Largest Higher Education System Research Articles

Does higher ranking ensure higher student satisfaction: evidence from higher education institutions in India

PurposeProspective students and other stakeholders in the education system use global and national rankings as a measure of the quality of education offered by different higher educational institutions. The ranking of an Institution is seen as a measure of reputation and has a significant role in attracting students. But are students happy in the top-ranked institutions? Does a high rank translate into high student satisfaction? This study answers this question taking data from top educational institutions in India.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines how the top-ranked higher education institutions in India fare on student satisfaction. Using the data on key performance indicators published by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) and student satisfaction scores of these institutions reported by NAAC, the study explores a possible relationship between the ranking of an institution and its student satisfaction score.FindingsThe study finds no significant relationship between the ranking of an institution and its student satisfaction score. The only institutional performance dimension which has a positive correlation with student satisfaction is graduate outcome. The diversity dimension is seen to be negatively correlated with student satisfaction.Practical implicationsThe importance of modifying the ranking frameworks to account for the real drivers of student satisfaction is highlighted. The items in the student satisfaction survey should be regularly updated to reflect the actual concerns of the students. This is very important given the fact that the number of Indian students going abroad for higher education recorded a six-year high in 2022 at 750,365.Originality/valueWith more than 50,000 institutions catering to over 40 million students, India has the largest higher education system in the world. Given the high level of competition among these institutions, ranking and accreditation have become important parameters used by students for selection of an institution. But do top-ranked higher education institutions have the most satisfied student community? The assumption is disproved using the most credible secondary data. This study is the first of its kind in the Indian context. It has huge implications for the most respected ranking frameworks.

Systemic change: Developing an organizational strategy to increase faculty and staff diversity in California Community Colleges

AbstractHistorically underserved and minoritized students are more likely to thrive when they are supported and led by diverse faculty and staff. In 2019, leaders of the country's largest higher education system, California Community Colleges, recognized wide gaps in representation: 52% of 2.1 million students identified as underrepresented minorities, compared to only 23% of tenured faculty and 22% of adjunct faculty. Similarly, only 41% of staff who interacted daily with students were from an underrepresented group. Addressing this barrier to student success was critical for the system to achieve its ambitious Vision for Success goals. This case study explores how the Success Center for California Community Colleges collaborated with the Chancellor's Office, faculty representatives, and other partners to develop a system‐wide organizational strategy to hire and support a workforce as diverse as the students they serve.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Community College Enrollment and Student Success: Evidence from California Administrative Data

Abstract This paper examines how the pandemic impacted the enrollment patterns, fields of study, and academic outcomes of students in the California Community College System, the largest higher-education system in the country. Enrollment dropped precipitously during the pandemic—the total number of enrolled students fell by 11 percent from Fall 2019 to Fall 2020 and by another 7 percent from Fall 2020 to Fall 2021. The California Community College system lost nearly 300,000 students over this period. Our analysis reveals that enrollment reductions were largest among black and Latinx students, and were larger among continuing students than first-time students. We find no evidence that having a large online presence prior to the pandemic protected colleges from these negative effects. Enrollment changes were substantial across a wide range of fields and were large for both vocational courses and academic courses that can be transferred to four-year institutions. In terms of course performance, changes in completion rates, withdrawal rates, and grades primarily occurred in the spring of 2020. These findings of the effects of the pandemic at community colleges have implications for policy, impending budgetary pressures, and future research.

Indian Higher Education: Causes of Deterioration in Quality and Measures of Improvement

Indian higher education system is the third largest higher education system in the world. The failure and success of any nations depends on their human resource. The improvement of human resource is the responsibility of higher education system of any country. In this paper we have discuss on causes of deterioration in quality and measures of improvement in Indian education system. In this paper we have limited ourselves to mainly qualitative lag. Because today we are facing serious quality crisis in our education system.

Difficulties of Quality Education in Higher Education in India

Higher education will lead the world in 21st era because it not only creates greater personal and social prosperity, but it also affects all facets of development, including intellectual, social, cultural, aesthetic, physical, spiritual, and human capital development, directly or indirectly. Afterward, US and China, India has the world's third largest higher education system. University Grants Commission (UGC) is the largest regulatory body at the higher level, and it enforces its guidelines, advises the administration, and facilitates communication between the federal government and the states. The University Grants Commission oversees accreditation for higher education by 15 independent institutions. While the nation has progressed significantly in terms of enrolment, the standard of education continues to be a source of concern, which is critical for achieving the country's goals and implementing national policy. Weak facilities, exam-driven curriculum, memory-based exams, a shortage of qualified faculty, ineffective teaching strategies, a lack of funding, inconsistencies in government policy on higher education, entrenched political motives, massive demands from the youth population, political unrest, increasing privatisation, a lack of access and equity, and so on are some of the problems in higher education. There are several more problems like this, and this paper objectively examines all of them, as well as potential solutions.

Transition to HE and Equitable Learning Outcomes: Challenges for Indian Higher Education

Indian higher education (HE) system has undergone rapid expansion over the last two decades, emerging as one of the largest HE systems in the world. Expansion is accompanied by the challenge of ensuring comparable quality education across a diverse institutional spectrum. Simultaneously, academic reforms in the sphere of general HE have been pursued in recent years to align HE with global quality assurance frameworks. This creates an intrinsic pull in the system where international benchmarks juxtapose against demands made on HE institutions (HEIs) to meet the needs of and support first-generation learners coming from disadvantaged backgrounds to enable them to transition successfully to academic cultures of colleges. This article addresses the challenge for equity and institutional challenge to find ways to engender the pedagogical and scaffolding processes accountable to the ‘educational outcomes’ through ensuring attainment of specified graduate attributes.

Perceptions of Academic Leaders on the Factors Influencing Academic Leadership Role and Challenges in Academic Improvement for Effective Performance of Health Sciences Institutes

India is ranked at the third largest higher education system in the world in terms of students and for improvement of quality of education in Health Sciences Institutes, there is direct need of academic leadership.Earlier researchers have documented the reasons for the lack of proficiency and emphasis on leadership in the academics.This study was an attempt is made to understand the perceptions of academic leaders of various levels on the factors Influencing Academic Leadership Role and Challenges in Academic Improvement for Effective Performance of Health Sciences Institutes. A cross sectional study was conducted with simple random sampling technique among 416 Heads of the academic departments in a college, 43 Dean/Principals of the colleges and 03 Vice Chancellors of the universities in Health sciences institutes of Maharashtra state during August, 2019 to December, 2019.The data analysis SPSS and statistical test Kendall’s W were used. Study concluded that role of the Government (and its agencies) and Council regulations and guidelines are the main influencing factors for delivering the role of academic leaders. Insufficient financial assistance when required perceived as main challenges in academic improvement of institute for effective performance

Transformation From RTVUs to Open Universities in China

Open and distance education has been playing an important role in China’s development of higher education and lifelong learning. In 2012, the Chinese government approved six large-scale radio and television universities (RTVUs) to become open universities (OUs), including the Open University of China (OUC), Beijing Open University (BJOU), Shanghai Open University (SHOU), Guangdong Open University (GDOU), Jiangsu Open University (JSOU), and Yunnan Open University (YNOU). The purpose of this study is to provide a descriptive analysis of the transition from RVTUs to OUs, and the current state and challenges of open universities in China after five years’ reform. Five topics are explored in this paper, including: the new positioning of open universities in China’s vast and differentiated higher education system; award bearing and non-award bearing program offerings; implementation of the online teaching and learning modes; the use of Open Education Resources (OER) and online mini-courses; and the development and use of a credit bank system. A summary of these topics follows a discussion of four issues of open university reform, including key performance indicators (KPIs) for open universities, cohesion and resource sharing between the national and provincial open universities, quality assurance for award bearing programs, and planning to transform China’s existing 39 provincial RTVUs into OUs. It is expected that the results of this study would contribute to knowledge about institutional differentiation in the world’s largest higher education system, and on the merits of open and distance education in the human resource development in China. This paper may also provide insight for other countries that are engaged in institutional differentiation of higher education systems punctuated by the essential role of open universities in such planning and implementation.

Building Transfer Student Pathways for College and Career Success ed. by Mark Allen Poisel and Sonya Joseph

Reviewed by: Building Transfer Student Pathways for College and Career Success ed. by Mark Allen Poisel and Sonya Joseph Jessica Hale Building Transfer Student Pathways for College and Career Success Mark Allen Poisel and Sonya Joseph (Editors) Columbia: University of South Carolina, National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Experiences, 2018, 153 pages, $30.00 (softcover) Building Transfer Pathways for College and Career Success is the result of a sponsorship collaboration between the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students (NISTS). Editors Mark Allen Poisel (Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock) and Sonya Joseph (Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs at Valencia Community College) are experts on student transfer, each with decades of experience cultivating transfer-receptive institutions. Their original exploration of this topic, Transfer Students in Higher Education: Building Foundations for Policies, Programs, and Services That Foster Student Success (Poisel & Joseph, 2011), was published more than seven years ago, and since then the number of transfer students and the complexity of the transfer environment have dramatically increased. This text tracks the progress that has been made to increase transfer student degree attainment and explores what efforts have been made to improve the quality of the transfer experience as well, with a focus on research, policy, and practice. In chapter 1 Douglas T. Shapiro sets out with three goals: elucidate various transfer pathways, use data to characterize the population of transfer students, and share transfer student success outcomes. Data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center show that the pathways by which students arrive at any institution are much more diverse than the traditional vertical transfer from a 2-year institution to a 4-year institution, and these pathways extend well beyond the traditional 4 years. Perhaps more importantly, the data correlate students’ success in attaining degrees with their patterns of transfer. Shapiro advocates for sharing this information with students to illuminate how transfer choices may impact their overall success. He also advocates for creating policies and services that support transfer students even if that means preparing students for degree attainment at another institution. In chapter 2 Nancy Dietrich, Gloria Gammell, and India Lane, examine a collaboration between the state legislature, the Governor’s office, and the entire higher education community to address Tennessee’s low educational attainment rates by increasing the number of degrees attained through reverse transfer: a process for transfer students who are currently attending a 4-year school to combine 4-year college credits with their community college credits to receive an associate’s degree. Not only does reverse transfer increase the number of degree completers at the community college, but associate’s degree completion correlates with successful completion of a 4-year degree. The authors outline the evolution of this program and its impact on transfer students and provide recommendations for other states contemplating similar programs. Chapter 3 highlights the decade-long partnerships between the Maricopa Community College system and Arizona State University, and between Valencia College and the University of Central Florida. Authors Joyce C. Romano and Maria L. Hesse share that these two vertical transfer partnerships set in large higher education systems have produced increased student achievement at both the community college and university levels. The foundation of these two transfer models is curricular clarity and transfer readiness. The [End Page 635] authors present a six-dimensional model of transfer readiness, highlighting the importance of a student’s personal aspirations, purpose, curricular plan, academic preparation, career preparation, and social preparation along with how these components have been embedded in each of the aforementioned transfer programs. They end the chapter calling upon higher education professionals to begin creating similar, intentional programs and services for this diverse student population. In chapter 4 Stephanie Foote urges readers to consider the complexity of a transfer student’s context, along with factors such as transfer capital and customized delivery formats, when developing a transfer orientation program. Foote encourages the use of student development theories to better understand transfer populations and recommends designing programs accordingly. Foote then highlights a handful of...

From Learning Theory to Academic Organisation: The Institutionalisation of Higher Education Teaching Assistant Position in China

This exploratory study critically investigates the teaching assistant regulations of higher education institutions of China. On the basis of content analysis of the teaching assistant regulations of five premier universities of China this study analyses the possible discrepancies that might compromise the principles of transparency, equal opportunity and encouraging excellence as stipulated in the vision, mission, and goal of the regulations. Teacher assistants do make more than two third of the academic staff at the universities in China. Besides, China has a second largest higher education system in terms of scale in the world. Practices of sharing skills and imparting knowledge at these institutions have been intermediated by a semi-institutionalized position, called ‘teacher assistants’. It’s therefore, the informal submission of assignments without record at the PhD level questions the purpose of integrity and academic freedom of the higher education at the universities. On the basis of an instrumentalised framework guided by the dimensions of decision making and learning organization theories this study using content analysis has formulated the recommendations for the institutions while selecting and training the students as teaching assistants. A critical but logical illustration of the teaching assistant regulations has also been detailed regarding academic integrity in this study.

HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Relationship between University Performance and Dimensions of Intellectual Capital: An Empirical Investigation

Purpose: India is the second largest higher education system in the world and 50% of its population is under 25 years. This demographic advantage can be leveraged only if India has a formidable higher education system. Present study tries to explore the relationship between intellectual capital and university performance across North India with an objective of providing fruitful insights to the policy makers about the areas of focus. Research Method: Quantitative research design was used for the study. Respondents of the study were comprised of faculty members of universities from selected North Indian states. Regression analysis using SPSS was employed to study the relationship between the two dimensions of intellectual capital and university performance. Findings: Findings revealed that universities need to operate in close interactions with government institutions and private industries that help enhance relational capital. Organizational capital emerged as a major dimension that affects university performance. The study gives university policy makers tools in the form of organizational and relational capital that can be leveraged to enhance performance. Implications for Research and Practice: These findings are pertinent for the top management of universities which can focus on strengthening relational capital by building strong relationships with alumni and industry, facilitating consulting and having consistent interactions with stakeholders in order to enhance university performance. Results imply that in addition to relying on teaching expertise and teaching pedagogy, planners need to focus equally or more.

To profit or not to profit: the private higher education sector in Brazil

Brazil has by far the largest higher education system in Latin America, with a sizable share of students enrolled in private-sector institutions. Its recently established and fast-growing for-profit sector is one of the largest worldwide. The for-profit sector already surpasses the public sector in student enrollment, and its role is growing. Public policy has supported for-profit growth, ostensibly for tax revenue reasons, but the federal government has recently launched social initiatives that include tax exemption policies for the for-profit sector in exchange for need-based scholarships. Through exploratory data analysis, this study explores the role, function, and form of the for-profit sector compared with its nonprofit and public counterparts. The findings reveal that the for-profit sector shares some important characteristics with the nonprofit sector but contrasts sharply with the public sector. The study concludes that countries such as Brazil are moving toward public funding for private higher education to meet enrollment targets. These findings may be able to address issues in other countries by considering similar public policies toward private higher education.

What Happens to Graduates? Contrasting Views of Two Systems

Two surveys of college graduates in large higher education systems, the U.S. and Europe, are presented in terms of their purposes, structural differences, thematic variations, and divergences. The U.S. system has been operating since 1993; the European Graduate Survey is, at present, only a design, completed in 2016. Both are necessary for system accountability and student guidance.

THE MUTUAL INFLUENCE OF INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

“Education” as a key determinant of economic development and growth is believed to be the central focus of many emerging economies since they have managed to restructure their entire economic policies towards enhancing education (especially higher education) to attain economic development and growth at global standard in the recent past. Keeping all the facts in mind, an attempt has been made in this paper to study the relationship between education and economic development in general and India in particular. India has the 3rd largest higher education system in the world in terms of education after Chine and the US. For the purpose of the study, an extensive survey of earlier studies on this ground has been surveyed. 
 On the basis of the assertion made by the earlier studies and evidence, the present study envisages the importance of investment in higher education and human capital to attain sustainable economic development.

India’s Need for Higher Education Internationalization

India, with the world’s second largest higher education system, has little international consciousness. This article argues that India needs an internationalization strategy, and points to some of the challenges in creating such a program.

The Role and Impact of FDI in Development of Indian Education Sector

In India, education is the key to the task of nation-building. It is also a well-accepted fact that providing the right knowledge and skills to the youth can ensure the overall national progress and economic growth. The Indian education system recognizes the role of education in instilling the values of secularism, egalitarianism, respect for democratic traditions and civil liberties and quest for justice. The ongoing demand to strengthen the Indian education sector has opened up many avenues for people of India as well as non-residents of India (NRI) to invest in education sector.Mumbai, Nov. 2013: India, which has the third largest higher education system in the world in terms of enrolments, after China and the US, needs more FDI to meet its target of doubling the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) by 2020, a global consultancy firm has said in its report. The private sector’s role in the higher education sector has been growing at a rapid pace over the last decade and needs to further expand at an accelerated rate in order to achieve the GER target, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India said in a recent report titled ‘Indian Higher Education Sector: Opportunities aplenty, Growth unlimited. It says higher education is the one of the largest opportunity in the Indian education sector and it is important for foreign direct investment (FDI) to flow in this sector in order to transform Indian higher education institutions into the world’s top league. Success in leveraging knowledge and innovation that could contribute to hi-tech manufacturing and high value-added services is only possible with a sound infrastructure of higher education. As per projections, the sector is expected to register a CAGR of 12% from 2008 to reach a size of $31.47 billion, the report says.With the estimated number of students at 16 millions enrolled in the academic year 2010-11 in the formal system, consisting of regular universities and colleges and excluding the enrollment in open universities and distance learning, the Indian higher education system stands only third in the world after US and China.India is also believed to have the largest higher education systems in the world in terms of number of institutes. The university and higher education system comprises 610 universities and in addition, there are 33,023 colleges. An estimated $13 billion is spent outside the country.The government has set an aggressive target of doubling the GER (gross enrollment ratio) in higher education from the existing 15% to 30% by 2020. To meet such a target, huge investment will be required in terms of capital and operating expenditure which the government alone will not be able to provide. Thus the role of private sector in higher education has significantly increased in the last decade. However due to various impediments the amount of FDI attracted by this sector since 2000 is dismally low at just $ 400 million.This paper quantifies the impact of FDI in Indian education sector. It aims to gain an insight into current scenario which implies need to have more FDI to achieve GER target. The results hold that increase in FDI will have significant relationship with increase in employment & improvement in infrastructure.

The Social, Political, and Economic Factors Influencing Student Success: A Case Study of a Bay Area Community College

As the largest higher education system in the nation, with 112 campuses serving 2.1 million students, California Community Colleges have a profound voice in influencing the success of students and the education system as a whole. The Student Success Task Force’s 22 recommendations seek to restructure the California Community College System to be better in advancing students through the system and achieving the students’ goal of transferring to a four year institution, graduating from an associate degree, and/or completing a certificate program. This study is a case study that seeks to, first, understand the nature of operation a college in the Bay Area, CA and the reciprocal relationship between faculty, administration, and students, and, second, to identify the unique factors that influence student success. By deconstructing the term student success by interviewing the 3 main groups of individuals and using a holistic approach to understand how the needs of students are realized. By examining recent literature surrounding the community college topic, this paper will illuminate the work that has been done by other scholars on student success and see if the conclusions of said articles can be applied more practically to a Bay Area Community College. This article also reports from the findings of 60 interviews of administrators, faculty, and students to identify the issues pertaining to student success. The assumption of this study is that a Bay Area community college can implement additional policies and programs to better prepare their students for their future plans. This study concludes with various conclusions drawn from the literature and interviews that will greatly increase the quality of education given to students and ultimately promote student success. Also, this study includes recommendations – offered by the student participants – that can be used by the constituency groups of colleges to better increase student success. This study serves as an in depth look into the factors that influence student success and seeks to bring forward the challenges that face such a diverse student population.

India’s higher education challenges

India, with the world’s second largest higher education system and a rapidly growing economy as one of the BRIC nations, faces significant challenges in building both capacity and excellence in higher education. India’s higher education system is characterized by “islands of excellence in a sea of mediocrity.” The mainstream universities are recognized as lacking in quality. Only the Indian Institutes of Technology and related institutions garner international recognition. This article analyzes the challenges facing India’s higher education system in the twenty-first century.

Brazil: A For-Profit Giant

Brazil has become by far the largest higher education system in Latin America, with a large share of enrollments in the private sector. A recently established and fast growing for-profit sub-sector consolidates as one of the largest worldwide. It already surpasses the public sector in enrollment and its role is growing. Public policy has backed the for-profit growth, largely for tax revenue reasons but in recent years the federal government has taken social initiatives that include tax exemption policies for the sub-sector. As indicated by fields of study, the for-profit sub-sector shares some important characteristics with the nonprofit sub-sector, contrasting dramatically to the public sector.