This book examines governance reforms in higher education in six European countries: Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, and Portugal. It focuses in particular on the governance of the systems and institutions in these countries. The book shows that each of the national reform processes has been characterised by its own specific pathways embedded in the country’s specific socio-economic contexts and cultures, but also has a number of features in common with the other countries and processes. The first chapter of the book presents a conceptual framework to analyse the reform processes as an ’implementation game’ played by several actors with diverse interests. The second chapter describes the national reform processes of the six selected countries, giving a voice to the individual university rectors and officials who played an important role during the reform processes. Their stories constitute a vivid narrative of the government drivers of reform and of the rationales of the institutions as main partners in the reform processes. These narratives are analysed, complemented by, and contrasted with a review of the literature on the subject in the third chapter. The final chapter consist of concluding remarks and lessons learned.

The Governance of European Higher Education: Convergence or Divergence analyses governance at state and institutional levels in five European higher education systems chosen as representative of European higher education as a whole: Germany, Hungary, Norway, Portugal and the UK (as in England, Scotland and Wales). Drawing on 180 detailed face-to-face interviews with policymakers and universities the book explores the extent to which governance and systems have been converging or diverging towards or away from a common European model over the last decade and records the evidence of growing directional controls exercised by the various states.

This book analyses communication of university research institutes, with a focus on science communication. Advancing the ‘decentralisation hypothesis’, it asserts that communication structures are increasingly built also at ‘subordinate unit’ levels of research universities. The book presents a cross-country systematic comparison of institutes’ communication activities showing ongoing transformations in their communication capabilities and practices. It considers a potential ‘arms race’ in activities, professionalisation, motivations, and evaluation. Based on empirical evidence from an international study carried out in various countries across Europe, the Americas, and Asia, the book examines the possibilities for civic science communication in this new context. It will be of interest to scholars and students of Communication Studies, STS, and Science Communication as well as to those taking or leading courses in the fields of Sociology, Public Relations, Marketing, Environmental and Risk Communication, Innovation Studies, and Social Psychology. It is an essential resource for funders, practitioners, teachers, and students dealing with science communication and the position of science in society.

This attractively presented edited collection is a welcome analysis of issues facing universities. It consists of 14 chapters by experts who work in university management and economics departments. . . this is an excellent collection. Its value stems from the fact that it enables comparisons to be made and to see that globally the traditional university system is being seriously challenged. The authors in this collection provide a range of perspectives on how the universities in their various locations can begin to respond to these challenges. Anthony Potts, Journal of Educational Administration and History The future of the university, this old European institution, is of utmost interest not only to university students and teachers, but to whole societies; not only in Europe, but in the whole world, as the institution has become global. Nobody can predict it, but the editors of this volume were able to ask incisive questions and collected thoughtful and provocative answers, which can contribute to the debate on the fate of universities in a significant way. Barbara Czarniawska, University of Gothenburg, Sweden While acknowledging the value of better university management, this book resists the idea that an externally imposed standardization and a more homogenous European system of higher education adds up to a desiderata. On the contrary the book editors argue that the persistence of the university and its survival in the future is aided by differences between universities. European Universities in Transition is must reading for students of higher education reform. Francisco O. Ramirez, Stanford University, US This timely and important book provides a critical analysis of the changes and challenges that currently affect European universities. Using both theoretical contributions and applied case studies, leading experts argue that universities as institutions are in need of change although the routes that the process may take are heterogeneous. The authors debate whether the reform of universities suffers from the undue influence of generalisations that do not stand up to scrutiny. It is simply too narrow to focus on strategies such as imitating a university model , hoping that best practices will solve the inefficiencies of the organisation as a whole, or relying on the presence of few external individuals on the universities board to save the difficult relationships between the university and the surrounding economy and society. These ideas ignore the diversity of universities geographically and historically. Above all, they underestimate the power that such diversity holds in making universities survive across centuries. Researchers with an interest in university reform will appreciate this important contribution to the debate, whilst policymakers and university administrators will find this book invaluable in understanding the changes and problems facing European universities and gaining insights on possible solutions.

This book critically examines the ramifications of reforms to higher education institutions. All of the higher education system reforms implemented in western countries over the last three decades have had one fundamentally important aim: namely, that of changing the existing institutional and system governance arrangements. This book argues that within this general framework, Italy is a relative latecomer to a scenario where attempts at university reform have been characterized by considerable difficulties, and have been blighted by the arguably poor quality of policy design. By focusing on the Italian reform trajectory as an emblematic case, and providing a comprehensive of the historical evolution of higher education in Italy and further afield, this book adopts a comparative perspective to show how reforms of governance in higher education may achieve different degrees of success depending on the characteristics of their policy design, and why these reforms inevitably lead to a series of unintended consequences. It will be vital reading for those interested in education policy and the history of education.

The events of the last years have shaken the world of higher education. The post-COVID-19 period has raised multiple questions in key areas, from digitalisation over quality assurance to internationalisation. This book brings together scholars, practitioners and policymakers in higher education, and discusses in a variety of topics the future of the higher education sector in a rapidly changing context: the complexities of digital education, the need or necessity for innovation or the impact of globalisation are some of the topics addressed in this book. Those topics are brought together around one central theme: how can the future of higher education be accelerated to address in a sustainable way the needs of a changing global context? Contributors are: Mario Alarcón, Bruno Broucker, James Calleja, Ida Iselin Eriksson, Magdalena Fellner, Hugo A. García, Corinna Geppert, Carmen Heidenwolf, Andrew S. Herridge, Torstein Nielsen Hole, Pablo Hormazábal Saavedra, Lisa J. James, Kerstin Janson, Cindy Konen, Gergely Kováts, René Krempkow, Alice Laufer, Clare Milsom, Darlington Mutakwa, Mark O'Hara, Attila Pausits, Pascale Stephanie Petri, Julia Rathke, Florian Reisky, Katharina Riesinger, Christian Schemer, Marit Ubbe and Denyse Webbstock.

This open access book presents the major outcomes of the fourth edition of the Future of Higher Education – Bologna Process Researchers Conference (FOHE-BPRC 4) which was held in January 2020 and which has already established itself as a landmark in the European higher education environment. The conference is part of the official calendar of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) for events that promote and sustain the development of EHEA. The conference provides a unique forum for dialogue between researchers, experts and policy makers in the field of higher education, all of which is documented in this proceedings volume. The book focuses on the following five sub-themes: - Furthering the Internationalization of Higher Education: Particular - Challenges in the EHEA - Access and Success for Every Learner in Higher Education - Advancing Learning and Teaching in the EHEA: Innovation and Links With Research - The Future of the EHEA - Principles, Challenges and Ways Forward - Bologna Process in the Global Higher Education Arena. Going Digital? While acknowledging the efforts and achievements so far at EHEA level, the Paris Ministerial Communiqué highlights the need to intensify crossdisciplinary and cross-border cooperation. One of the ways to achieve this objective is to develop more efficient peer-learning activities, involving policymakers and other stakeholders from as many member states as possible for which this book provides a platform. It acknowledges the importance of a continued dialogue between researchers and decisionmakers and benefits from the experience already acquired, this way enabling the higher education community to bring its input into the 2020. European Higher Education Area (EHEA) priorities for 2020 onwards. European Higher Education Area: Challenges for a New Decade marks 21 years of Bologna Process and 10 years of EHEA and brings together an unique collection of contributions that not only reflect on all that has been achieved in these years, but more importantly, shape directions for the future. This book is published under an open access CC BY license.

Given the three pillars of sustainability, besides the environment, the interplay of social and economic dimensions provides valuable insight into how society is molded and the key components that should be considere. In terms of social sustainability, processes and framework objectives promote the wellbeing that is integral to the balance of people, planet, and profit. Economic practices consider the system of production, resource allocation, and distribution of goods and services with respect to demand and supply between economic agents. As a result, an economic system is a variant of the social system in which it exists. At present, the forefront of social sustainability research partially encompasses the impact of economic practices on people and society, with notable emphasis centered on the urban environment. Specific interdisciplinary analyses within the scope of sustainability, social development, competitiveness, and motivational management, as well as decision making within the urban landscape, are considered. This book contains nine thoroughly refereed contributions that interconnect detailed research into the two pillars reviewed.

This book asks how modern universities are organized and managed, and questions whether 30 years of university reforms have resulted in stronger managerial structures and leadership control. It further asks whether current organisational and decision-making structures can be explained by public reform policies. The book offers a coherent, empirically grounded and theoretically driven presentation of data and core ideas behind a large scale comparative study of 26 universities across eight European countries. It focuses on the strength of university managerial structures, the role of academics, and how universities relate to and depend on their environment: to governments and other actors; to funders; to evaluators; and to external stakeholders. It further explores how higher education policies are shaped by and affect universities. Written by a cross-disciplinary team of European scholars, this book is unique both in its wide coverage and the depth of its analyses. It will be of great interest to scholars, graduate students and advanced undergraduates in the fields of organisation theory and sociology, policy studies, comparative public policy and administration, and higher education studies. It will also be of interest to higher education policy makers and administrators.

The new edition of Governance of Higher Education explores the work of traditional and contemporary higher education scholarship, providing readers with an understanding of the assumptions, historical traditions, and paradigms that have shaped the scholarship on governance worldwide. Updated throughout to reflect current higher education governance research and with expanded discussion of key theories and new relevant concepts, this book brings together vast and disparate writings, including frameworks drawn from a wide range of disciplines and newly bolstered case studies. Coverage includes the structures of governance, cultures and practices, the collegial tradition, as well as newfound critique of outdated organizational theory, leadership concepts, quality assurance and accountability, and system governance. Furthermore, this work synthesizes the significant theoretical, conceptual, and empirical scholarship to advance research and practice of governance. As universities across the globe face a myriad of challenges and multiple stakeholder demands, Governance of Higher Education offers scholars, practitioners, and higher education graduate students an essential resource for advancing research and the practice of governance.