ABSTRACT This paper examines how European Knowledge Society policy scripts, amplified by the European Universities initiative, are appropriated in the strategic plans of Portuguese public universities. Focusing on nine universities participating in European Universities Alliances, it asks how they position the ‘relationship with society’ in mission narratives, whether they prioritise commercial or civic/socially responsive engagement, and what patterns of convergence, local translation and decoupling emerge. The study combines a two‐stage document analysis: frequency‐based semantic analysis of mission‐related terms and qualitative content analysis of strategic plans. Findings show that societal engagement is now central to mission discourse, often alongside teaching and research. However, institutions differ markedly: some emphasise commercialisation, innovation and knowledge transfer; others stress civic responsibility, social cohesion, culture and sustainability; most combine both. The paper argues that these hybrid narratives reflect adaptive responses to multiple legitimacy pressures rather than inconsistency or failure.

Appears in: EDULEARN22 Proceedings Publication year: 2022Pages: 769-777ISBN: 978-84-09-42484-9ISSN: 2340-1117doi: 10.21125/edulearn.2022.0228Conference name: 14th International Conference on Education and New Learning TechnologiesDates: 4-6 July, 2022Location: Palma, Spain

Drawn from the SQELT Erasmus+ project, this article explores how learning analytics is implemented at a set of six European universities in the context of their performance data management models, including its multiple functions and ethical issues. It further identifies possible good practice and policy recommendations at decision-making level. Results show that learning analytics is present to a certain extent in all six institutions, although mostly based on traditional data and still lacking predictive capacity concerning students' performance. Learning analytics is viewed as useful in providing more accurate personal data on students' learning, contributing to the establishment of more sophisticated quality management systems. The European General Data Protection Regulation and national privacy laws sufficiently cover the majority of data ethics risks posed by learning analytics. Overall, learning analytics entails both opportunities and threats. The possibilities of a learning analytics approach deserve further attention within universities and quality assurance agencies.

T. Leiber 1, V. Carlos 2, S. Bruckmann 3, M.J. Rosa 4 1Evaluation Agency Baden-Wuerttemberg, Mannheim (GERMANY) 2Research Centre on Didactics and Technology in the Education of Trainers & University of Aveiro (PORTUGAL) 3CIPES – Centre for Research in Higher Education Policies & University of Aveiro (PORTUGAL) 4CIPES – Centre for Research in Higher Education Policies & DEGEIT, University of Aveiro (PORTUGAL)

During the past three decades, higher education institutions have been changing, moving away from the traditional bureaucratic archetype towards a more managerialist one. Empirical research already demonstrated that organisations tend to be in a hybrid area of archetypal change. Considering the specific case of a government-imposed reform in Portugal, and using a case study approach of six public universities, this study aims to explore archetypal hybridism through the lens of two main dimensions: systems and structures and interpretive scheme. The theoretical background lies on academic literature on organisational change in higher education and specifically on archetype theory. The findings drawn from document analysis and interviews outline the main characteristics of the hybrid archetype that we chose to name efficient-collegiality.

To analyze changes in HE from a comparative perspective, between countries or within the same country, may highlight differences in the global tendencies and contribute to dismantle the convergence myth. This study develops such a comparative perspective. Assuming NPM and managerialism as the referential concepts it tries to analyze changes in HE in a comparative 'inter country' perspective. Taking Portugal as a case study it aims to understand the similarities and differences between the two most symbolic sectors of the welfare state: higher education and health. These changes involved transformations at the organizational level, in presence of decentralization and deregulation processes, with consequences for professionals translating attempts to replace the traditional organizational and professional order, based on professionals' self-regulation by a new one based on market assumptions. A qualitative study has been developed based on content analysis of legal documents and semi-structured interviews with academics and nurses working in public hospitals and higher education institutions. Data analysis shows that traditional bureaucratic way of organizing public institutions has given way to a more rational one, that professionals' deregulation is not similar for professionals in health and higher education, and that there are significant differences between the two sectors.

Portuguese public higher education institutions have been undergoing a major reform process since 2007. The most noticeable changes were introduced by Law 62/2007, which gave higher education institutions the option to choose between two different institutional models (foundational and public institute), and allowed the implementation of new government and management structures. We know, from the institutional-ism theoretical perspective, that in a process of change institutions tend to be more similar than diverse. This study aims to analyse how Portuguese higher education institutions reacted to external pressures and reorganised their internal government and management structures. The main question it tries to answer is to what extent were institutions able to introduce more diversity in their organisational models? In order to find clues to answer this question, the study compares higher education institutions’ internal structures by developing a qualitative study based on content analysis of internal legal documents from six universities (three that remain public institutes and three that have a foundational model).