This article examines how university presidents who led their institutions to achieve Carnegie "R1 Highest Research Activity" managed policy tensions created by prestige priorities and worked with groups and coalitions internally and externally. Striving to achieve R1 status requires U.S. universities to re-calibrate their focus,…

A key policy challenge in establishing new universities is the potential risk of lower academic standards and mission drift, which can affect policy effectiveness and outcomes. While regulation and funding tend to be preferred policy instruments for securing control of higher education expansion and achieving policy objectives, this article…

This collection of short essays presents and examines six vignettes of organisational change in British, New Zealand and European universities. Drawing on the social studies of economisation literature, formal research projects and auto-ethnographic insights, the authors detail profound changes in how knowledge is produced in universities. They…

Background: Government-funded knowledge brokering organisations (KBOs) are an increasingly prevalent yet under-researched area. Working in the space between knowledge and policy, yet framing themselves as different from think tanks and academic research centres, these organisations broker evidence into policy. Aims and objectives: This article…

This contribution explores how multinational companies (MNCs) have managed to develop their own policy that sets international standards for education, in particular in the sphere of corporate education. It criticises education policy studies for leaving the study of corporate education mainly to management and human resource studies. As a…

This article discusses new philanthropy participation in public education in the context of the broader transnational policymaking landscape. Drawing on data published by the Lemann Foundation on its official Twitter, now known as X, along with previous research from the authors, this article examines how policy problems are framed for the general…

The ideas of 'prestige' and of a 'prestige economy' are coming into wider use in discussion of higher education. The terms are here set against the background of an enduring interest in issues of status. A current theoretical context is provided through Bourdieu's analyses of academic work and ideas in the field of cultural production, together…

Standardised International Large-Scale Assessments (ILSAs) have gained prominence in global and national educational discussions. ILSAs claim to offer valuable insights for improving education systems, but their impact on educational policy varies and has become a contested arena. This article analyses how these assessments fed educational…

Driven by global rankings and national quality assurance (QA) initiatives, Taiwan's higher education institutions were encouraged to develop strategic plans and initiatives, in order to improve graduate student employability. The purpose of this study is to explore the polices and strategies adopted by Taiwanese higher education institutions, with…

This article presents an in-depth case analysis of Norwegian teacher training, exploring the intricate dynamics between global blueprints, national problem constructions and local realities. As Norwegian educational policy has aligned itself with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's recommendations, the study uncovers a…

The NSU Write from the Start Writing and Communication Center (WCC) has recognized the importance of developing a social media presence to highlight the achievements and services of the Center while providing professional development opportunities to staff members. This article is aimed at educating communication center directors and staff on how…

This article questions the existing understanding of how global university rankings work to coordinate higher education policy. Rankings are often analyzed as accelerators of reform processes while their differences are overlooked. We suggest studying the particular encounters between rankers and national policy contexts as occasions for friction…

The expansion of opportunity in higher education and the recognition of the influence of academic research on economic development have motivated policy reforms in many national systems of higher education including Japan. Many of these national reforms involve facilitating market forces in higher education, which is a new context for many…

This article explores the strategies think tanks (TTs) from Brussels, London, Paris and Ljubljana use to exert influence on European Union (EU) policy-making. The paper argues that European TTs mobilise symbolic, political and network forms of capital built at the European level to enhance their legitimacy, credibility and visibility in the…

Since their emergence a decade ago, global university rankings have become a powerful force in higher education internationally. The majority of research studies on global rankings have examined the effects at institutional and national levels. This study offers a valuable perspective on the ways rankings (and other international benchmarks) are…