor of systems of educational governance and by the World Bank for specific systems of organisation. Using these definitions as a guide, the review demonstrates differences in government policy in the four nations of the United Kingdom: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Here there is evidence of periodic and partial policy change, but little sustained full engagement with this agenda. The review suggests that if future tertiary education policy initiatives are introduced they should cover all potential learners once they have left the compulsory phase of education and should be advanced by regional bodies with involvement from learners, employers and community representatives allocating funds from a single tertiary education budget.

ABSTRACT It has long been debated as to whether higher education (HE) is a site of social mobility that promotes meritocracy or social reproduction that creates and exacerbates inequalities in societies. In this paper, I will argue that HE, even when democratised and provided free to everyone, reproduces inequalities unless coupled with an inclusive sectoral design, an expansion of funding, and a wider strategy to reduce socio-economic inequalities. To do so, I studied the case of Syria, which has always claimed to have a meritocratic HE system that is designed to achieve equality in society by providing free HE for all since the 1970s. I analysed the database of the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) for 15 academic years from 2001 to 2015. This database included data on students’ access and graduation rate divided by the type of education (public, private, higher institutes, and technical institutes), level of education (undergraduate and postgraduate), gender (male and female), city, faculty, and specialisations. This analysis unpacked four types of inequalities, namely education type-based inequalities, specialisation-based inequalities, city-based inequalities, and gender-based inequalities. Finally, I show how gender dynamics and roles are changing in the HE sector as a result of the Syrian conflict.

ABSTRACT Policy discussions related to higher education in sub-Saharan Africa often include concerns related to quality. Rather than being an abstract characteristic, quality of higher education is the result of a series of actions and practices, and yet there is limited research on the practices associated with quality in higher education in Africa. This article explores the practice of self-study in West African higher education institutions. After conducting 21 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders from four public and private institutions in the West African region, which were selected on the basis of their respective strength in quality culture, the study suggests that protecting one’s institutional image can have a significant impact on the uses of self-study. Research participants, regardless of weak or strong quality cultures, were very sensitive about, and even protective of, institutional self-image. The pursuit of a strong institutional image resulted in substantive changes within stronger cultures, or cosmetic changes, among weaker cultures. Having weighed the evidence collected in the study, we argue that the link between self-study and academic activities, including teaching and learning, is weak at best. This study serves as a reminder that self-study is an instrument and therefore its uses are subject to revision and improvement.

ABSTRACT The decision whether to reopen universities for in-person learning in late 2020 relied on ethical decision-making where the consequences were dire to the mission of the institution, health of the community, financial well-being of the institution and employees, and had political ramifications. The risks that universities faced worldwide included health risks to students, faculty, staff, and the community; financial risks to the institution and employees; and mission risks of the institution. Each of these risks had ethical implications. University reopening decisions were made in the United States as the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths were surging globally. Applying a moral intensity framework that assesses the in-person learning decision against six dimensions and using data collected from 62 universities, we show that social consensus and risk mitigation measures designed to reduce the magnitude of consequences and temporal immediacy were important factors in deciding to offer in-person classes. An ex-post facto analysis of COVID-19 infection and death data suggests that university administrators made an ethical decision. When facing a similar crisis management scenario in the future, a moral intensity framework could help university administrators worldwide understand the issues and allow them to make an ethical decision.

ABSTRACT Despite the expansion of higher education and the growing number of students from disadvantaged socioeconomic background and/or from ethnic minorities who now access university places, inequalities in access to higher education based on social class and origin remain a challenge. This article analyses the Polytechnic Universities in Mexico, examining them as a public policy for democratising access to higher education. We conducted 15 semi-structured interviews with the rectors and heads of the academic administration staff of 12 Polytechnic Universities, aiming to identify the limits and potential of the various strategies that make the PU model a policy of equity. These strategies include (i) the geographical decentralisation of university campuses, (ii) the scholarships and financial aid programmes, and (iii) the recruitment campaigns to attract new students. The interviews enable us to uncover the trade-off between equity and excellence and to observe how the PU model addresses it. While some of the responses and effects have already been examined in the literature, others highlight some nuanced specificities in the context of PUs in Mexico. Our results provide evidence that suggests a need to reconsider the most effective equity PUs strategies for enhancing access to higher education for disadvantaged populations in Mexico.

ABSTRACT Higher education in countries like Ghana faces significant challenges, including financial barriers, which usually hinder students’ educational progress and graduation rates. While some students usually rely on family support and personal savings, these resources are generally insufficient for covering all educational expenses. Although student loans have emerged as a beacon of hope to address these challenges, research on this topic, particularly in developing countries, has remained underexplored. This study, grounded in the Theory of Planned Behaviour, investigates the psychological factors influencing Ghanaian students’ decisions to utilize student loans and the impact on graduation rates. Data is gathered from 114 Ghanaian students using a purposive sampling technique. The analysis reveals a positive correlation between favourable attitudes toward student loans and intentions to use them. Subjective norms significantly influence loan decisions, while perceived behavioural control has no significant impact. Also, loan decisions positively correlate with graduation rates, suggesting loans can enhance academic persistence. These findings highlight the need for responsible loan programs to improve graduation outcomes and socioeconomic development.