Three HEQuarters of a century: Reflections, considerations, and a research agenda

Abstract

This autumn 2022, Higher Education Quarterly celebrated its 75th anniversary. Quite a unique event, as HEQ represents one of the oldest journals in the field of higher education research. The first issue was published in 1947, only two years after the end of the second world war. The journal was at that time called 'Universities Quarterly' and founded by the 'Association for Education in Citizenship', by Lord Simon of Wythenshawe, Mrs. E. Hubback and several others (Notes, Augustus 1949).In 1948, it was clearly stated that in higher education, 'the problems are infinite, and surely, much hard, clear, prolonged thinking will be necessary if even a few of them are to be solved. To that thinking it is hoped that the University Quarterly has made and will continue to make some stimulating contributions ' (1948, p. 427). And so, we have continued this thinking and have contributed to the various debates, and we will continue to do so.To mark this very special occasion, I have taken a very thorough look through the journal over these 75 years.This was harder than it looks as the earlier issues are not so easy to access. Currently, Higher Education Q uarterly is an international, scholarly journal, that occupies a critical space in promoting research into higher education policy and practice internationally. Its scope includes, for instance, institutional approaches to the student experience, management, and leadership; system-wide issues such as student funding and widening participation;