The contemporary university has its place amid a world in total motion. The issue arises, then, as to what it is it to try to shape a university in the context of a world that lacks stability. The thesis argued here is twofold: (1) that the university should take seriously its entwinement with the world; indeed, with large eco-systems of the…

At a time when higher education faces serious existential challenges, it is important for stakeholders in higher education to come together to make important decisions that are thoughtful and internally legitimate. Shared governance, a concept that is widely touted yet wildly varied in implementation, is the best path forward for decision makers.…

Although global higher education partnerships can promote greater intercultural understanding, establish unique environments for student and faculty development, and generate opportunities for innovative and entrepreneurial ventures, they can be beset with problems that negate their potential effectiveness. This paper proposes that open systems…

Distance learning technology continues to grow and undergo significant changes in higher education settings. Applying strategic planning methods from organizational behavior and operations management can act as a useful guide for the implementation of a sustainable distance learning program. Strong planning can help ensure the distance learning…

Campuses have never had such an intense focus on health promotion as they do at present as we work toward a post-pandemic future. This article examines the evolution of approaches from a student-centric focus to a systems approach, tracing the history of health promotion on Canadian campuses. Universities have evolved from the initial attempts at…

Considering the rise of implementation of big data analytics (BDA) in Saudi Arabian higher education institutions but with relatively lesser optimal performance, the study investigated the causality of organisational culture (OC) and BDA's social and technical subsystems, following the Socio-Technical Systems theory, with the strategic…

While the impact of government funding for institutions of higher education has been researched extensively, little research looks at the impact of students as a funding source. This is important because students are one of the greatest contributors to higher education budgets. Within the Commonwealth of Kentucky, there has been a decline in high…

From the evaluation literature related to research and innovation policy, calls have long been made for improved evaluation processes especially where projects and programmes may be evaluated from a systems perspective. Drawing on the literature of innovation systems and innovation for inclusive development (I4ID) this research proposes a…

"Transforming Universities with Digital Distance Education" explores the ways in which higher education stakeholders can apply and leverage the benefits of online learning. Systems-wide access, scale and quality are achievable goals but require forms of teamwork and financial modelling beyond those at the instructor or programme level.…

Systems thinking is recognized as an essential skill for understanding complex problem solving and decision making associated with many of the contemporary issues faced by individuals and communities. In this article, our goal is to contribute to the knowledge of curriculum and pedagogy of formal systems thinking teaching in higher education. We…

Burton R. Clark's 1998 book, "Creating Entrepreneurial Universities," has had a major impact on the field of higher education, especially internationally. In this paper, key aspects of Clark's conceptualisation of organisational pathways of transformation are identified, speaking to its theoretical and empirical contributions to higher…

Purpose: This paper aims to understand why higher education institutions (HEIs) struggle to become sustainable institutions themselves despite providing relevant teaching and research on sustainability. Design/methodology/approach: Using 17 open-ended, semistructured interviews to determine common themes (codes) regarding sustainability, the…

Background/Context: The traditional literature on the history of higher education in the United States focuses on linear explanations of the inexorable growth of the size, mission, and importance of colleges and universities. That approach ignores or minimizes a recurrent strain of discontent with the higher education sector, especially from…

Purpose: Food waste represents a major sustainability challenge with environmental, economic, social and health implications. Institutions of higher education contribute to generating food waste while serving as models in championing sustainability solutions. An experiential learning project was implemented as part of two university courses in a…

Research shows that internationalization of higher education is a process rather than an end product. This paper applies the Dynamic Systems Theory to examine the nature and development of internationalization of higher education, and proposes that internationalization of higher education is a dynamic system. A dynamic framework of…