Higher Education Policy

Sustainability is increasing their presence at universities, so it is convenient to reflect on the impact and effectiveness that university sustainability actions are having. Several authors have recognized mature experiences about environmental sustainability in the different dimensions of higher education: teaching, research, operations and outreach. Assessment of university sustainability is an emerging field of research of Education for Sustainable Development in Higher Education, because of the use by universities of assessment tools to improve the performance of its policies, but also to disseminate their results. This paper will try to define what is meant by ‘assessment of university environmental sustainability’ based on different evaluation approaches found in an integrative meta-analysis of specialized literature on the subject and review of assessment tools. While the most common evaluative approach is the self-assessment, to improve the implementation of policies, other approaches aimed at promoting university activity in sustainability through its participation in rankings or accreditation system increasingly are becoming greater presence. This leads to identifying a particular concern among universities to compete and appear in the university context as ‘sustainable’ without ensuring that their actions are being designed really to improve sustainability, at a university and global context.

This study assessed the relative power and influence of leading state-level policy actors in higher education in Florida. On the basis of that assessment, a hierarchy of power and influence among principal policy actors was constructed. The data indicate that Florida's higher education leaders agree on the relative ability of various policy actors to influence policy formation. Policy elites in higher education were found to be legislators and key legislative staff consultants, along with the chancellor of the state university system and the Board of Regents of the system. Among the least influential in policy formation were faculty and student interest groups and educational research organizations. The data also indicate that higher education leaders do not perceive that shared authority is the dominant pattern of governance in higher education in Florida.

The massification of higher education in Ukraine is a fact, while financing the system is still an issue. External pressures from the central government and the market require changes in university governance. Europeanization of the educational system and adherence to the principles laid down by the Bologna Declaration add to already existing challenges faced by universities. This paper offers classification, typology, and portrayal of the higher education landscape in Ukraine, and elaborates on the complex intertwinement of state and higher education institutions. It considers universities as collegiums and bureaucracies, and suggests the university political system as a viable form of organizational structure for the task of reforming universities.

Việc tiếp cận các trường cao đẳng và đại học tại Hoa Kỳ vẫn là một trong những vấn đề quan trọng nhất trong giáo dục. Nghiên cứu và chính sách hiện tại đề cập đến các khái niệm về sự đa dạng, sự tham gia và thành tựu trong môi trường giáo dục đại học. Hành động khẳng định đã trở thành một điểm nóng trong bối cảnh này và các cuộc điều tra. Bài viết này xem xét sự giao thoa của chính sách/thực tiễn này với thành tích giáo dục dựa trên những thành tựu xứng đáng. Bài viết cũng nêu bật sự giao nhau giữa hành động khẳng định và khả năng di động giáo dục cho các học sinh tốt nghiệp trung học. Mục tiêu của bài viết này là ba phần: (1) định hình các khái niệm về sự đa dạng từ góc độ lịch sử; (2) giải quyết sự đa dạng liên quan đến khả năng giáo dục, xã hội và kinh tế của một quần thể sinh viên đa sắc tộc; và (3) xác định mối quan hệ giữa cách thức sinh viên chuyển tiếp từ trung học lên đại học.

The adoption of Bologna Process ideas through the ‘licence–master–doctorat’ system has set in motion reforms in the Cameroon higher education (HE), including the issue of graduate employability. Based on text documents and interviews, this article examines the employability agenda with a focus on its conceptualization, its operational strategies, and its consequences for universities in Cameroon. The findings show that graduate employability is enhanced in Cameroonian universities through a combination of strategies under the catchword ‘professionalization’ — that is, preparing students with skills and competences for specific professions. Conceptualizing professionalization, this article shows that the adoption of BP ideas did not bring in completely new elements in the employability agenda; it merely inspired local reforms and solutions which led to the reinforcement and diversification of the existing professionalization agenda that has been one of the missions of HE in Cameroon. This article focuses on the creation of professional degree programmes as an operational strategy for enhancing graduate employability. As a consequence of the conceptualization and operationalization strategies adopted, we identified mismatches between policy objectives and policy outcomes.