Transformation In Higher Education

This book presents the most comprehensive and most thorough study of the developments in South African higher education and research after the first democratic elections of 1994 – that is of post-Apartheid South African higher education. This volume will provide its readers with a detailed insight into the new (i.e. post-1994) South African higher education system. The large number of experienced authors and editors involved in the book guarantees that the reader will be introduced in the new SA higher education system from a large number of perspectives that are presented in a consistent and coherent way. This book will be of interest to scholars, students, administrators, policymakers and politicians interested in South Africa, higher education and research, and policy analysis. "Publications on higher education are not new. But this volume, which is the first of its kind as a collective effort of tracing and examining the twists and turns taken by processes of change in the South African higher education system in a context of profound societal and global transformation, adds a fresh dimension to the debate. In its examination of the extent to which the changes were in line with policy intentions, particularly with regard to equity, democratisation, responsiveness and efficiency, and how a new institutional landscape started emerging, it makes a momentous contribution to the current debate about higher education restructuring." Njabulo Ndebele, Vice-chancellor, University of Cape Town and Chair of the South African Association of University Vice-chancellors "This book addresses a rich variety of issues on South African higher education. It puts these in the relevant context of the process of globalization and it shows that the South African experiences offer us a lot to learn. Highly recommended for those who are intrigued by the innovations taking place in South African higher education as well as for those who intend to grasp the effects of globalization." Frans van Vught, Rector Magnificus and founding Director of the Center for Higher Education Policy Studies, University of Twente, The Netherlands "Reflection is a crucial ingredient to learning. In this book on higher education we have reflections on a unique period in the history of a country that managed its transition to democracy in a way that was unique, but from which we can all learn. Higher education in South Africa played a vital role in that transition and was part of the many tensions, choices and influences. They have been thoughtfully captured." Brenda Gourley, Vice-chancellor, The Open University, UK and board member, Centre for Higher Education Transformation. "No contemporary higher education system has changed as dramatically as that in South Africa. This book, rich in data, examines the changes that took place and offers insights into how change frequently cannot be predicted. The analysis captures the excitement, high expectations, remarkable successes, and failures in the transformation of the apartheid system of higher education. This excellent study provides rich fare for comparative analysis." Fred M. Hayward, American Council on Education Pilot Project, Executive Vice President, Council for Higher Education Accreditation, US.

Transformation of the University imagines preferable futures for the university, building hope for the institution’s necessary transformation. It transcends old criticisms and presents fresh ideas on how the institution might be conceived, organised and put into practice while safeguarding that which makes it a university – the pursuit of knowledge. This book is divided into three main parts: Part One – ‘Knowledge’ assumes the role of the university in generating knowledge for the benefit of society; Part Two – ‘Cultural Growth’ expands on how the university might contribute to and benefit from the cultural growth of society, with both explicit and implicit connections to social and epistemic (in)justice; and Part Three – ‘Institutions’ focuses on imaginative processes for enacting the university as an institution that meets the unforeseen future challenges facing societies around the world. With contributions from scholars across the world, Transformation of the University is an essential read for all academics, practitioners, institutional leaders and broad social thinkers who are concerned with the future of the university and its contributions to society.

The large scale publicly funded system of postsecondary education in Ontario developed in the 1960s has been largely successful in fulfilling important societal needs in the areas of education, human resource development, and research. Existing approaches, however, are unlikely to be sufficient to address the challenges of the coming decade. Academic Transformation: The Forces Reshaping Higher Education in Ontario examines the developments that are re-shaping the province's post-secondary system, including higher enrollment, further development of a knowledge-based economy, increased demands for research focused on competitiveness and productivity, and Ontario's transition to a multicultural, internationally connected, urban, and aged society. Universities and colleges are also adjusting to internal changes in the composition of the student body and staff, faculty work profiles, and funding arrangements. The authors consider possible changes in the system's structure, policy, and governance that may be helpful in dealing with the anticipated changes in societal needs, and expectations related to post-secondary education.

Enrollment in institutions of higher education around the world is growing. Some scholars have suggested that one reason for this expansion is that the role of higher education has shifted over the last 50 years from an elite to a mass institution. This book discusses the worldwide transformation of higher education from multiple perspectives.

The price of college tuition has increased more than any other major good or service for the last twenty years. Nine out of ten American high school seniors aspire to go to college, yet the United States has fallen from world leader to only the tenth most educated nation. Almost half of college students don't graduate; those who do have unprecedented levels of federal and private student loan debt, which constitutes a credit bubble similar to the mortgage crisis. The system particularly fails the first-generation, the low-income, and students of color who predominate in coming generations. What we need to know is changing more quickly than ever, and a rising tide of information threatens to swamp knowledge and wisdom. America cannot regain its economic and cultural leadership with an increasingly ignorant population. Our choice is clear: Radically change the way higher education is delivered, or resign ourselves to never having enough of it. The roots of the words "university" and "college" both mean community. In the age of constant connectedness and social media, it's time for the monolithic, millennium-old, ivy-covered walls to undergo a phase change into something much lighter, more permeable, and fluid. The future lies in personal learning networks and paths, learning that blends experiential and digital approaches, and free and open-source educational models. Increasingly, you will decide what, when, where, and with whom you want to learn, and you will learn by doing. The university is the cathedral of modernity and rationality, and with our whole civilization in crisis, we are poised on the brink of Reformation.

This book explores some of the major forces and changes in higher education across the world between 1945 and 2015. This includes the explosions of higher education institutions and enrollments, a development captured by the notion of massification. There were also profound shifts in the financing and economic role of higher education reflected in the processes of privatization of universities and curricula realignments to meet the shifting demands of the economy. Moreover, the systems of knowledge production, organization, dissemination, and consumption, as well as the disciplinary architecture of knowledge underwent significant changes. Internationalization emerged as one of the defining features of higher education, which engendered new modes, rationales, and practices of collaboration, competition, comparison, and commercialization. External and internal pressures for accountability and higher education’s value proposition intensified, which fuelled struggles over access, affordability, relevance, and outcomes that found expression in the quality assurance movement.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This open access book is a result of the first ever study of the transformations of the higher education institutional landscape in fifteen former USSR countries after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It explores how the single Soviet model that developed across the vast and diverse territory of the Soviet Union over several decades has evolved into fifteen unique national systems, systems that have responded to national and global developments while still bearing some traces of the past. The book is distinctive as it presents a comprehensive analysis of the reforms and transformations in the region in the last 25 years; and it focuses on institutional landscape through the evolution of the institutional types established and developed in Pre-Soviet, Soviet and Post-Soviet time. It also embraces all fifteen countries of the former USSR, and provides a comparative analysis of transformations of institutional landscape across Post-Soviet systems. It will be highly relevant for students and researchers in the fields of higher education and and sociology, particularly those with an interest in historical and comparative studies.

The book is a must read for policy makers, academics, university administrators and post graduate research students in the broad field of education and in higher education studies in particular. The book brings together a wealth of information regarding the imperatives of transformation in Africa’s higher education systems. Not only do some of the chapters provide critical discussion about the conceptualisation of transformation, the majority of the chapters reflect on empirical evidence for transformation in diverse fields of mathematics, science, gender, the training of doctoral students and the governance and management of universities. This central theme of sustainable change and reform runs across the chapters of the book. For students, the book provides exemplars of practical research in higher education. For scholars in higher education and policy makers, specific issues for reform are identified and discussed.