Higher Education: The Nature of the Beast

Fairweather, James S.; Blalock, A. Emiko

doi:10.1007/978-1-137-45617-5_1

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The findings are important for three reasons. Firstly, they are relevant to higher education systems in the UK as they move to market‐based systems, seek to balance the twin goals of prestige and massification (Fairweather and Blalock, ; Blackmore, ), and consider new organisational models that will provide financial sustainability. Secondly, insights and a uniquely (20 years) long view are offered into collaborative governance exemplified in the hybrid Joint Faculty that some saw as a ‘third way’.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mutuality, Metaphor and Micropolitics in Collaborative Governance: a Joint Venture in UK Higher Education

Ross

Woodfield

2016

Higher Education Quarterly

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As market‐led higher education systems become the ‘new normal’, a wider variety of organisational forms is likely to emerge. This paper reports on the findings of a qualitative and historical study that aimed to explore the meaning of collaborative governance in a unique and long‐standing higher education joint venture in England. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with senior‐level stakeholders from both participating institutions: architects of the joint venture, institutional leaders and faculty managers. Interviewees frequently referred to the metaphor of marriage and described the institutions as partners who don't live together but have responsibility for the children! The paper offers reflective insights on governance, leadership and management and highlights the tensions of balancing mutual interests, the use of metaphor to make sense of critical incidents and the role of micropolitics of enacting leadership at multiple levels. The paper contributes to conceptual understanding and knowledge of collaborative governance in higher education.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mutuality, Metaphor and Micropolitics in Collaborative Governance: a Joint Venture in UK Higher Education

Ross

Woodfield

2016

Higher Education Quarterly

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“…When examining these agencies, it is important to clarify whether they perform accreditation processes or quality assessments. As Fairweather and Blalock (2015: 6), point out, accreditation ‘is meant to ensure that an institution (and, in some cases, an academic programme) meets the minimum fiscal and academic standards to offer degrees’, while quality assurance ‘differs from accreditation in its focus on distinguishing levels of quality between institutions and academic programmes’.…”

Section: Models and Policy Instruments Of The Regulatory State In Higher Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regulation and Quality Assurance Agencies of Higher Education in Mexico

Hernández-Fernández

Durán

Portugal-Celaya

2021

Bull Latin American Res

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This article examines the quality assurance (QA) regime of higher education (HE) in Mexico. In particular, we examine how the regulatory framework of HE quality has evolved in the past three decades and the different regulatory configurations and policy instruments used by QA agencies. We argue that the Mexican case is illustrative of a (weak) hybrid regulatory model that combines the policy instruments of both a state‐centred model and a market‐oriented model. Our results show diverse institutional patterns in the evaluation and accreditation of both public and private institutions.

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“…It should come as no surprise to find that it attracts considerable research attention from scholars (e.g., Bleiklie et al, ; de Boer & Enders, ; Kogan, Bauer, Bleiklie, & Henkel, ; Kwiek, ) who seek to illuminate the logic of system‐level reforms and identify critical factors for the success and failure of the policy process. Beyond any doubt, this is one of the central areas of research interest as well as a key challenge for higher education studies (Fairweather & Blalock, ). In literature, there are several popular labels and numerous models of the policy process which differ in detail more than in substance (Birkland, ; Sabatier & Weible, ).…”

Section: Policymaking As An Organisational Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The latter has its formal procedural structure regulated by the law; however, it is driven by certain rules of appropriateness that actors follow because they are internalised as rational and guide actors as to how things should be done. This is because public policy is deeply embedded in local political culture and is affected by distinct national path‐dependent flavours, being, in the case of higher education, deeply embedded in historical tradition, practices and a long‐term institutional memory (e.g., Dobbins & Knill, ; Fairweather & Blalock, ; Krücken, ). As many historical institutionalists claim (Hall & Taylor, ), they can still exercise an astonishingly strong influence on the policy process, which is routinised through daily political business as numerous pieces of lower‐rank (executive ordinance) legislation continue to proceed (or be amended).…”

Section: Policymaking As An Organisational Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%