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The purpose of this paper is to present a model for the analysis of the competitiveness of the higher education system based on the application of M. E. Porter’s diamond model for researching the competitiveness of the national higher education system.

For the research that is presented in the paper, several methods of theoretical research were used: induction, deduction and comparison.

Application of the selected model provided factors for assessment of the performance of higher education institutions and their performance, as well as the ability of higher education institutions to monitor the environment and, depending on the changes in the environment, to introduce internal changes.

The paper proposes a model for examining of the factors of competitiveness in the higher education system.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the desired employability skills of business graduates in Syria from the perspective of both higher education policymakers and employers in the private sector.

Interviews were conducted with 12 higher education policymakers and managers from the business sector. Content analysis was utilized to analyse the content of the interviews and the strategic priorities of the higher education sector in Syria.

Results revealed that although higher education policymakers focus more on societal, public and thinking skills for business graduates, the business sector focusses more on individual, private and practical skills. Accordingly, a comparative tool that aligns the two perspectives was developed in the study. The tool, based on the contradicting employability skills, identified four types of business graduates: leader, collective, technical and trainee.

The study is limited by data collected before the current political instability in Syria in 2012. The data were collected only from official documents and interviews with policymakers and employers. Students were not part of the study.

The managerial tool developed at the end of the study will help both policymakers and the private sector to statistically allocate business graduates for better planning. The study provides recommendations to the different stakeholders in the higher education sector in Syria.

Although the majority of the previous literature raises the voices of the business sector, this study is one of the first studies that aligns the discrepant perspectives of the higher education and business sectors. The managerial tool developed in the study is original and usable by policymakers and the business sector, and it is subject to further development.

The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a series of interviews conducted with a number of managers of Chinese private higher education institutions on the growth of the private higher education sector in China and the relationship it has with the government. Private higher education managers in China do seem concerned with the regulatory impediments to their institutions’ development and the difficulties involved in competing with state-funded institutions.

The paper uses a series of interviews conducted with a number of managers of Chinese private higher education institutions on the growth of the private higher education sector in China and the relationship it has with the government.

The research found that private higher education managers in China do seem concerned with the regulatory impediments to their institutions’ development and the difficulties involved in competing with state-funded institutions.

This work is the only one of its kind in the academic literature.

We provide an overview of the state of the higher education system in the UAE, and investigate its capacity to supply Dubai’s economy with skilled labor and achieve the emirate’s strategic social development objectives. We examine various characteristics of the higher education sector and discuss their inherent strengths and weaknesses in light of Dubai’s labor market needs. Our findings reveal that the UAE higher education sector has witnessed an impressive growth since 1997 mostly led by a vigorous expansion of the private higher education sector. This situation led to a substantial growth in higher education opportunities for the UAE population. However, the lack of development of graduate studies and the lower quality of graduates, as perceived by both employees and employers, represent the main challenges to the capacity of the sector in fulfilling the needs of Dubai’s economy.

The purpose of this paper is to review historical developments in higher education in Sri Lanka, and review issues faced and strategies adopted to improve higher education in state universities in the country. The paper also reviews national and international forces that influenced to modernise and improve higher education in state universities in the country.

The paper reviews available published documents from the last two decades to present and discuss key national and international forces transforming the higher education of the country and strategies adopted to modernise and improve higher education in state universities in the country.

Historical development in general and higher education together with key characteristics of the Sri Lankan education system are discussed. The governing bodies of the state university education, donor agencies and strategies adopted for the development of higher education in the country during the recent history have been reviewed. Conclusions and challenges for the future are also presented.

The higher education of the country underwent rapid transformations over the past seven decades with the aim of strengthening the wider relationship between university, industry and society. A review on higher education in Sri Lanka could provide lessons valuable for academics and practitioners alike worldwide.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the extent to which recent changes in the UK's higher education sector are likely to increase the level of competition and change the behaviour of UK higher education institutions.

The paper draws on a conceptual framework developed to understand competitive conditions and behaviours in order to provide an analytical device to guide the narrative of the paper. The paper draws on a number of national and international sources.

It is likely that competition between UK higher education institutions will intensify in the future especially in light of the introduction of student tuition fees and this will lead to further changes in behaviour.

The paper offers an original approach and conceptual basis to make a contribution to a growing debate about the future of the UK higher education sector.

While boards of trustees have statutory authority over higher education institutions in the USA, how these boards exercise their power varies. The literature of higher education suggests a diminishing trustees’ presence and power across campuses in the nation. Recently, there have been many calls for trustee activism. But, the question: “what is the role of the trustees?” continues to be asked. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate, from the trustees themselves, what this role is and to analyze their responses on the bases of sectors, gender, educational backgrounds, and years of experience. The study concluded that role differences existed among sectors of higher education, limited differences based on gender, educational levels, and years of experience were found. Overall, the traditional role of trustees was upheld as the primary role of the board of trustees. The article recommends that an effective orientation program be offered to new trustees, board membership be diversified to include more women and minority members, and discussion of trustees’ role be done with attention to differences in sectors.

The Australian higher education sector faces severe risks from the consequences of COVID-19. This paper aims to explore these risks, their immediate impacts and the likely future impacts. The authors specifically focus on the institutional financial and social risks arising from the global pandemic.

The authors collect data using the 2019 annual reports of the 37 Australian public universities and relevant media contributions. The findings of identified sector change are interpreted through Laughlin’s organisational change diagnosis.

The sector confronts significant financial and social risks because of its over-reliance on income from fee-paying onshore overseas students resulting in universities primarily undertaking morphostatic changes. These risks include job losses, changing employment conditions, mental health issues for students, scholars, other staff, including casual staff, online learning shortfalls and the student expectations of their university experience. The study reveals how many of these risks are the inevitable consequence of the “accountingisation” of Australian public universities.

Despite material exposure, the universities provide only limited disclosure of the extent of the risks associated with increasing dependence on overseas student fees to 31 December 2019. The analysis highlights fake accountability and distorted transparency to users of audited financial statements – a major limitation of university annual reports.

Research on the Australian higher education sector has mainly focussed on the impact of policies and changes. The public disclosure of critical risks taken by these universities are now addressed.

Presidential performance is critical to institutional effectiveness. Therefore, to ensure institutional effectiveness, the board of trustees pays careful attention to the qualifications of individuals hired for the job. To guarantee accountability and commensurate rewards, most boards evaluate their presidents periodically. However, presidential evaluation has a potential to yield negative consequences if poorly conceived and implemented. To reduce the chances of these negative consequences, the goal of this study was to investigate indicators of presidential effectiveness as a basis for shared reasoning among trustees who are charged with the responsibility of hiring, assessing, and compensating college and university presidents. Over 600 trustees in all higher education sections participated in this study. The study shows that: knowledge of higher education; an influence that helps to attract resources; a healthy relationship with key constituents; and effective management skills are important indicators of successful presidents. Some sectoral differences were observed in terms of the significance of indicators of presidential effectiveness. The study concludes with recommendations for presidents, and college and university boards of trustees.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the outcomes of the financial optimization process launched by the recent reforms in the Russian higher education sector and its impact on access to higher education, its quality and competitiveness within the sector. The study of the economic performance of higher educational institutions includes complex analysis of financial and educational components of their structural dynamics and their impact on their development strategy.

The methods used in the study of the segmentation of the higher education sector involve a combination of theoretical developments in economics and the modeling of the economic behavior of universities on the market for educational services, procedures for the evaluation of transaction costs in the markets with asymmetric information and recent conceptions of the interrelation of factors affecting quality and accessibility of higher education.

In this paper, the economic potential of Russian universities is considered, making use of a segmentation of the higher education sector, based on sampling of state and municipal higher education institutions from different industry groups, depending on their development strategy under changing social and economic conditions. The research data for 2006‐2009 help to define five clusters of the higher educational establishments with different approaches towards public funding and different strategies.

Based on the research data, the paper evaluates the current situation in the Russian higher education sector and some skewed structures of the reforms and outlines some policy implications.