Making the move to promotion is a major turning point in faculty lives, however, we know little of the cognitive and interpretive processes that faculty members use in making sense of academic promotion systems in general. This paper has sought to bring to light, in part, the cognitive and interpretive aspects of academic promotion at Makerere University, Uganda. The theoretical underpinning of this paper has been based on the hermeneutic philosophy of Paul Ricoeur, and the design of the study has been narrative inquiry. Data collection was from thirty-three respondents during interview sessions that included academics from across a broad spectrum of departments, disciplines, promotion stages, promotion status and academic title. This study has shown that there is a cognitive and interpretive dimension to academic promotion experiences. The findings include the prefigurative suspicion of promotion that results from a shadow text of promotion policies existing alongside official policies and the narratives that promote arbitrariness and nepotism in the promotion process and the refiguration of cynical interpretations of the promotion processes in the form of withdrawal, indifference and strategic compliance.
This study develops and validates the Faculty Internal Governance Quality Scale (FIGQS), a measurement instrument designed to assess governance quality within centralized and affiliating university systems. Existing governance measures are largely rooted in Western higher education contexts characterized by decentralized and shared-governance traditions, limiting their applicability to highly centralized systems common in South Asia. Grounded in Organizational Justice Theory, the study conceptualizes Internal Governance Quality as a multidimensional construct comprising participation in decision making, transparency, accountability, and communication, reflecting faculty experiences of governance processes. Rather than constituting a culturally distinct measurement approach, the FIGQS’s primary contribution lies in validating this Western-originated theoretical framework within a structurally different, centralized governance context. A sequential multi-phase research design was employed, including conceptual development, expert-based content validation, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis. Survey data were collected from 855 full-time faculty members across seven universities affiliated with Bangladesh’s National University system, providing adequate power for robust model estimation. Results supported a second-order reflective model with acceptable model fit (CFI = 0.918, TLI = 0.906, RMSEA = 0.08) and strong psychometric properties (composite reliability > 0.80; average variance extracted > 0.50). The FIGQS contributes theoretically by extending Organizational Justice Theory to institutional governance, methodologically by offering a validated scale for centralized higher education systems, and practically by supporting evidence-based governance evaluation and reform aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 16.
This article examines the legal foundations and practical realities of academic freedom in Austria, situating its analysis within the broader European context. Austria’s robust constitutional protection of academic freedom, rooted in Article 17 of the Basic Law of 1867, is complemented by European legal safeguards and the explicit autonomy granted to public universities under Article 81c of the Federal Constitutional Law. The study clarifies conceptual distinctions between academic freedom, freedom of scientific research, and institutional autonomy, referencing contemporary European models and legal interpretations. Despite Austria’s high international ranking for academic freedom, recent developments have introduced new tensions. These challenges manifest in areas such as university governance, third-party funding, the balance between accountability and autonomy, and slightly increased political polarisation. The article highlights the importance of academic integrity, transparency, and public trust in science, noting positive legal reforms and increased awareness among stakeholders. Inspired by Popper’s critical rationalism, the paper underscores the intrinsic link between science and democracy, advocating for universities as centres of contestable ideas and rational discourse. The Austrian experience offers valuable insights for the evolving European doctrine of academic freedom, emphasising the need for vigilance against gradual erosion and the collective responsibility to safeguard academic freedom as a cornerstone of liberal democracy.
Universities worldwide are facing a practical governance challenge as generative artificial intelligence tools become widely available to students and staff, while institutional responses remain fragmented across academic integrity rules, assessment design, research governance, and inconsistent understandings of acceptable assistance. This paper presents a pragmatic institutional toolkit for translating broad principles for ethical generative artificial intelligence use into workable higher education practice. Using a document-based design, the study draws on institutional evidence from a public higher education institution in Botswana, including governance documents, policy texts, role-specific guidelines, sensitisation plans, and workshop artefacts. The analysis shows that generative artificial intelligence governance can be operationalised without creating a standalone policy by embedding definitions and expectations within existing academic integrity and misconduct frameworks, developing separate guidance for different user groups, and using workshops, institutional memory and detection-tool training as educative and procedural mechanisms. The paper synthesises these elements into a roadmap-to-practice translation architecture, comprising five recurring translation moves, seven canonical toolkit components, and a six-step implementation pathway that emphasise transparency, proportionality, documentation, and due process. Rather than claiming effectiveness outcomes beyond the institutional record, the study offers a documented design case and an adaptable model for universities seeking coherent and feasible approaches to generative artificial intelligence governance, particularly in resource-constrained contexts.
Academic freedom (AF) is a defining feature of liberal democracies and is therefore fundamental to the values and mission of academia in the spirit of enlightenment. However, in the face of war, anti-democratic political movements, and social-political polarisation, AF is under attack and under threat from various quarters. Drawing on a narrative literature review and conceptual content analysis, this paper advances a multi-perspective framework of AF that brings greater analytical clarity and normative force to current debates. It proposes a synthetic working definition comprising ten conceptual dimensions together with a five-level typology of threats ranging from political-regulatory interference to self-censorship. In doing so, the paper directly addresses persistent conceptual shortcomings, particularly the conflation of freedom of academic speech with general freedom of speech and the reduction of AF to only a few of its more familiar elements, such as research and teaching. It then develops measures to mitigate the generic threats identified. The framework is subsequently applied to Germany, a country often regarded as a stronghold of constitutionally protected AF, but one whose recent developments raise serious questions about the robustness of that protection in practice. By examining the interaction of constitutional guarantees, legislation, case law, and institutional self-commitments, the paper shows that formal legal protections, while indispensable, are not in themselves sufficient to secure AF effectively. It concludes by reflecting on what is at stake for both AF and liberal democracy.
Academic freedom and institutional autonomy (AF/IA) are increasingly under pressure and can no longer be taken for granted. Legal measures to better protect AF are being considered within the European Union. This article aims to inform the debate on the development of EU legislation from a legal perspective, drawing on insights from institutional theory. The article is based on legal analysis and use a law and social sciences approach.Some distinct academic approaches to AF/IA will be explored to identify the key dimensions of AF/IA. Inspiration is drawn from institutional theory as interpreted by Scott (2014) to argue that effective regulation is only possible if we simultaneously have a clear picture of how AF/IA are approached by all relevant actors: legal (regulatory), normative or even cognitive (cultural). The EU’s competences and legal framework are examined to assess whether, and if so how, all dimensions of AF/IA can be covered in legislative action. Given the EU’s multi-level governance model, we need to see how AF and IA are treated in national legislation and case law. Some national cases will illustrate this.Concluded will be with the meaning of the previous for the further development of EU regulation to protect AF/IA.
In a constantly changing world, universities have to make considerable efforts to legitimise themselves both as higher education institutions (HEIs) and as important and future-oriented institutions that serve society. These legitimacy claims can be detected in mission statements, which are commonly used communication tools to reach stakeholders. Accordingly, this research aims to investigate the change in mission of Hungarian HEIs between 2017 and 2023. We analysed 35 Hungarian HEIs’ publicly available mission texts from their official websites and distinguished 38 mentioned social roles and responsibilities. The longitudinal approach made it possible to identify the unchanging social roles and, at the same time, to identify the emerging and disappearing roles and stakeholders. The results show that the ‘Education’, ‘Science, research’, ‘External relations’, ‘High quality’, and ‘Traditions, values’ role groups are stable throughout the years. We perceive them as legitimating role groups in that their mention seems to be continuously present. There is only one role group, which showed an increasing tendency: the roles indicating services to and well-being of society. However, this heightened focus on society’s demands seems to be reached at the expense of student-centredness because the frequency of mentioned roles and responsibilities concerning the students significantly decreased. The question arose whether these changes can be connected to the transformation in higher education governance and the spreading of new managerialism, or rather mirror the HEIs’ attempts to react to the challenges and changes in the international and national environment and address the difficulties of mission overload.
The paper examines the evolving status of academic freedom in private higher education. Historically, European scholarship has analysed academic freedom primarily from the perspective of traditionally dominant public institutions. However, the global rise of private providers—which in 2015 enrolled approximately 13.6
This study explores the intricate dynamics of sustainability and employee engagement in Northern Cyprus higher education institutions, leveraging Social Exchange Theory and Stakeholder Theory. By examining how sustainability initiatives and engagement programs influence organizational outcomes, the research provides critical insights into institutional effectiveness. Employing a rigorous cross-sectional design, we surveyed 286 university personnel across six institutions using validated, multi-dimensional questionnaires. Our comprehensive methodology captured nuanced data on employee engagement programs, sustainable practices, job productivity, satisfaction, and retention through carefully adapted measurement scales with robust reliability coefficients. Key findings reveal significant positive relationships between employee engagement programs and sustainable practices, demonstrating their collective impact on job productivity and satisfaction. Notably, while sustainable practices positively influenced job outcomes, they showed no direct significant effect on employee retention. The study uncovered complex mediating mechanisms: sustainable practices mediated engagement programs’ impact on job outcomes, while engagement programs mediated sustainable practices’ organizational influence. Our research provides transformative implications for higher education management, suggesting that integrated sustainability and engagement strategies, rather than siloed approaches, can optimize institutional performance. By bridging theoretical frameworks with empirical evidence, this study advances understanding of organizational dynamics in academic settings and offers actionable insights for strategic human resource development. These findings underscore the strategic importance of holistic, interconnected organizational approaches that simultaneously address sustainability, employee engagement, and institutional effectiveness.
Knowledge creation is a fundamental driver of innovation and competitive advantage in organizations, particularly in higher education institutions. This study examines the influence of workplace environment factors—working conditions, pay satisfaction, promotional opportunities, team support, and supervision support—on knowledge creation among employees in universities across five Western Balkan countries. Using a quantitative methodology, data were collected from academic and administrative staff at 40 universities and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The findings reveal that promotional opportunities and team support significantly enhance knowledge creation, whereas working conditions, pay satisfaction, and supervision support do not show significant direct effects on knowledge creation. These results offer theoretical and practical insights into designing knowledge-friendly workplaces, emphasizing the importance of career development and team cohesion in academic institutions.
The European Universities Initiative (EUI) seeks to drive the transformation of participating institutions by promoting shared governance, challenge-based learning, socially impactful research, and stakeholder engagement. These aspects reflect broader trends in the transformation of higher education institutions, as discussed in the literature on organisational actorhood. From this perspective, we theoretically identify five key transformations implied by the EUI. Using an exploratory qualitative approach, we conducted expert interviews at four traditional research universities and four universities of applied sciences (UAS) to examine how alliance members navigate these key transformations. Our findings indicate that the EUI, through its impact agenda, is not the primary driver of organisational change in higher education institutions but rather acts as a facilitator of institutional reorganisation processes already underway—particularly in the case of UAS. Furthermore, we find that the EUI exerts its most transformative influence in two core areas: the emphasis on the European dimension of university alliances and the implementation of shared governance structures. These aspects are not captured by general transformational trends in higher education, thereby highlighting the EUI’s distinctive contribution to institutional development.
This study examines ESG performance in higher education institutions using data from the 2024 QS World University Rankings. ESG performance is analyzed as it is operationalized and evaluated within a global ranking and benchmarking system, rather than as an abstract or universally defined sustainability construct. Using a cross-sectional sample of 1,277 universities, with effective sample sizes varying across models due to data availability, the analysis explores the association between selected institutional characteristics and observed ESG performance, as well as its governance, social, and environmental dimensions. The results show that institutional equality and knowledge exchange are consistently and strongly associated with higher ESG scores across all model specifications. Academic reputation and citations per faculty exhibit differentiated associations across ESG dimensions, while international student enrollment shows no statistically significant relationship. Gross tertiary education enrollment displays dimension-specific effects, being negatively associated with governance scores and positively associated with social performance. Overall, the findings highlight the close alignment between ESG performance and visible institutional characteristics within ranking systems. The results provide practical insights for university administrators while emphasizing the importance of the measurement context in shaping observed ESG outcomes. All findings should be interpreted in light of the cross-sectional design and the ranking-based operationalization of ESG performance.
The novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic affected diverse sectors including university education. University students represent a vulnerable group that continues to experience post-pandemic stress. This longitudinal study took place over three academic semesters to assess the stress levels and coping styles of fourth-year students admitted during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan. We utilized a longitudinal design, incorporating the Brief COPE and PSS-10 scales, to survey a convenience sample of 1,861 students, predominantly male (71.7
This paper compares the positioning of professional doctorates in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom to examine how governance choices (award-granting authority, admissions, assessment design, and programme locus) shape the international recognition and portability of doctoral degrees at EQF level 8. Using documentary analysis of legislation, agency guidance, and programme specifications, we synthesise recurring decision points that lead to misrecognition risks when professional doctorates prioritise practice-improvement over research originality. We then propose a concise Framework-for-Fit-and-Governance (FFG) checklist that translates recognition criteria into institutional levers: entry routes, mandatory outputs, viva/defence requirements, external examiners, and awarding powers. Applied to the Dutch UAS-Professional Doctorate and UK “named doctorates”, the checklist clarifies when programmes are likely to be evaluated as equivalent to the PhD and when they are not, and how design changes mitigate that risk. We discuss implications for senior leaders and quality units responsible for doctoral portfolios and for recognition bodies adjudicating cross-border credentials. The contribution is a practical tool for aligning professional doctorates with recognition frameworks while preserving their distinct aims, enabling institutions to make transparent trade-offs between professional impact and international portability.
Strategic leadership in universities is a balancing act between academic and managerial perspectives as well as internal and external realities. In this article, we focus on the experiences of administrative staff during a university merger. By analysing qualitative survey data, we show how misalignment between the strategic focus of the organization and the needs of people management can lead to a disconnect between strategic leadership and the operational realities of university administration. This study contributes to the study of strategic leadership and organizational mergers in universities with a particular focus on administrative staff.
This study is a response to the call for more research exploring the factors that can address the e-cheating behaviour of accounting and business students. Based on fear appeal theory, moral appeal theory, and cognitive moral development (CMD) theory, we examine if implementing monitoring systems, teachers’ support, moral reminders, perceived fear, and self-efficacy could directly or indirectly reduce the accounting and other business students’ e-cheating behaviour. We employed partial least square based structural equation modelling to analyse 432 responses from seventeen public and private universities in Bangladesh. Results reveal that monitoring, moral reminder, and teachers’ cooperation and support have a significant positive relationship with students’ e-cheating behaviour, and perceived fear partially mediates the relationship between student monitoring and e-cheating behaviour. Moreover, teachers’ support strongly influences students’ self-efficacy and self-efficacy has a significant influence on student’s e-cheating behaviour. However, no mediating effect of self-efficacy between teachers’ cooperation and support and e-cheating behaviour. Our findings furthermore indicate that moral reminders, teachers’ cooperation and support, and self-efficacy have only negligible influence on students’ e-cheating behaviour. In a nutshell, our empirical findings outline some valuable policy implications, limitations, and future research suggestions which might be useful in addressing students’ e-cheating behaviour.
Given the ubiquitous nature of branding in society, it is unsurprising that it has become an integral part of the HEIs, at the university, programme (course) and level of the individual educator or teacher. For products and services, branding can create interest and other positive outcomes. Similarly, using branding principles can enable an educator to facilitate and stimulate student engagement in the educational process. Therefore, our study aims to explore how educators can use branding principles to create a positive learning environment and positively contribute to educational outcomes. This qualitative study was conducted through interviews among all levels of educators identified through course evaluations as being effective teachers in a Swedish business school. Data analysis allowed for the identification of theoretical and emergent codes. We found that these educators apply branding principles to facilitate student interest, engagement and satisfaction. The steps in the strategic branding management process are used by educators initially identifying their values which are used in developing their classroom presentation activities. Evaluation and feedback from the audience is used to build long term brand equity to the benefit of the educator and the student. This study suggests how educators can use branding in the classroom, also providing additional research in this area.
This study explores the relationship between psychological characteristics and dropout, and also assesses the various group specific problems of computer science (CS) students in a large public university in Europe. In order to reduce attrition through developing a relevant retention policy, a comprehensive group specific analysis of academic and psychological characteristics was necessary. Using different psychological measures and students’ academic performance allowed us to conduct a cluster analysis to find different patterns among the students’ group. Results indicated six different cluster groups, two of which were described as dropping out students. University leavers had low scores in the Big 5 personality traits (TIPI), EPQR-A, GRIT, coping strategies (PICI), and occupational identity; however, they showed high scores in bravery (VIA-S). An important outcome of this study was the existence of different psychological characteristics which can help to develop interventions. Finally, implications and recommendations for future research are suggested.
The objectives of this study are of two-fold: one is to investigate the selected factors which determine sustainable quality education and the other is to examine the moderating effect of working condition between faculty retention and quality education in the private higher education institutes (HEIs) in Bangladesh. In so doing, the study employs Herzberg’s two-factor theory as its theoretical base. Data were analyzed using AMOS-SEM. The findings of the study reveal that all factors influence faculty retention strongly except a weak influence of job security. It also shows that faculty working condition has a strong moderating effect between faculty retention and sustainable quality education. The results of the current study imply that the authorities of the private HEIs ought to be cautious to pay their special attention to the enjoyable working condition which can retain quality faculty longer in order to potentiality excel in quality education.
The pursuit of a doctoral qualification is a high-risk strategy which is undertaken for various reasons including improving career prospects, personal development, professional competence and intrinsic interest in a discipline area. Higher education institutions are increasingly expecting academics to either have a doctoral qualification or to be enrolled in a doctoral program as a condition of their employment. Subsequently, academic staff who are encouraged to enrol in doctoral programs are often supervised by colleagues at the same institution. Although there is extensive research on how universities manage the supervisor/doctoral candidate process and the importance of this relationship, there has never been a commensurate interest in exploring doctoral supervision provided by colleagues located at the same university as a distinct subgroup. This is further complicated by the various status and working conditions of doctoral candidates across the Higher Education system. The gap that exists in the literature is unusual given that it has the potential to be one of the most complex and vulnerable of doctoral supervision arrangements, a situation exacerbated by increasing pressures on the higher education sector inherent in the global neo-liberal climate and exacerbated by COVID-19. This paper explores the complexity of providing doctoral supervision for colleagues through in-depth interviews with doctoral supervisors from two universities. The findings identified numerous challenges, notably the lack of clarity over roles, communication break-down, and workplace politics. This paper provides a series of recommendations to assist universities to effectively manage the colleague doctoral supervision process.
