SOUTH AFRICA - South Africa’s dysfunctional universities: the consequences of corrupt decisions [The Conversation, 2023]

Title:

South Africa’s dysfunctional universities: the consequences of corrupt decisions

 

Author:

Jonathan Jansen

Distinguished Professor, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

 

Published:

The Conversation, 31 January 2023

https://theconversation.com/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions-198677

 

From the article:

What happens when those responsible for managing universities cannot trust each other to act with integrity? In a nutshell, as I discuss in my new book, Corrupted: A study of chronic dysfunction in South African universities, dysfunction is the consequence.

JORDAN - Cabinet approves bylaw to regulate partisan activities of university students [Jordan News, November 2022]

Title:

Cabinet approves bylaw to regulate partisan activities of university students

Published:

Jordan News, 20 November 2022

https://www.jordannews.jo/Section-109/News/Cabinet-approves-bylaw-to-regulate-partisan-activities-of-university-students-24837

From the news article:

Commenting on the Cabinet’s decision, Minister of Education, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Azmi Al-Mahafzah said the approval of the bylaw “reflects the will of the Jordanian state to move forward with the political modernization plan”.

 

Promoting sustainable development goals: Role of higher education institutions in climate and disaster management in Zimbabwe [Scholarly Article - Journal of Disaster Risk Studies, 2022]

Title:

Promoting sustainable development goals: Role of higher education institutions in climate and disaster management in Zimbabwe 

 

Authors:

Munyaradzi A. Dzvimbo, Tinashe M. Mashizha, Kelvin Zhanda, Albert Mawonde

 

Published:

Journal of Disaster Risk Studies, 29 June 2022

https://jamba.org.za/index.php/jamba/article/view/1206/2349

 

Abstract:

This article seeks to explore the role of higher education institutions (HEIs) in climate change adaptation and disaster risk management (DRM). The study is based on the qualitative desk review, thematic and document analysis and uses the theory of change to facilitate a road map for HEIs in strengthening professional human development, policy consistency in dealing with climate-induced natural disasters (CINDs) research and policies. Academic journals covering the role of HEIs in climate and disaster management in Zimbabwe were selected on google scholar. Reviewed documents include universities’ curriculum documents, government disaster policy documents and other related disaster management policy protocols. The article’s findings reflect that HEIs in Zimbabwe have been engaged in climate change education and DRM as the country and the region are prone to threats posed by extreme weather events in the form of tropical cyclones and extreme droughts. The article concludes that HEIs core mission that includes public engagement to advance achieving sustainable development goals in Zimbabwe is growing at a steady pace to find ways to avert the impact of climate change and put strategies in place to respond to disaster to minimise social, environmental and economic losses posed by disasters. Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE) is enhancing people’s resilience in Chadereka village in Muzarabani through disaster preparedness training. National University of Science Technology (NUST) is also training communities on disaster concepts, disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness and response. 

 

SOUTH SUDAN - Will the success of South Sudan’s top university hurt the others? [Times Higher Education, June 2022]

Title:

Will the success of South Sudan’s top university hurt the others? 

 

Author:

Kuyok Abol Kuyok

 

Published:

Times Higher Education, 19 June 2022

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/will-success-south-sudans-top-university-hurt-others

 

From the article:

The University of Juba has emerged strong from decades of turmoil, topped by a pandemic. But other institutions are suffering ...

SOUTH AFRICA - Universities could be downgraded, or closed, under new draft rules to differentiate colleges [Business Insider South Africa, August 2022]

Title:

Universities could be downgraded, or closed, under new draft rules to differentiate colleges

 

Compiled by:

Phillip de Wet

 

Published:

Business Insider South Africa, 9 August

https://www.businessinsider.co.za/dhet-criteria-for-higher-education-institutional-types-lay-down-university-college-rules-2022-8

 

From the article:

The government may downgrade or close down universities that fail to live up to what is required of them, a new draft definition of different types of tertiary education institutions bluntly warns.  

 

International Student Recruitment During the Pandemic: The Unique Perspective of Recruiters from Small to Medium-Sized Higher Education Institutions [Scholarly Article - Higher Education Policy, April 2022]

Title:

International Student Recruitment During the Pandemic: The Unique Perspective of Recruiters from Small to Medium-Sized Higher Education Institutions

 

Author:

Melissa James

Faculty of Business, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Canada

 

Published:

Higher Education Policy, 20 April 2022

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41307-022-00271-3

 

Abstract:

Higher education can be considered an industry comprised of mobile students attending institutions worldwide (Findlay et al. in Int Migr 55(3):139–155, 2017). The global pandemic, COVID-19, has significantly impacted the mobility of these students. Higher education institutions (HEIs) have attracted students using international student recruiters, various marketing materials, websites, and educational agents (de Wit in Int High Educ 59:13–14, 2015). When COVID-19 began to unfold around the globe the disease impacted many sectors of the economy, but the impact of disease on the higher education industry is not well documented. The purpose of this study is to explore how higher education institutional student recruitment staff responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores the perspectives of international student recruitment staff in eight small to medium-sized institutions in Canada to understand the impact of the pandemic on their practice and to generate insights for policymakers to consider when planning the future of international student recruitment (ISR). The study found that these recruiters perceived their size to be a disadvantage and that the pandemic highlighted the inequities within higher education. Furthermore, recruiters feared the competitive position of small to medium-sized institutions is potentially deteriorating with implications on policy, resources, and internal relationships within HEIs.

Open access in Angola: a survey among higher education institutions [Scholarly Article - Scientometrics, June 2022]

Title:

Open access in Angola: a survey among higher education institutions 

 

Authors:

Wileidys Artigas, Eurico Wongo Gungula & Mikael Laakso 

 

Published:

Scientometrics, 18 June 2022

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11192-022-04410-w

 

Abstract:

Open access (OA) to research publications is of global relevance, both in terms of provision and consumption of scholarly content. However, much of the research, practice, and models surrounding OA have been centered around the Global North. In this study we investigate how and to what degree higher education institutions (HEIs) in Angola interact with the concept of OA to journal publications through their policies and practices, a country where the end of the civil war in 2002 marked a new start for growth in teaching and research. This study is based on an online survey conducted in 2020 among research management units of Angolan HEIs. 23 valid institutional responses were received of 44 invitations sent (52% response rate). The results suggest that Angolan HEIs have moderate awareness of OA but practical incorporation into academic processes has remained slow, however, this can be seen to be connected to the overall slow progress in ramping up research intensity in the country. Seven of the responding institutions reported to be involved in publishing scholarly journals, all of them OA. Overall Angolan HEIs have few institutional repositories, and have so far placed little value on OA in the context of academic career advancement.

Ecuador universities close due to national strike [Prensa Latina, June 2022]

Title:

Ecuador universities close due to national strike

 

Author:

Ana Luisa Brown

 

Published:

Prensa Latina, 13 June 2022

https://www.plenglish.com/news/2022/06/13/ecuador-universities-close-due-to-national-strike/

 

From the article:

Several universities in Ecuador were closed today after the announcement of a day of national mobilization against the government's neoliberal policies.

The Human Cost of Campus Budget Cuts [The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 2022]

Title:

The Human Cost of Campus Budget Cuts

 

Author:

Abbi Ross

 

Published:

The Chronicle of Higher Education, 10 June 2022

https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-human-cost-of-campus-budget-cuts

 

From the article:

Financial exigency left a faculty couple on the chopping block.

 

Impacts of organisational culture on academic efficiency and productivity in selected private universities in the Niger delta region of Nigeria [Scholarly Article - Higher Education Quarterly, 2022]

Title:

Impacts of organisational culture on academic efficiency and productivity in selected private universities in the Niger delta region of Nigeria 

 

Author:

Dominic Uduakabasi Okure

 

Published:

Higher Education Quarterly, 10 May 2022 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/hequ.12397

 

Abstract:

Organisational efficiency is a consistent quality that derives more from and thrives on strong internal culture than on isolated instances of timely and effortless accomplishments by corporate systems. This study sought to evaluate the relationship between organisational culture and enhanced productivity and efficiency among members of five universities in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, which with its peculiarities provided a unique context for the study. The quantitative and qualitative methods were used for data collection among 104 respondents. Faculty were assessed on the direct impacts of their organisations' culture on their research and publication, creativity and innovativeness, among others, while students were assessed on learning, career prospects and others. The study suggested that most of the five universities had no well-articulated organisational culture. This significantly compromises their unique value addition to the educational system, implying that they risk losing their relative advantages unless they fortify their organisational cultural frontiers.

 

RWANDA, AFRICA - Huge gap between students knowing, versus avoiding, plagiarism [University World News, 28 April 2022]

Title:

Huge gap between students knowing, versus avoiding, plagiarism 

 

Author:

Wagdy Sawahel  

 

Published:

University World News, 28 April 2022

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20220427142754147

 

From the article:

Comprehensive training for scientific and academic writing should be instituted in higher education institutions in Rwanda and across Africa to promote the importance of academic integrity in scholarly work, improve students’ ability to apply skills to avoid plagiarism, and increase opportunities for publication.  

 

This emerged from a 13 April study titled ‘Assessing Knowledge of and Attitudes Towards Plagiarism and Ability to Recognise Plagiaristic Writing Among University Students in Rwanda’, published in the Journal of Higher Education.

 

INDIA - UGC Directs Universities To Create Supernumerary Seats For Covid-Orphaned Under PM Cares [NDTV, March 2022]

Title:

UGC Directs Universities To Create Supernumerary Seats For Covid-Orphaned Under PM Cares 

 

Author:

Arnab Mitra

 

Published:

NDTV, 30 March 2022

https://www.ndtv.com/education/ugc-directs-universities-to-create-supernumery-seats-for-covid-orphaned-under-pm-cares

 

From the article:

According to UGC, the higher education institutions (HEIs) have been advised to create such seats for children whenever they become eligible to pursue their higher education.

 

The struggles and the triumphs of South African Black women professors [Scholarly Article - South African Journal of Higher Education, October 2020]

Title: 

The struggles and the triumphs of South African Black women professors  

 

Author: 

N.T.Zulu, Department of Psychology, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa  

 

Published: 

South African Journal of Higher Education, 35(6), 20 October 2020 https://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/sajhe/article/view/4272   

 

Abstract: 

The apartheid epoch introduced a web of laws that influenced public and private structures and ideological apparatuses, including educational institutions, to give an inferior status to Black people. South Africa was also upheld by a deeply patriarchal system which marginalised the status of women in society. This meant that most people in senior positions in South African organisations were predominantly white and male. The consequence of racism and patriarchy meant that there have been a low number of Black women professors in institutions of higher education. This study therefore aimed to examine the discourses of Black women professors in post-apartheid South Africa. This study used the Critical Race Theory (CRT) and critical consciousness, to understand the challenges that Black women professors encounter and how they strategically navigated these challenges in institutions of higher education, respectively. The Black women professors were recruited from two South African universities. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. The significance of the study is that it identified discourses, which could be useful to understand the kinds of challenges that may operate in higher education and ways to shift these existing challenges. The findings showed two main challenges encountered by Black women professors namely: (1) feelings of being unwelcomed within the academic space and (2) being undermined in their leadership positions. Black women professors seemed to navigate these challenges by (1) being vocal, and (2) being intentional, about excelling in their work and (3) adopting a transformational leadership style. The study feeds into how South African higher education institutions can accommodate Black women professors, as they navigate through their career.

 

Greek Academics want Universities to revoke Putin Honorary Degrees [The National Herald, March 2022]

Title:

Greek Academics want Universities to revoke Putin Honorary Degrees 

Published:

The National Herald, 13 March 2022

https://www.thenationalherald.com/greek-academics-want-universities-to-revoke-putin-honorary-degrees/

 

From the article:

Russian President Vladmir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is reason for Greek universities to strip him of honorary degrees he was awarded, a group of academics have said in a petition as they seek more signatures.

 

TURKEY - Turkey's first 'virus-free' university campus opens its doors [Daily Sabah, February 2022]

Title:

Turkey's first 'virus-free' university campus opens its doors

 

By:

Daily Sabah with IHA 

Published:

Daily Sabah, 22 February 2022

https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/education/turkeys-first-virus-free-university-campus-opens-its-doors

From the article:

Turkey's first "virus-free" university campus has been introduced in Istanbul to maintain face-to-face education while reducing the spread of COVID-19 on Tuesday. Doğuş University's Ataşehir Dudullu campus, equipped with ultraviolet C (UVC) ray technology opened its doors to its students, leaving the pandemic behind the fences.

 

HEPI, United Kingdom - Book Review: Preventing and Responding to Student Suicide: A Practical Guide for FE and HE Settings by Sharon Mallon and Jo Smith (eds.) (London, 2022)

Title:

Book Review: Preventing and Responding to Student Suicide: A Practical Guide for FE and HE Settings by Sharon Mallon and Jo Smith (eds.) (London, 2022)

 

By:

Laura Brassington

 

Published:

Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), 16 February 2022

https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2022/02/16/book-review-preventing-and-responding-to-student-suicide-a-practical-guide-for-fe-and-he-settings-by-sharon-mallon-and-jo-smith-eds-london-2022/

 

From the book review:

HEPI’s Policy Manager, Dr Laura Brassington, reviews Sharon Mallon and Jo Smith (eds.). 2022. Preventing and Responding to Student Suicide: A Practical Guide for FE and HE Settings. With a foreword by Rosie Tressler, OBE. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-78775-418-8. 400pp. £40.00.   

 

The publication of Preventing and Responding to Student Suicide: A Practical Guide for FE and HE Settings represents a milestone for FE and HE in the UK and internationally. As far as the authors are aware, it is the first book ‘that specifically and uniquely focuses on suicide in an educational setting rather than a healthcare context’.

 

The development and pilot of the university student embeddedness (USE) scale for student retention within universities: validation with an Australian student sample [Scholarly Article - Higher education, January 2022]

Title:

The development and pilot of the university student embeddedness (USE) scale for student retention within universities: validation with an Australian student sample 

 

Authors:

Brody Heritage, Christopher Ladeira & Andrea R. Steele 

 

Published:

Higher Education, 31 January 2022

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-022-00813-z

 

Abstract:

A significant number of university students are leaving their institutions before completing their degrees. The present research project applied embeddedness theory, from organizational research, to understand student retention in a tertiary student population, and develop a quantitative instrument that measured university student embeddedness. In Study One, a mixed-methods approach was employed to determine whether the Fit (similarity between the student and the university), Links (count of relationships at university), and Sacrifice (losses upon leaving university) dimensions of embeddedness related to students’ self-reported reasons for remaining enrolled at their university. Qualitative results from 15 undergraduate students indicated that intent to remain could be understood within the embeddedness dimensions of Fit, Links, and Sacrifice. These themes were employed to build the University Student Embeddedness (USE) scale. The measure was examined against Rasch measurement model assumptions for each of its subscales using data collected from 299 Australian tertiary students. Study Two sought to examine exploratory evidence of the concurrent validity of the scores from this developed measure. Responses from a separate sample of 196 Australian tertiary students showed only the Fit scale significantly related to student intentions to stay at university. All USE scales correlated with academic-related skills and motivations. These results suggest that the Fit scale may be valuable in identifying students at risk of dropout. Early identification of “at risk” students may lead to the development of targeted retention interventions. However, the USE’s role in detection requires further validation and the development of consistent findings within other student cohorts.

 

Organisational forms of science communication: the UK and Spanish European higher education systems as paradigms (Scholarly Article - Higher Education, December 2021)

Title:

Organisational forms of science communication: the UK and Spanish European higher education systems as paradigms 

 

Authors:

Gabriela Ojeda-Romano, Viviana Fernández-Marcial, Clare Wilkinson & A. Erik Stengler

 

Published:

Higher Education, 21 December 2021

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-021-00801-9

 

Abstract:

As key elements in research and development systems, higher education institutions have been taking a leading role when it comes to communicating science and technology, but their performance has been inconsistent so far. In this critical and comparative study of the UK public engagement model and the Spanish scientific culture model, eighteen practitioners from higher education institutions across both regions were interviewed. A mixed qualitative data analysis has been performed identifying similarities and differences that unravelled the science communication management model in the two different higher education systems. This article provides evidence on how the institutionalisation of science communication is strongly influenced by key driving forces in the higher education context as well as the policies of administrations and other agents.

 

In the image era, why is art history being squeezed? (University World News, December 2021)

Title:

In the image era, why is art history being squeezed? 

 

Author:

Nathan M Greenfield  

 

Published:

University World News, 17 December 2021

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20211217111143231

 

From the article:

According to the College Art Association of America, since 2018, four art history departments or programmes have been terminated.  

 

While none of the schools – John Carroll University (JC) in Cleveland, Ohio; the College of St Rose in Albany, New York; Keene State College (KSC) in New Hampshire and William Paterson University (WPU) in New Jersey – has agreed to be interviewed, University World News has been able to piece together at least part of the story and how it fits into the more troubling pressure academic art historians feel and what faculty feel as an attack on the humanities that is partially mirrored in Britain but not in Germany.  

 

In each university, the cuts to art history were part of wider cutbacks that hit the humanities especially hard.

HONG KONG - Academics raise fears over university leadership changes [University World News, November 2021]

Title:

Academics raise fears over university leadership changes 

 

Author:

Yojana Sharma  

 

Published:

University World News, 26 November 2021 

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20211126124757927

 

From the article:

An overhaul of the leadership of Hong Kong’s highly regarded universities is proceeding apace with a raft of unexpected departures that have left many academics concerned for future university governance and global openness.