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This paper aims to study waqf practice in Pakistan with regard to its utilisation in funding for higher educational institutions (HEIs) and investigates waqf raising, waqf management and waqf income utilisation.

The paper is based on the views of 11 participants who are actively involved in the waqf, its raising, management and income utilisation, and is divided into three subcategories: personnel of higher educational waqf institution, personnel of waqf regulatory bodies and Shari’ah and legal experts as well as archival records, documents and library sources.

In Pakistan, both public and private awqaf are existing, but the role of private awqaf is greater in higher education funding. However, due to lack of legal supervision private awqaf is considered as a part of the not-for-profit sector and legitimately registered as a society, foundation, trust or a private limited company. Waqf in Pakistan is more focusing on internal financial sources and waqf income. In terms of waqf management, they have firm guidelines for investing in real estate, the Islamic financial sector and various halal businesses. Waqf uses the income for developmental and operational expenditure, and supports academic activities for students and staff. Waqfs are also supporting some other HEIs and research agencies. Thus, it can be revealed that a waqf can cater a sufficient amount for funding higher educational institutions.

In Pakistan, both public and private awqaf are equally serving society in different sectors, but the role of private awqaf is much greater in funding higher education. Nevertheless, the government treats private awqaf as a part of not-for-profit sector in the absence of a specific legal framework and registers such organisations as society, foundation, trust or private limited company. The waqf in Pakistan mostly relies on internal financial resources and income from waqf assets. As the waqf managers have over the time evolved firm guidelines for investment in real estate, Islamic financial sector and various other halal businesses, and utilisation of waqf income on developmental and operational expenditures, academic activities of students and educational staff, other HEIs and research agencies, it can be proved that the waqf can potentially generate sufficient amount for funding HEIs.

The study presents the waqf as a social finance institution and the best alternative fiscal instrument for funding works of public good, including higher education, with the help of three selected waqf cases. Hence, the paper’s findings offer some generalisations, both for the ummah at large and Pakistan.

The paper makes several policy recommendations for policymakers, legislators and academicians, especially the government. As an Islamic social finance institution, the waqf can help finance higher education anywhere around the world in view of the fact that most countries grapple with huge fiscal deficits and are hence financially constrained to meet growing needs of HEIs.

The study confirms that the waqf can be an alternative source for funding higher education institutions whether it is managed by the government or is privately controlled.

The purpose of this paper is to propose the concept of higher education institutions (HEIs) offering educational services based on value for money. The value is determined based on customers’ (i.e. students) expectations of the service and the costs in comparison to the competitors. Understanding the value and creating customer value are a means to attain competitive advantage and constitute the basis of price setting. Drawing upon this belief, as an initial step towards value-based pricing method, the possible value factors are suggested for calculating educational programme prices across HEIs.

This is a conceptual paper introducing the value-based pricing approach in setting HEI tuition fees. Extending prior discussion on the demand for quality education and current financial challenges faced by HEIs, it introduces the concept pricing based upon customer perceived value (student/industry). Value-based pricing is deemed appropriate in view of the value of short tangible and intangible investment by both parties (students and HEIs) to differentiate in terms of setting the right price for the right university for the right student.

The primary aim is to suggest the applicability of value-based pricing for HEIs, which is likely to be both relevant and fruitful for the sustainability of the sector. It represents a personal point of view; building upon a review of the literature, the paper extends the established knowledge one step further in terms of setting the right price for the right university, which is deemed worthy of further study and development.

The paper will be of use to the management and policymakers in the education sector in searching for a contemporary pricing mechanism for higher education.

Educational policies, integrated practices, obliged strategies and notable benchmarks are always required by the higher educational institutions (HEIs) for operating business ventures into competent boundaries and to preside toward the overall new business density. The same are needed to be evaluated based on student's concerns for road-mapping sustainability. Accordingly, authors conducted present study to identify crucial quality characteristics (measures) under the origins of HEIs based on student's concerns using qualitative medium under Indian economy. The study is presenting critical dimensions and quality characteristics, which are seeking by the students for selecting HEIs for their studies.

Kano integrated-Grey-VIKOR approach is utilized in present study for road-mapping sustainability based on the determination of priority index and ranking. The study utilized three segments of methodology, where in the first segment, Kano technique is implicated to define priority index of quality characteristics. In the second segment, grey sets theory is implicated to capture the perceptions of the respondents. In the third segment, VIKOR technique is implicate to rank the HEIs.

The findings of the study will assist administrators in planning the prominent strategies that can embrace performance traits under HEI, which in turn will participate in growth and development of an economy. The findings have revealed “PPCS, ICMC, TSTR, PICM, AFEP, IMIS as Attractive performance characteristics,” “IEAF, OIAR, INET as One dimensional performance characteristics,” “QTCS, PORE, SIRD as Must-be performance characteristics” and “PQPE, PCTM as Indifferent performance characteristics.” Additionally, “Professional and placement characteristics of institute” is found as the most significant measure inspiring students for admiring engineering institutes. It is found that “Observance of institutional affiliation and recognition” and “Infrastructure, classroom management and control methods” are found as the second significant measures. “Patterns of question papers and evaluation medium” and “Personal characteristics of teacher and management” are found as the least competent characteristics admiring stakeholders for selecting HEI.

The present study can assist administrators in drafting refined policies and strategies for practising quality outputs by HEI. The study suggested critical quality characteristics, which in respond will aid in attracting more number of students toward educational institutes. A study under Indian context is demonstrated for presenting critical facts and attaining higher student's enrolment rates.

The purpose of this paper is to explore/investigate various issues of teachers ' motivation in public sector Higher Educational Institutions of Pakistan.

This is an exploratory research where surveys have been conducted in the well known public sector Universities of Pakistan; primary data have been collected through questionnaire and in depth face to face interviews.

Findings of the research have shown that although compensation packages and financial incentives are important factors for employees in the competitive market environment of the higher education sector but some other factors like job design and working environment, performance management system, and training and development are also significant. The research has also explored various issues being faced by teachers in public sector HEIs related to the above mentioned factors.

This study can play a vital role in compelling the higher education authorities to ponder over the motivational issues of teachers in universities. The research can prove to be an effectual document for other worldwide universities where teachers are facing similar issues.

This study aims to present a systematic review on service quality in higher education. It discusses about the latest opportunities and challenges facing higher educational institutions (HEIs) following the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The study relied on the grounded theory’s inductive reasoning to capture, analyze and synthesize the findings from academic and non-academic sources. The methodology involved a systematic review from Scopus-indexed journals, from intergovernmental and non-governmental policy documents, as well as from university ranking sites and league tables.

The comprehensive review suggests that HEIs can use different performance indicators and metrics to evaluate their service quality in terms of their resources, student-centered education, high-impact research and stakeholder engagement. Moreover, this paper sheds light about the impact of an unprecedented COVID-19 on higher education services.

During the first wave of COVID-19, the delivery of higher educational services migrated from traditional and blended learning approaches to fully virtual and remote course delivery. In the second wave, policy makers imposed a number of preventative measures, including social distancing and hygienic practices, among others, on HEIs.

This timely contribution has synthesized the findings on service quality and performance management in the higher education context. Furthermore, it investigated the effect of COVID-19 on higher education services. It deliberates on the challenges and responses in the short/medium term and provides a discussion on the way forward. In conclusion, it implies that HEI leaders ought to embrace online teaching models and virtual systems, as they are here to stay in a post-COVID-19 era.

Executives who are engaged in strategic planning for higher education generally complain about the process and the lack of clear outcomes from the strategic plan. They generally argue that the process is complex and sometimes confusing and the end result does not justify the time spent in preparing the plan. The extant literature on strategic planning in higher educational institutions (HEIs) is replete with these types of complaints. The work undertaken in this paper provides a solution to this problem. This paper proposes a simplified and efficient strategic planning model which executives can use to facilitate strategic planning in HEIs. This model takes into consideration, all the elements of previous models and synthesize them into a manageable, simplified framework that can be adapted to meet the planning needs of senior executives in any HEI.

The paper uses the action research framework to ground the solution to the problem identified. The action research framework is a sound research method that assists in resolving some of the practical problems executives in HEIs encounter as they move towards strategic planning. The researcher and a client in the higher educational sector, the UWI, engaged in collaborative problem-solving to develop a strategic plan for the client. To derive the solution, the researcher drew on the experience of the strategic planning process at the University of the West Indies (UWI) and also a number of selected universities in North American, Europe, Asia and Africa. The researcher then synthesized the outcomes from the deliberations and consultations with the client, the UWI and drew on theoretical knowledge in strategic management to derive the simplified model for strategic planning in higher education.

The research presented in this paper found that the existing strategic planning models used in higher education are generally complex, mostly designed specifically for an individual institution and lacks clarity regarding the implementation process. To overcome these problems for strategic planners in higher education, this paper proposes a simplified model that can be adapted by any HEI to assist with their strategic planning process. The Brainstoming- Visioning Action Results (B-VAR), the solution to the problem, presents the various elements of the strategic planning process that will need to be in place in order to develop a workable strategic plan and one that is implementable and will deliver tangible results for the HEI.

Besides adding to our knowledge in strategic management and specifically, strategic management in higher education, the greatest value from this paper is the solution it presents to solve the long-standing problem of having complex and ineffective planning models to lead strategic plan development in HEIs. The added value is that the model is integrative as it draws on elements of previous planning models but simplified them for their adaptation to any HEI.

Graduates are expected to possess the knowledge and right skillset, commonly known as graduate attributes, which they need to become employable and work-ready. This study describes the approaches that were employed by an academic institution in developing an assessment framework for measuring the student achievement of the graduate attributes and learning outcomes.

It used thematic analysis in analyzing the 43 audit reports of higher educational institutions (HEIs) in Oman which have undergone the regional quality audit as well as the outcomes of the institutional standards assessment.

The analysis exposed the critical issues necessary for embedding graduate attributes and learning outcomes in higher education. Likewise, the study revealed that the assessment of the graduate attributes (GAs) and learning outcomes (LOs) is the area that garnered the most number of comments from the audit panel, and 69 per cent of the HEIs are still problematic in this area. Moreover, most of the HEIs in Oman lack the mechanisms to assess student learning as evidenced in the regional accreditation outcomes. Only 43.8 per cent of the HEIs, which have undergone the institutional accreditation process, have garnered a Met Rating in the Graduate Attributes and Student Learning Outcome criterion. Hence, this study presupposes its high relevance and usefulness to the work in this area, drawing from the experience of an HEI in Oman.

This study will present the relevant and meaningful content, especially good practices and potential gaps that inform HEIs regarding the current trends, policies, and practices relevant to the assessment of graduate attributes and learning outcomes in higher education.

This study extends the limited literature on the assessment of graduate attributes and learning outcomes, especially among the HEIs in Oman.

The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the current state of arts entrepreneurship education at higher educational institutions (HEIs) by reviewing the relevant literature and surveying lecturers in Fine Art.

The analysis of fine art students’ educational situation at HEIs in the UK and Germany is conducted in two steps: first, a literature review provides an overview of the current state of arts entrepreneurship education, followed by the second step of a cross-sectional survey by questionnaires among fine art lecturers to capture their perspectives of fine art students’ professional preparation.

The study confirms the assumed poor state of arts entrepreneurship education at HEIs by showing evidence that an entrepreneurial education of fine art students is definitely not implemented at HEIs, neither in the UK nor in Germany.

The findings stimulate the discussion of HEIs’ task and responsibility to professionally prepare fine art graduates for their entrepreneurial and professional career.

The study contributes to knowledge by presenting relevant findings related to fine art curriculum and current state of fine art graduates’ vocational preparation.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the outcomes of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in the light of COVID-19 concerning the students of higher educational institutions (HEIs) in India. The COVID-19 has disrupted the normal teaching-learning role across the world and has put everyone in a nightmare. HEIs are now requesting students to take up MOOCs to explore and attain knowledge and the same is even followed by the corporate institutions. MOOCs are one of the crisis management solutions to ensure that education is continuous and not disrupted.

The data included in this research has been collected from students of HEIs across India using a convenient sampling method. The collected data was exposed to a factor analysis using a principal component analysis (PCA) technique to reduce multiple dimensions.

The various stakeholders such as the government, HEIs and the MOOC providers have to play a crucial role in developing intellectual human assets for the nation’s growth and progression by extending flexible and cost-effective learning facilities. Education should be free to boost up the learning motivation, and hence it is the responsibility of the stakeholders to provide few courses free of cost, which will increase the rate of enrolment and student participation.

From the research, it is well understood that MOOCs are useful to keep oneself updated with the market and industry trends especially when the world is focusing on business analytics, artificial intelligence and other technologically driven topics and concepts.

The present study contributes to the growing body of evidence that MOOCs play an important role in providing flexibility in learning. In the future, if there are similar crisis, which will disrupt education, then the best alternative will be MOOC through which many stakeholders will benefit. Education should be free to boost up the learning motivation, and hence it is the responsibility of the stakeholders to provide few courses free of cost, which will increase the rate of enrolment and student participation.

Education is a service for the society which will have a long-term positive impact on improving the standard of living of the people. Hence, MOOCs can be one of the educational elements to provide learning opportunities to all age groups.

This study has explored the perception of MOOCs among the students of HEIs in India in the COVID-19 pandemic. The fresh data collected from the students is a reflection of their experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown. Indeed, it is quite surprising to know that majority of the respondents have arranged to learn during the pandemic, which shows the thirst and urge to learn. Digital technology and tools are welcomed and accepted by the student community.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of meta-tags by the leading higher educational institutions (HEIs). It explores the various kinds of messages conveyed by HEIs in the meta-description tags of their website homepage. It further examines that whether the messages conveyed by HEIs are in accordance with the prospective students’ perspective.

A list of leading 200 universities was procured from the website of The Times Higher Education. Meta-keywords and meta-description tags of the HEIs websites’ homepage were drawn using online software. Descriptive analysis of the meta-tags was conducted to analyze their use by HEIs. Quantitative content analysis tool was applied to understand the messages conveyed by HEIs.

Meta-description tags are defined by more than half (58.79 percent), whereas meta-keywords are written by approximately a quarter (27.47 percent) of HEIs on their homepage. While defining their meta-description tags, HEIs frequently used words related to the themes such as institution, focus area, academic programs, image building, geography, student group and environment.

It will help the HEIs to understand the importance of meta-tags. Moreover, HEIs will be able to define their meta-description tags better.

This is the first research paper to explore and analyze the meta-tags of the HEIs websites.