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Innovations in assessment practice have become widespread in Higher Education (HE) throughout the world. Taking a case study approach, this paper examines the nature of students' assessment preferences at one English university, and compares the views of UK students with a sample of learners from a number of other countries studying at the same institution. A brief discussion of the literature is followed by a methodological overview, before turning to an examination of the study's findings with regard to the students' views and experiences of assessment. Similarities and differences in preferences are explored, and an attempt is made to account for these on the basis of the insights supplied by the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on recent and innovative moves towards flexible learning in initial teacher education programmes in England and Wales, as part of the ‘widening participation’ agenda in higher education and in response to changes in teacher recruitment patterns. We take as our perspective our own experience as two course tutors in a higher education institution that introduced flexible routes into its secondary teacher education programme at the beginning of the academic year 2002/2003. Using the university's model for our case study, we have undertaken a small‐scale research project and reviewed the literature describing flexible learning discourses in higher education, to consider the extent to which concepts of flexibility are being translated into practice. In particular we highlight some implications for pedagogy and practice that have become apparent at this early stage in the development of flexible courses and which will have an impact upon their progress in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper contains a brief description of the research we have undertaken on innovations and innovation processes in higher education [1]. Within the framework of a larger project (a study of educational planning for Swedish Higher Education [2]), we have made seven case studies of innovation processes and tried to relate them to an attempt towards a general theory of innovations. We have built on, and tried to exemplify, the field theory of the social psychologist, Kurt Lewin [3]. This means that we view change as being realised through a form of political process, determined by the strength of the different forces within a social system. We have tried to define the characteristics of higher education as a social system and the factors which determine the nature of the various forces towards a certain type of change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the relevance of the studies related to role of the education policies. The author refers to a paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in San Diego, which debates that quasi-markets in education and training has settled into ritual. The author comments that as with an ongoing ideological struggle about the intensification of market forces and market culture in the realm of education in various societies the ritualistic aspect has nothing much to do with the changes in the culture of education. The article examines the views that the government intervention in the realm of education as natural because it is for social or public good. It comments that such views support the intervention as the best mechanism for the provision of educational services. But in reality it is liable to reduce freedom of choice and thereby curtail the sphere of responsibility of the citizens. The market culture in the field of education attempts to make it a commodity, which provides increment to knowledge and the curriculum. The role of the government is to roll back it with rules and jurisdiction to check the hidden hand of marketized individual competition.

This paper explores student perceptions of transnational education undergraduate programmes offered in Hong Kong, including their motivation for choosing to study such courses, and their satisfaction. The findings give insight into the role of transnational education (TNE) within higher education provision and issues that providers and policy-makers may need to address. It is based on a survey and student group interviews conducted as part of a wider market research report: Hong Kong: Transnational Education at the Turning Point (British Council and FCE, 2011). The survey and qualitative interview findings affirmed the important role that TNE had to play in extending access to higher education and offering provision in niche subjects that might not be available in the local sector. Responses offered some good news, with positive perceptions of the quality of courses and teaching. However, they also highlighted the challenges that TNE providers and their local partners face, as this type of provision was perceived as a less favourable option for securing a degree and for meeting young people's expectations of a university experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the development of an evaluation and impact framework to assess the effectiveness of educational innovations. It can be utilized within a single program, as well as at institutional and national levels. While it is contextualized in a Chilean university, it is argued that it is widely applicable as it is informed by international best practice. The rationale that informed the development of the evaluation framework is described and is illustrated using two programs: Faculty Learning Communities; and Student Learning Assistants. These demonstrate how the framework can be customized utilizing indicators and outcomes relevant to specific programs and stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysian higher education institutions, particularly universities, are critical to the economic and social future of the nation. This is so as demands for pursuit of knowledge and innovations as well as for highly specialized and educated people have made university education highly important and a priority for the Malaysian government. This article presents the alternative models for Malaysian universities by establishing a set of scenarios based on the current model and future trends of Malaysian higher education institutions. The first section gives a brief overview of the Malaysian university system and the main forces that drive changes in the system. The second section discusses the project undertaken in scenario building which aims to develop alternative models of universities in Malaysia. The alternative scenarios conceptualized provide three main paradigms on the future model of higher education in Malaysia. The concluding section highlights the importance of understanding the scenarios applied to the future of the university as well as of understanding the changing role and contribution of Malaysian universities in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article discusses the changes in Russian higher education policies and the role of international organizations - the World Bank and OECD - in promoting education reforms in this country. General and specific recommendations offered by the World Bank and the OECD expert teams to improve Russian higher education are analysed to determine if any of their suggestions have been considered and applied in recent government policies. We explore the mechanisms though which new policies are implemented at the institutional and national levels. Finally, we suggest that higher education institutions and the Russian government experience coercive, mimetic, normative and discursive pressures emanating from these global policy actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reflects on the relationship between evaluation and trust. Evaluation has become prominent in recent years as a way to control administrative action. The underlying assumption here is that administrative action, e.g. in the form of publicly funded programmes, requires control in order to gain or sustain its legitimacy. Two case studies of programmes of higher education reform in Germany, initiating so-called `virtual universities', are used to investigate how stakeholders experienced evaluation. Informants argued that there was too much evaluation, that confusion and competition arose about the roles of evaluation, and that little instrumental use occurred. This situation caused frustration and begs the question whether evaluation, intended to increase trust through systematic and transparent inquiry and rational decision-making, contradicted its own claims. It is argued that evaluation can be endangered by `inverse process use' or `process damage'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the international competitiveness of national higher education systems in U.S. and Germany in which the two countries are borrowing structures in education reform. The authors point out that the practice of importing selected parts of the U.S. system of higher education into other national systems is widespread, making these transfers a phenomenon of global relevance and importance. The international competitiveness of national higher education systems is an important political issue in many countries in which these politics drive some governments to reform their systems by borrowing elements from societies with systems thought to be superior.

For Flanders, the Bologna declaration has launched an innovation process carrying unprecedented challenges for higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A self-assessment model was developed for the Portuguese higher education institutions (HEIs) which was based on an empirical study aiming at better understanding their strategic and quality management and innovation practices and tools and on the study of several quality assessment models developed both for HEIs and business organisations. From the results obtained it was possible to conclude that the model can be successfully applied to HEIs as a self-assessment tool to support their continuous quality improvement efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]