Sector Higher Education Institutions Research Articles

Higher Education Institutions and Multistakeholders’ Engagement: A Longitudinal Study of an Anchor Institution's Legitimacy and Dynamism

Higher education institutions (HEIs) often serve as the social glue of a community. They are place-bound institutions with strong regional ties that typically play a crucial role in shaping the socioeconomic development of local ecosystems. Although their role as anchor institutions—large institutions that impact community life and economies over generations—is clear, there are few studies on how these universities actually evolve. How do their structures change over time? And what, if any, are their strategies for maintaining their status as an anchor institution? This research presents a longitudinal case study spanning a seven-year period in the life of the University of Turin (UniTo), a large generalist university in Northern Italy. During this period, UniTo successfully transitioned from an ivory tower into an entrepreneurial university and a civically engaged institution embedded in its local region. Our analysis identifies the main challenges in evolving from one model to the other, along with the strategies used by UniTo to both face these challenges and maintain its status as an anchor institution. Our findings show that, in the HEI sector, an institution's organizational structures need to be dynamic. Structured, top-down relationships, such as those between the institution and the municipality, need to work in tandem with spontaneous, bottom-up one-to-one relationships. Overall, what emerges from this research is a new concept of legitimacy, called <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">anchored legitimacy</i> , that is built on both spontaneity and structuralism and persists over decades and centuries.

What's out there? A scoping review of autism-related policies and research interests at U.K. higher education institutions

Background There is a growing number of autistic students in U.K. higher education institutions (HEIs), who may require autism-specific support to optimise their academic achievement, long-term prospects, and well-being. This study undertook the first known review of publicly available autism-related policies at U.K. HEIs. Methods Public websites of 132 HEIs were searched for eleven key terms, and the results of these searches were assessed using a policy appraisal approach. Qualitative framework analysis then explored the content of the policies identified. Results Three hundred thirty-six policies were identified from 92 HEIs, with 40 HEIs having no policies meeting search terms. The most common policy results were ‘autism support’ and ‘disability adjustments’. The qualitative analysis showed a wide range of policies which covered most areas of higher education life but with significant inconsistency in content and quality. Conclusions While many U.K. HEIs appear to be aware of autistic students and the need to support them, most institutions have minimal publicly available policies regarding support for autistic students. The policies to support students which do exist are patchy at best, and non-existent in some cases, requiring more work at individual institutions and across the HEI sector.

Striving for Diversity of Leadership: Governance in UK Higher Education Institutions

Diversity of membership on boards and governance bodies in a range of sectors have been shown to be a key element in successful boards and effectively lead, monitor and advise their executive. Much progress has been made on improving gender balance on boards, including in universities and higher education institutions (HEI). However, the (scant) literature on HEI boards highlights that higher education or university boards in the UK need to do more to tackle all the other forms of under-representation where limited progress has been made on diversity, other than gender. This paper thus has two main aims, the first to locate the work on developing the diversity of UK university boards within the wider (corporate) theory and literature in this field. This is because the literature in the corporate sector is better established and therefore there is something to learn from practice in this area. The second aim is to develop a practical toolkit to expedite board diversity in higher education to bring it in line with other sectors to enable them to reflect what the OECD believe should be the role of universities: which is to be at the cutting edge of leading societal change.&#x0D; This paper reports on quantitative and qualitative data collected and analysed in order to develop a practical Board Diversity Toolkit - the first national scheme of its kind. Data were collected from 44 HEIs, representing a third of the UK’s HEIs and 104 governors to inform the development of the Toolkit. The paper discusses the issues raised in the data that might be a key barrier to achieving diversity and addressing chronic under-representation in UK Boards. This centred around deep-seated attitudes on how diversity may compromise the skills needed on Boards and importantly how to unseat these ingrained (often unconscious) attitudes if we are to achieve genuine change at Board levels. The Board Diversity Toolkit, designed as an output of work, could play a key role in changing such attitudes and develop the UK HEI sector in terms of conducting board business better, as well as meeting the need to be representative of staff and student bodies.

Role of Organizational Justice in Linking Leadership Styles and Academics’ Performance in Higher Education

Leadership is vital for all organizations, including higher education institutions (HEIs). Based on this, this study aimed to examine department heads’ leadership styles concerning employee performance as well as nurturing the culture of justice. For this purpose, the leadership styles (transformational and transactional leadership) relationship is examined with employee performance through the mediating role of organizational justice. Data were collected from academicians working in the HEIs located in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan using a convenience sampling approach to obtain the targeted sample. Data were analyzed through a symmetric approach and after conducting confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using AMOS, mediation models were assessed by following the Hayes process model procedure. The results indicate that organizational justice partially mediates the direct relationship between transformational and transactional leadership with employee performance in the HEIs sector of Pakistan. It is recommended that institutions need to take action to ensure that just and fair transformational leadership behavior is practiced to attain the desired employee performance in the HEIs.

Perceptions of Organizational Politics among Public Sector University Faculty

The fact that politics exist in Pakistani associations is true for the education sector too. This research distinguished whether maintaining, moving higher in a brief time frame, in the hierarchy of a higher education institution, is through belongingness or is it through labour and capability. This study investigated the existence of politics among the teachers of public sector higher education institutions and is structured around the Perceptions of Organizational Politics (PoPs) developed by Kacmar and Carlson (1997). The data was collected in two phases: the first phase included the collection of quantitative data from 367 university faculty and in the second phase 15 university Deans/ HoDs were interviewed for triangulation. The data collected was analyzed using SPSSv-22.0. The results of the research established that politics exists at the university level and that seats of learning are not exempted from the evil of politics; teachers act the same way as workers in any other organization. The research likewise brought to the fore a solid relationship between workers' apparent contentment with regards to pay and advancement and organizations' compensation and advancement guidelines.

Introducing Strategic Design in Education (SDxE): an approach to navigating complexity and ambiguity at the micro, meso and macro layers of Higher Education Institutions

ABSTRACT Members of the Higher Education (HE) community have embodied the spirit of designers by identifying needs and creatively responding with speed, agility and ingenuity as a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While these rapid changes were required at the time of the pandemic, the lack of an innovation structure in HEIs (Higher Education Institutions) has become evident. We argue it is necessary to implement an innovation structure in a HEI which can be used to guide all types of innovation, to ensure they are desirable, viable, feasible and suitable from the perspective of all stakeholders. This article builds on the ARRIVE innovation process and uses Vaugh et al.’s Principles for Designing Progress to develop the concept of Strategic Design in Education (SDxE). Through embracing the SDxE approach, the HE community has the potential to not only get comfortable in the complexity and ambiguity which will inevitably result in the HEI sector for decades to come, but have an opportunity to shape it into something more desirable. We propose that SDxE offers an actionable scaffold for Human-Centered innovation, one that holds the potential to affect change, improve collaboration and produce more successful outcomes across the micro, meso and macro layers of HEIs.

Students’ Perceptions of Public vs. Private Higher Education Institution Brand Value in Croatia

Due to the transition process in Croatia that started about three decades ago, higher education institutions (HEIs) are forced to intensively involve themselves in market competition and become market and entrepreneurial oriented in order to keep up with new trends in higher education. The branding process in HEIs has become one of the major activities in creating value and gaining market position in many countries, including Croatia. The aim of this study is to provide a deeper insight into and understanding of differences in brand market value perceptions of students of public and private HEIs in Croatia. Altogether, 443 students (242 from a public HEI and 201 from a private HEI) responded to a questionnaire based on Aaker’s model of brand equity, from which a t-test and a correlation analysis showed that the public HEI was significantly better only in the dimension of other proprietary brand assets, while in the private HEI all other dimensions of brand market value were evaluated better. However, brand market value itself was significantly higher in the public sector HEI, mainly due to the perception of “value for money” and functional benefits, i.e., employability. The study identified several factors that need to be taken into account when branding private and public HEIs in Croatia.

Navigating unChartered waters: anchoring Athena SWAN into Irish HEIs

ABSTRACT The UK Athena SWAN (AS) Charter was extended to Irish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in 2015 to provide a catalyst for change towards gender equality and to transform institutional cultures, through AS Gender Action Plans. This paper charts: the journey of Athena SWAN to Ireland; its rate of adoption by Irish HEIs; and its impact on the sector. Drawing upon the perspective and contribution of Trinity College Dublin, as an institutional case study accelerator, the paper examines some prevailing critiques of the Athena SWAN Charter and demonstrates how some of these shortfalls have been overcome in the Irish HEI sector, most notably through linking Athena SWAN awards to sectoral and research funding.

Developing a Practical Framework of Sustainability Indicators Relevant to All Higher Education Institutions to Enable Meaningful International Rankings

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) sustainability assessments are receiving significant attention in the academic literature, with ever more complex grading and ranking systems being developed. This paper aims to provide national policy makers with a simple set of indicators to facilitate measuring progress towards sustainability for the HEI sector, within the context of national sustainability data collection efforts. Candidate indicators were identified and assessed from the two most subscribed to HEI sustainability assessments, namely, the UIGreenMetric and STARS, to develop a sector specific indicator set. This resulted in a final set of 12 indicators, covering on-site energy, greenhouse gas emissions, solid waste, water, travel, education, research, and governance. The proposed indicator set was then compared to publicly available data for Irish HEIs, to identify gaps in data collection, which found that direct campus energy use and associated Scope 1 and 2 emission data alone were collected with sufficient rigour. The described indicator set has the potential to be applied to guiding national sustainability transitions globally and offers a template for accelerating sustainability data collection efforts for the HEI sector.

City Branding in Malaysian Higher Education Institutions:A Conceptual Review

Higher Education Institutions (HEI) have been gaining political power and proximity in cities all around the world since the industrial revolution initiated in the 19th century. Due to high demand in a very competitive globalized knowledge economic sector, HEI sector has transformed into a commodity and is interdependent with the global market. The vast economic outburst has also resulted HEI to be associated with a myriad of business sector including tourism industry through an array of knowledge-based enterprises such as academic conferences, arts and sport festivals and other multitudes of academic mobility events. HEI has also spurted a local economic catalyst contributing to job creations both directly and indirectly. HEI have been represented by education-marketers as a place for the amalgamation of intellectual development and sensorial experiences through various visual consumptions. This trend also signifies the convergence and depolarisation of work and leisure whereby prospective students intends to study at a place that would also provide some recreational values. Hence, this study aims to contribute to a conceptual understanding of the field HEI and City Branding by evaluating previous works on Edu-tourism and branding. Secondary data are gathered from various sources and it is concluded that despite Malaysia being one of the most known and visited countries in South East Asia with a vast number of international students enrolled in the country, there are still many domains and areas that have yet to be tapped to its fullest potential to create a more robust and cohesive city branding efforts in line with HEI growth.

Systems change in UK HEIs: how do culture, management, users and systems align?

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to assess the implementation of integrated information systems in UK higher education institutions (HEIs) via multiple internal stakeholders.Design/methodology/approachThe approach analyses the implementation strategy of two HEIs and assesses the impact of new systems on working practices. This involves interviews with various stakeholder groups from the HEIs, capturing 35 interviews.FindingsResults indicate that growth of alternative power bases emerge within both HEIs, as well as new roles and responsibilities for administrative staff, and different working practices for academics. Varying levels of importance are given to people and culture, management support, user involvement and clarity of communication and systems' requirements at project pre-implementation, implementation and post-implementation stages.Practical implicationsThis study provides lessons of HEIs planning to undertake significant change by implementing integrated information systems. Challenges emerge around fit, complexity, training, communication and consultation. Benefits gained and emerging challenges show some commonality between the two case HEIs, pointing the way forward for other “large” (student number determined) HEIs embarking on similar change.Originality/valueThe UK HEI sector is experiencing major change emphasising cost reduction and operational efficiency. Understanding challenges relating to significant systems change in complex settings with varying stakeholder demands has considerable sectoral value.

Lean Six Sigma and quality frameworks in higher education – a review of literature

Purpose This paper aims to present a review of literature that considers the use of quality frameworks in higher education (HE). Quality frameworks provide a minimum standard of teaching and learning of students. This systematic literature review identifies the tools and techniques to continuously improve the systems and processes that underpin teaching and learning are missing. With this in mind, the authors present a focus on Lean Six Sigma (LSS) as an improvement methodology adopted by the HE sector and present the factors that drive or hinder the implementation of LSS in higher education institutions (HEIs). Design/methodology/approach A review of the literature and thematic analysis has been undertaken relating to the application of quality frameworks and methodologies within the literature set. Findings The findings show that quality frameworks to be lacking insofar as their focus on compliance is no incentive for continuous improvement. This finding is not unique to the HEI sector and similar challenges exist in other sectors. A further finding identifies the need for academic professional practice to go beyond quality assurance to attend to the transformation of students. Together these present an apparent disconnect between continuous improvement methodology and HE quality frameworks. Research limitations/implications A literature review does have limitations insofar as some literature may have been missed because of different key terms. A further consideration being literature from 2019 not available at the time the review was conducted. Practical implications It represents the state of play in regard to the use of quality frameworks operating in HE and business schools. Insight is offered into how the use of continuous improvement methods can deliver quality in HE to benefit the sector, students and others. An agenda for future research is offered. Originality/value The discussion is valuable as it seeks to improve understanding of the relationships between methodologies with adopted quality frameworks in the HEI sector. A contribution is made in the use of force field analysis to represent the critical success factors and barriers of LSS in HEI.

Lecture Capture Policies: A Survey of British Universities

The integration of digital and convergent technologies into the classroom poses policy level challenges for universities, as these constitute a wider process of digitalization and marketization of the higher education institutions (HEIs) ranging from open access publishing to augmenting pedagogy through learning platforms. Digital technologies not only augment teaching and learning, they present HEIs with a multitude of challenges from copyright of third-party materials to performance rights. This paper surveyed lecture capture policies in 149 British universities in 2015–2016. As mobile and capture technologies become part of the classroom and extend their construction beyond the physical realms, this paper assesses the policy challenges that have emerged with the incorporation of lecture capture technologies into HEIs. Lecture capture is part of the ‘digitalization’ of the HEI sector, illuminating both the investments into digital modes of delivery and dissemination and in tandem the numerous challenges (structural, pedagogic, legal and ethical) that face the sector today through the increasing incorporation of technologies into everyday teaching practices, policy and delivery.

Taking charge through shared leadership: a case of higher educational institutions

This investigation showcased shared leadership as a precursor of taking charge through underlying mechanism of job control, building on the complexity theory. The data were analysed by employing multiple mediation analysis, using 202 valid responses faculty members working in public sector higher educational institutions through cluster sampling. Our result indicates important contributory role of job control between shared leadership and taking charge behaviours. The findings offer implications for higher educational institutions on individual, group and organisation-wide level to improve the quality of services and combat with the prevalent challenges. Theoretically this study suggests new insights into the contextual antecedents and mediating mechanisms of taking charge behaviours.

Integrated reporting in UK higher education institutions

PurposeThis paper aims to examine trends in the content of reporting within 135 UK higher education institutions (HEIs). It explores the extent to which integrated reporting (IR) content elements, reflecting integrated thinking, are disclosed voluntarily and whether HEI-specific features influence the resulting disclosures.Design/methodology/approachExisting IR guidelines given by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and the adoption of content analysis have provided the opportunity to examine the trend and extent of IR content elements associated in HEI corporate reports. The evidence was obtained from 405 UK HEI annual reports covering the period 2014-2016.FindingsThe results indicate a significant increase in the number of IR content elements embedded in HEI annual reports. The HEI-specific characteristics examined, such as the establishment of HEI (before or after 1992), adoption of IR framework and size of HEI, are all significantly and positively associated with IR content elements disclosure. This paper argues that institutional theory, isomorphism and isopraxism are relevant for explaining the changes in the contents of HEI annual reports. The findings also suggest that universities are beginning to adopt an integrated thinking approach to the reporting of their activities.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is based on IR content elements only and could be extended to include the fundamental concepts and basic principles of the IR framework. There are other factors that have a potentially crucial influence on HEI core activities (such as teaching and learning research and internationalisation) which have been omitted from this study.Practical implicationsThe findings will allow policymakers to evaluate the extent to which integrated thinking is taking place and influencing the UK HEI sector in the selection and presentation of information. A further implication of the findings is that an appropriate a sector-wide enforcement and compliance body, for instance, the British Universities Finance Directors Group (BUFDG), may consider developing voluntary IR guidance in a clear, consistent, concise and comparable format. Also, it may pursue regulatory support for this guidance. In doing so, it may monitor the compliance and disclosure levels of appropriate IR requirements. Within such a framework, IR could be used to assist HEIs to make more sustainable choices and allow stakeholders to better understand aspects of HEI performance.Social implicationsThe research has implications for society within and beyond the unique UK HEI sector. Universities are places of advanced thinking and can lead the way for other sectors by demonstrating the potential of integrated thinking to create a cohesive wide-ranging discourse and create engagement among stakeholder groups. Specifically, IR builds on the strong points of accounting, for instance, robust quantitative evidence collecting, relevance, reliability, materiality, comparability and assurability, to explain the sustainability discourse into a “language” logical to HEIs organisational decision makers. Consequently, IR may generate better visibility and knowledge of the financial values of exploiting capitals (financial, intellectual, human, manufactured, social and natural) and offer a multifaceted approach to reassess HEIs organizational performance in various sectors that support the growth of integrated thinking.Originality/valueThis is the first known study to explore HEI characteristics and link them with the level of voluntary IR content elements disclosed in UK HEIs.

Re-shaping Built Environment Higher Education: The Impact of Degree Apprenticeships in England

ABSTRACTThe Richard Review of the United Kingdoms (UK) Apprenticeships in 2012 proposed degree apprenticeships (DA) as a new model for the unification of academic and vocational learning. Apprenticeships have long been acknowledged as a practical vehicle to develop the vocational skills and educational achievements of the UK employee resource. The UK Government set a target of 3 million apprenticeship starts between 2015 and 2020. In order for higher education institutions (HEI) to participate in the new apprenticeship marketplace, they need to consider distinct factors that do not surface in traditional Bachelors programmes. Cognizant of these challenges this paper evaluates the development of the new degree apprenticeship programmes for built environment education through the research lens of HEI. This paper evaluates extant literature and primary data collected from qualitative interviews carried out across the UK HEI sector during 2017. Research findings are presented following analysis using NVivo. Narratives on the barriers, benefits, and opportunities, of degree apprenticeships, including academic quality assurance, governance, and pedagogic dimensions are presented. The findings include industry designed curriculum producing a different graduate output, redefining the purpose of HE, restructuring governance and resource, additional contractual obligations for stakeholders and the embedding of work-based learning strategies.

Gender Leadership and Excellence: The Case of Higher Education in Lebanon

This study aimed to explore the employment status of women in the higher educational sector and to uphold women’s productivity and commitment in executive positions of responsibility. Management tended to show preferential treatment for men in top management positions; hence, women were less engaged in the decision-making process. Women possess the potential to be transformative leaders in higher education institutions (HEI). The research purpose of this study was to speculate that some Lebanese educational institutions still practice discrimination and prefer men over women in executive positions, as well as to show that excellence in educational institutions is linked to women being in these executive positions. Currently, the higher education sector in Lebanon is under development as numerous educational developments are being implemented. The problem is that a peculiar attitude toward women in the HEI sector and specifically in top management positions still exists. In this study, the author explored women’s engagement at the top levels of higher education management and found that only 15 out of 65 Dean’s positions were filled by women and aimed to discover the factors behind the misrepresentation of women within the higher education system in Lebanon. In addition, the study found a positive relationship between the presence of women and the performance of HEIs. In this study, I aimed to focus on women’s engagement at the top management level and to emphasize the advantages of their skills and expertise, as well as to enhance the presence of women. The findings were significant and clear: There was misrepresentation, bias and stereotyping in HEIs. A clear strategic plan is needed to engage women in the decision-making process along with a well-designed incentive plan to achieve the required purpose. The aim of this study was to highlight this matter and to accentuate the benefit of women’s leadership roles in higher education in Lebanon. A qualitative strategy was used: Primary information was obtained from interviews with 12 chairpersons at six different schools. Data were gathered and analyzed to provide insightful results and recommendations.

Development needs of Middle Managers in Higher Education Institutions: A Case Study of a Post 1992 New University in UK

Development of staff by Human Resources (HR) department in any organisation is crucial to implement its strategy, operations, goals and for eventual success. Similarly, in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) the Middle Managers (MM) are drivers who execute organisation vision, mission and contribute towards its desired attainment. MM job titles at faculty level include Deans, Head of Departments, Subject leaders and Principle lecturers/Programme leaders. However, evidenced from contemporary literature, changes and challenges transpiring in HEIs sector is influencing and generating tremendous pressures and workloads for MM to work effectively and efficiently in their respective roles. Therefore, the fortitude of this study is to explore this phenomenon and capture true MM Development Needs (DN) and propose a conceptual model. In stage one (qualitative stage), a semi structured interview protocol was derived from 2 pilot semi structured interviews and literature review theoretical model. A meso case study (sub cases and individual embedded cases) of a UK Post 1992 university was conducted with 23 semi-structured interviews lasting an hour each. 14 interviews were analysed in rich detail. The major findings depict 251 themes from the qualitative data analysis categorised under 6 main categories. To validated and cross compare the themes, 9 collected interviews were audio listened to verify and validate the findings. In summary, based on stage 1 results, there is a gap in the development programmes provided by HR in HEIs, and MM requirements. Future study in Stage two (quantitative stage), will further explore MM development needs via pilot testing a survey questionnaire in the same post 1992 HEI before disseminating it externally to 141 UK HEIs providers (Gov. UK, 2017) for validation prior to proposing the final development model.

A tale of two universities: graduates perceived value of entrepreneurship education

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate career impact of entrepreneurship education (EE) considering evidence drawn from a quantitative study of alumni within two UK higher education institutions (HEIs) from a retrospective perspective. The findings inform the value of the EE experience and its impact on both self-employability and wider employability career choices. This study will be of relevance to both enterprise support agencies and government policy makers.Design/methodology/approachThis research study considers evidence drawn from an online quantitative survey of EE within two UK HEIs. The survey evaluated a range of issues including course design, programme satisfaction, impact, career outcomes and respondents demographics. Over 80 respondents completed the survey in full which was analysed using a range of bivariate techniques.FindingsThe evidence suggested here indicates that EE programmes provide value both in terms of helping to enable business start-ups and also in supporting other career paths, through the enterprising knowledge and skill sets graduates acquire during their specialised studies. This study contributes to the literature by recognising and measuring these contributions. For example, this study enables discernment between different EE course components and their value for different career outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsThe study recognises the limitations of this survey data in terms of the size of the sample, number of HEIs evaluated and its point in time design.Practical implicationsThe HEI sector must evaluate its practices and measure the effectiveness of its graduates in terms of achieving sustainable business start-up. In course design, the evidence suggested that students value both the enterprising and entrepreneurial skills and knowledge components and discern value between them in their later careers. The findings suggest that EE graduates typically experience portfolio careers with multiple occupations in different sectors and roles within both employment and self-employment. Thus it is important that EE programme design includes both enterprising and entrepreneurial components to meet the future requirements of their graduates postgraduation.Originality/valueThis study contributes new evidence regarding the value of EE in UK HEIs. This evidence should inform course design and policy makers regarding the value of EE in creating self-employment and creating enterprising employees.

Research Methodology of Entrepreneurship and Innovativeness of Higher Education Institutions

The article presents the issues of entrepreneurship and innovativeness of universities in the context of the analysis of the European Union guidelines and determining the competitive position of the university with the use of the strategic group maps. The aim of the article is to present different variants of strategic group maps, called by the authors 1D, 2D and 3D maps, which enable the identification of the competitive situation in the sector of higher education in Poland. The study focused on two sets of criteria of differentiation of the universities’ strategies, which are entrepreneurship and innovativeness. The research problem was formulated in the form of the following questions: whether the described methods of 1D, 2D and 3D maps may be applied to the analysis of competition in the sector of higher education institutions in Poland, in relation to entrepreneurship and innovativeness.