Drawing together a team of expert contributors from across the sector to offer contemporary descriptions and critical reflection of practice in higher education, Influencing Higher Education Policy uncovers the nature of policymaking and interpretation. With a suite of authors whose experiences range from governmental to academic, this book shares insights from professionals working in the field of higher education policy to provide useful, practical, and implementable information. Placing focus on professional aspects, and with practical examples bringing to light experiences, insights, and recommendations across policy and public affairs, this book is divided into three sections. It covers concepts and theories for policy influence, regulation and the role of government, and institutions’ engagement with policy. Furthermore, it considers: what it means to work in policy and public affairs in higher education; the increased complexity and fluidity of higher education politics; regulatory reforms in higher education; the position of the student in policy discourses. Offering a contemporary representation, Influencing Higher Education Policy is an indispensable guide for all those who work in higher education, particularly those who work in communications, strategy, planning, and leadership roles.

This book brings together research relating to the economics of higher education in Ireland and presents evidence that will help support policy decision making. It provides an analysis of prominent issues within the higher education sector from an economic viewpoint, discussing the relevant theory and offering an empirical analysis. The book examines three broad themes with a specific focus on issues related to undergraduate education: participation and preferences, progression and outcomes, and benefits and financing. Each chapter presents an accessible, non-specialist analysis of the topic of interest, making it relevant to a wider audience. In doing so, the book provides an important addition to our current knowledge and understanding of higher education in Ireland from an economic perspective. Key chapters discuss the factors influencing institution choices, student retention in higher education, and policy debates surrounding student finance. The book will serve as a useful and up-to-date resource for policymakers, researchers, academics and students across a range of disciplines, both in Ireland and internationally.

International Organizations and Higher Education Policy critically analyzes the impact influential organizations have at different levels of higher education policy development and implementation.

This book was written with the purpose of analyzing the challenges faced by the post-apartheid government in South Africa with regard to reform of higher education. It covers the apartheid context of higher education, resistance to the system and its ultimate demise, democratic processes in post-apartheid reform agenda and how this agenda was emptied of its radical content as a result of global and local pressures. Highlighted are key constraints in the reform process, including the compromise pact agreed upon between the apartheid government and the ruling African National Congress, the rapidly globalizing environment underpinned by neoliberal principles within which South Africa's transition took place, shifts in macro-economic policies of government towards neo-liberal policy, the inheritance of the bureaucracy and the inexperience of new government officials. These are presented in a narrative style that combines the author's experience, the voices of key players involved and important data from a range of documentary sources. This is the first single authored book in post-apartheid South African that has systematically looked at higher education reform.

Amid changing economic and social contexts, radical changes have occurred in public higher education policies over the past three decades. Public Policy and Higher Education provides readers with new ways to analyze these complex state policies and offers the tools to examine how policies affect students’ access and success in college. Rather than arguing for a single approach, the authors examine how policymakers and higher education administrators can work to inform and influence change within systems of higher education using research-based evidence along with consideration of political and historical values and beliefs. Special Features: Case Studies—allow readers to examine strategies used by different types of colleges to improve access and retention. Reflective Exercises—encourage readers to discuss state and campus context for policy decisions and to think about the strategies used in a state or institution. Approachable Explanations—unpack complex public policies and financial strategies for readers who seek understanding of public policy in higher education. Research-Based Recommendations—explore how policymakers, higher education administrators and faculty can work together to improve quality, diversity, and financial stewardship. This textbook is an invaluable resource for graduate students, administrators, policymakers, and researchers who seek to learn more about the crucial contexts underlying policy decisions and college access.

Policy and Performance in American Higher Education presents a new approach to understanding how public policy influences institutional performance, with practical insight for those charged with crafting and implementing higher education policy. Public institutions of higher learning are called upon by state governments to provide educational access and opportunity for students. Paradoxically, the education policies enacted by state legislatures are often complex and costly to implement, which can ultimately detract from that mission. Richard Richardson, Jr., and Mario Martinez evaluate the higher education systems of five states to explain how these policies are developed and how they affect the performance of individual institutions. The authors compare the higher education systems of New Mexico, California, South Dakota, New York, and New Jersey and describe the difficulty of enforcing state policies amid increasing demands for greater efficiency and accountability. In the process they identify the "rules in use"—rules that are central to the coherence and performance of higher education systems—that administrators apply to meet organizational goals within the constraints of changing, sometimes conflicting federal and state policies. Incorporating rich data from seven years of observations, interviews, and research, Richardson and Martinez offer a clear comparative framework for understanding state higher education.

Education Policy Analysis 2005-2006 includes articles on achieving quality, equity and efficiency in higher education; the growing international market in higher education; valuing teachers; formative assessment and gender differences and mathematics: performance.

What are the principal drivers of recent higher education reforms? This study investigates whether the soft governance mechanism of transnational communication has evoked cross-national policy harmonization. Results suggest that the Bologna Process has triggered substantial policy harmonization beyond general policy convergence.

This textbook introduces graduate students in education and policy research to data and statistical methods in state-level higher education policy analysis. It also serves as a methodological guide to students, practitioners, and researchers who want a clear approach to conducting higher education policy analysis that involves the use of institutional- and state-level secondary data and quantitative methods ranging from descriptive to advanced statistical techniques. This book is unique in that it introduces readers to various types of data sources and quantitative methods utilized in policy research and in that it demonstrates how results of statistical analyses should be presented to higher education policy makers. It helps to bridge the gap between researchers, policy makers, and practitioners both within education policy and between other fields. Coverage includes identifying pertinent data sources, the creation and management of customized data sets, teaching beginning and advanced statistical methods and analyses, and the presentation of analyses for different audiences (including higher education policy makers).

Examining the relationship between higher education policy and the state, this book focuses on the ways in which the changing concepts of the nature of the state and its role have had an impact on the development of higher education policy in the last thirty years.