scholarly journals POST-COVID-19 UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE IN GERMANY

Author(s):  
Andreas Ahrens ◽  
Jelena Zascerinska

Researchers admit that there will not be a quick return to “business as usual”, especially related to internationalization, the financing of studies and universities, research and administration. The enabling research question is formulated as following: What is the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and university governance? The aim of the article is to examine the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and university governance underpinning the elaboration of implications for higher education. The study was of the qualitative nature. The exploratory study was implemented. The study was carried out in Germany on the 22nd September 2020. Focus group interview served as a method of data collection. The data were interpreted via structuring and summarising content analysis. The theoretical finding is that the COVID-19 pandemic is a factor that influences the university governance. The COVID-19 pandemic is an external factor in regard to university governance. Factor impact can be regulated. Factor impact can be increased or decreased according to the situation requirements. The empirical data allow concluding that the COVID-19 pandemic fastens the changes in governing the universities in Germany. Implications for higher education are presented. Research limitations are identified. Directions of further research are proposed.

Author(s):  
David Willetts

Universities have a crucial role in the modern world. In England, entrance to universities is by nation-wide competition which means English universities have an exceptional influence on schools--a striking theme of the book. This important book first investigates the university as an institution and then tracks the individual on their journey to and through university. In A University Education, David Willetts presents a compelling case for the ongoing importance of the university, both as one of the great institutions of modern society and as a transformational experience for the individual. The book also makes illuminating comparisons with higher education in other countries, especially the US and Germany. Drawing on his experience as UK Minister for Universities and Science from 2010 to 2014, the author offers a powerful account of the value of higher education and the case for more expansion. He covers controversial issues in which he was involved from access for disadvantaged students to the introduction of L9,000 fees. The final section addresses some of the big questions for the future, such as the the relationship between universities and business, especially in promoting innovation.. He argues that the two great contemporary trends of globalisation and technological innovation will both change the university significantly. This is an authoritative account of English universities setting them for the first time in their new legal and regulatory framework.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Ferreira de Mello Silva ◽  
Eduardo Raupp de Vargas

Purpose This study aims to examine the extant literature to analyze the relationship between quality assurance (QA) and innovation in the higher education context. Design/methodology/approach This study selected 63 articles through a systematic literature review in Scopus and Web of Science databases and performed a descriptive and thematic synthesis-analysis on the sample. Findings The research identifies several perspectives discussed on QA systems covering experiences, criticisms and practice implications. The literature review shows there is no clear consensus on whether innovation in higher education institutions (HEIs) is fostered or hindered by QA processes. However, it seems that the likelihood of innovativeness and positive QA outcomes are directly linked to how these processes are managed in universities. Research limitations/implications This review highlights the university management concerns that emerge with QA issues as it is not yet clear to what extent innovation is actually promoted in scenarios where QA is applied. Hence, this literature review could be considered comprehensive but not exhaustive. Further studies are recommended to improve the understanding of how HEIs can both innovate and ensure quality at the same time. Originality/value The paper contributes to the existing body of knowledge by advancing the opportunities and challenges that HEIs face due to QA system features.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 138
Author(s):  
Abdul Sattar H. Yousif ◽  
Firas Rifai ◽  
Hadeel Alhroot

This paper aims at investigating the relationship between the application of innovation and entrepreneurship system and the university competitive advantage in the Jordanian higher education sector.     To collect the required data, the number of some concerned individuals was surveyed through a carefully designed questionnaire that has become the main instrument to obtain the required data.A random sample of university managerial staff was withdrawn from five private Jordanian universities. The collected data was audited, reviewed and statically analyzed using the most relevant statistical test. The results of the statistical analysis have clearly pointed out that university adoption of innovation and entrepreneurship system has a significant effect on its competitive advantage.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 10336
Author(s):  
Lukas Scherak ◽  
Marco Rieckmann

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) competences have been widely discussed over the past decade. A number of frameworks have been developed, and the Erasmus+ Project “A Rounder Sense of Purpose” (RSP) set out to establish a profound and practical framework of competences to be used in any European context to enable in-service and pre-service educators to demonstrate their competence in ESD. Over the course of two years at the University of Vechta, staff training was provided using the RSP competences model as a guiding framework. Data were collected through a focus group and a self-assessment survey in order to answer the research question, “Which competences do university teachers need in order to work with the concept of ESD in higher education and how can these be developed in a series of staff training workshops?” The results show that all 12 RSP competences are indeed relevant for higher education teaching, but the potential for developing them into a staff training programme is limited. There are multiple trigger points and settings that are beneficial to and necessary for the development of ESD competences. If those conditions are not met there is limited opportunity for applying ESD methods within higher education.


2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesper Eckhardt Larsen

The discourse of reform in higher education tends to focus narrowly on employability and the relationship between higher education and the labor market. Universities as research institutions are now considered solely in the dominant discourse of innovation. This way of conceiving universities is inspired by functionalist theory that focuses on the imperatives of a knowledge economy. Taking a departure in the theory of society developed by Jürgen Habermas this paper seeks to provide a theoretical framework for an empirical comparative analysis on the wider societal impact of universities. It is the argument that the wider impacts of higher education and research at universities must be seen in a more complex vision of modern societies. The paper is thus primarily a re-reading of Habermas’ critique of functionalist views of the university and an application of Habermas’ critique on current issues in the debates on higher education. A special discussion will be taken on issues of the self in view of the current tendencies to regard all education from the standpoint of the economic outputs.


Author(s):  
Juan García-Gutiérrez ◽  
Carlos Corrales Gaitero

The constant transformation that the institutions of higher education experiment and, particularly, the university assumes a re-consideration of their shapes, methodology, and missions, as well as the relationships established with society. Therefore, we shall consider that a “social mission” of the university or their “third mission” constitutes an umbrella that shelters a wide diversity of reflex conceptions, and at the same time, the relationship university – society. Additionally, take into consideration that this civic and social commitment in higher education should incorporate an integrator approach, involved with an idea of European or Latin-American citizenship, in any case, incorporated in the development of their supranational policies. Therefore, the objective of our work is double. On one side, to meet and analyze the notion of a “social mission” or “third mission” of the university and their conceptual network, to clarify the language and in which sense the different denominations are used, according to the different economical, sustainability or civic approaches to be adopted. Secondly, the treatment of these ideas will be addressed at the supranational policies of higher education both in Europe and Ibero America, according to what had been structured at the Higher Education European State and whether it has been promoted by the OEI. Also, it will be attended the way that this supranational policy aboard the civic and identity components, that linked to the social mission cooperate for the promotion of common citizenship. As a result of the analysis made we can affirm that the approach of the learning-service constitutes an emergent tendency on a global scale, appropriate to develop effectively the third mission or social mission of the university.


Author(s):  
Mónica Natalí Sánchez-Nítola ◽  
Diana Grijalba ◽  
Manuel Embus ◽  
Andrés Suarez ◽  
Juan Esteban Guevara Montoya

Dropout is a topic of significant concern to Higher Education Institutions, especially in Colombia it is considered one of the most important indicators to define higher education quality. Nevertheless, in Colombia, and particularly at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, it has been generally assessed only academic dropout. This decision has prevented understanding other types of dropouts that also occur in the university. The research group performed Multiple Correspondence Analysis to assess the relationship between dropout types (academic, dropout on request, and expiry of time limits) and variables such as sex, socioeconomic stratum, type of admission, and semester of dropout. In the results, we found a disparity between types of dropout concerning the type of university admission, sex, socio-economic stratum, and the semester in which dropout occurs. Women are related to the dropout request while men are associated with the academic dropout. Additionally, the academic dropout occurs in the first 4 semesters, and the expiry of time limits occurs in the last ones.


Author(s):  
Holden Thorp ◽  
Buck Goldstein

The role of faculty forms the heart of the university in terms of its scholarship, patient care, and teaching. It is important that the university and the faculty rededicate themselves to outstanding teaching; the erosion of teaching by tenured faculty is contributing to the strain in the relationship with the public. Tenure, academic freedom, and shared governance are all indispensable concepts in the functioning of a great university that are mysterious to those outside the academy. Communicating the importance of these concepts is a critical need for higher education.


Author(s):  
Felipe Furtado-Guimarães ◽  
Kyria Rebeca Finardi

This chapter discusses intercultural education (in general) addressing some of its challenges and opportunities within a local context of a public university in Brazil. A review of literature on intercultural education and internationalization of higher education was conducted, followed by a meta-analysis of a corpus composed of 22 studies/documents in the university analyzed, comparing them with the reviewed literature. The study sought to answer the research question of what are the possibilities and limitations of intercultural education in the university analyzed (UFES). The discussion contrasts the analysis of the corpus with the literature reviewed suggesting that UFES adopts English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) approaches and internationalization models from the Global North which in turn, pose more difficulties than possibilities for intercultural education there. The chapter concludes that the use of other languages besides English in approaches such as CLIL, COIL, and Intercomprehension represent relevant alternatives to foster multilingualism and intercultural education in that context.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junfeng Jiao ◽  
Shunhua Bai

This paper investigated the travel patterns of 1.7 million shared E-scooter trips from April 2018 to February 2019 in Austin, TX. There were more than 6000 active E-scooters in operation each month, generating over 150,000 trips and covered approximately 117,000 miles. During this period, the average travel distance and operation time of E-scooter trips were 0.77 miles and 7.55 min, respectively. We further identified two E-scooter usage hotspots in the city (Downtown Austin and the University of Texas campus). The spatial analysis showed that more trips originated from Downtown Austin than were completed, while the opposite was true for the UT campus. We also investigated the relationship between the number of E-scooter trips and the surrounding environments. The results show that areas with higher population density and more residents with higher education were correlated with more E-scooter trips. A shorter distance to the city center, the presence of transit stations, better street connectivity, and more compact land use were also associated with increased E scooter usage in Austin, TX. Surprisingly, the proportion of young residents within a neighborhood was negatively correlated with E-scooter usage.


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