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This chapter explores policy matters that have arisen as a result of the impact of COVID-19 on the education sector, with a specific focus on tertiary education in one African country, namely Botswana. The terms tertiary education and higher education are used interchangeably to describe post-secondary level education. Information was sourced from the existing literature as well as tracking media reports on COVID-19 matters. COVID-19 has ushered in the new normal which has disrupted existing policies, practices and business models in the tertiary education sector. It has also given unprecedented momentum to the move towards online learning. It is argued in this chapter that these developments have led to the emergence of blended learning as the most suitable way of delivering tertiary education. The chapter highlights the need for a review of policies and strategies at both the national and institutional levels in order to respond appropriately to the challenges brought about by COVID-19 and build a foundation for a sustainable tertiary education system.

Tertiary education in Ghana has seen rapid advancement over the past two decades. This growth is the result of transformative policy reforms such as upgrading polytechnics into higher education status; the establishment of the University of Development Studies (UDS) in the northern part of the country; the amalgamation of existing Colleges of Education into degree awarding institutions; the creation of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to provide supplementary financial support for infrastructure, faculty research and development; expansion of distance education programs; modification of the student loan scheme; and a conducive regulatory environment that encourages private sector participation in higher education provision. In spite of these developments, the system continues to face several challenges such as limited funding to support academic programs; limited participation rates for low-income students, females, and minorities; difficulty recruiting and retaining young academic and research faculty; inadequate research capacities; limited ICT infrastructure to enhance instruction and curriculum delivery and inadequate facilities to support science and technology education; etc. This chapter focuses on the state of public higher education in Ghana with emphasis on current growth and challenges. The chapter offers descriptive analysis based on government policy reports and documents, enrollment data from universities in Ghana, and data from the Ministry of Education and the National Council for Tertiary Education in Ghana.

The purpose of this paper was to identify similarities and differences between domestic and international student’s expectations of their tertiary experience, as well as the way in which they evaluate the quality of the service that they receive from their tertiary provider. The paper develops an augmented model of service quality which is adapted to suit the tertiary education context.

The study adopted a qualitative research approach. A total of six focus groups were conducted with a total of 36 International students and domestic students. All students were enrolled in the third year of an undergraduate degree at one large metropolitan university in Australia. The data were analyzed using qualitative analytic techniques and coded using NVIVO.

First, the study found that there are significant challenges with regard to the use of student expectations as the foundation for assessing students’ service quality evaluations. This is because students were found to have vague expectations, and limited prior experience of the service from which to shape their expectations. In addition students were found to form their expectations as they consumed the service, throughout their degree program which often spanned three to four years. Second, the study found that traditional dimensions of service quality were not sufficient to capture the depth of international and domestic students’ service evaluations. The study proposed the inclusion of an additional two service quality constructs, namely, social benefits and co-creation/participation.

Two new dimensions of service quality emerged from this study, “Social benefits” and “Co-creation/Participation”. The study therefore suggests that the tertiary experience should be enhanced through the provision of additional opportunities for student to staff and student to student interactions. In addition, tertiary institutions should also enhance opportunities for engagement within both the academic and industry environment.

The purpose of this paper is to gain a deeper insight on how education boosts economic progress in key emerging economies. This project is aimed at exploring the interactive dynamics between the tertiary education sector and economic development in BRICS countries. The author also aims to examine how the structure of higher education contributes to economic expansion.

The author uses the time series data of BRICS countries across approximately two decades to determine the statistical causality between the size of tertiary enrollment and economic development. The linear regression model is then used to figure out the different impact levels of academic and vocational training programs at the tertiary level to economic development.

Data from all BRICS countries exhibited a unidirectional statistical causality relationship, except the Brazilian data. The national economic expansion Granger Caused increased tertiary enrollment in Russia and India, while in China and South Africa, higher education enrollment Granger Caused economic progress. The impact from tertiary academic training is found to be positive for all BRICS nations, while tertiary vocation training is shown to have impaired the Russian and South African economy.

This project is based on a rather small sample size, and the stationary feature of the time series could be different should a larger pool of data spanning a longer period of time is used. In addition, the author also neglects other control variables in the regression model. Therefore, the impact level could be distorted due to possible omitted variable bias.

Tertiary academic study is found to have a larger impact level to all countries’ economic advancement, except for China, during the time frame studied. There is a statistical correlation between the education and economic progress. This is particularly true for BRICS countries, especially China. But the exception is Brazil.

The government should provide education up to the certain level, as there is a direct correlation to the job creation and economic progress. Furthermore, the government should also work closely with industry to ensure growth of industry and creation of new jobs.

The comparative analysis and evaluation of the dynamic interaction of tertiary enrollment and economic output across all five BRICS nations is unique, and it deepens the understanding of the socioeconomic development in these countries from a holistic management perspective.

For much of its 43-year history, the community college sector in Jamaica has been plagued by perceptions of inferior status and mediocre tertiary education offerings. The Jamaican colleges have responded to the criticisms by aggressively pursuing quality assurance initiatives such as program accreditation, expanded course offerings, and ongoing curriculum review. This chapter traces the birth and development of the community college movement in Jamaica and the Caribbean and acknowledges the significant achievement of the Jamaican colleges in increasing access to tertiary education. The chapter also examines threats to the open access policy that may have serious implications for education equity and quality. These include inadequate funding, limited infrastructure to support the curriculum, low enrolment of specialized groups, and unsatisfactory completion and graduation rates. Recommendations for policy and practice are proposed.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and evaluate the role and influence played by the discipline of accounting through its association with the multiple logics of government reforms to transform the public tertiary education sector in New Zealand.

The study adopts a case study approach utilising multiple data collection methods. Neo-institutional theory provides an insightful complement to neo-liberalism and enhances the understanding of institutional logics driving government reforms and the transformation of public tertiary institutions.

The findings reveal that accounting has become a powerful conduit for the exercise of the neo-liberalism reforms by government and implemented by managerial control over public tertiary education institutions.

By addressing a gap in the literature, the paper shows how political and economic neo-liberal policies have been implemented in tertiary education with the discipline of accounting being adopted as a prime driver of these reforms. The paper has significant implications for educational management, academics and learners in understanding how and why the inherent nature, objectives and processes of the overall educational experience have undergone a radical reformation.

New Zealand is one of the first countries to implement these educational reforms and adopted “accounting technologies” to reduce costs and improve performance. But the reality has often been very different. Most of the government’s original objectives have not been fulfilled and the reforms have been costly for the academic profession. This paper provides a valuable source of learning for academics, managers and politicians.

Tertiary education in the Anglophone Caribbean, particularly in Jamaica, has become highly competitive and complex and increasingly influenced by global neoliberal discourses. This free-market driven development is partly evidenced by the proliferation of national, regional, and international providers. Yet, within this seemingly unrelenting international influence, one can also detect more recent approaches by regional governments in concert and individually, through policy and systems of governance to reassert their sovereignty and retain some level of regulation and ownership of tertiary education. This chapter establishes an analytical framework for understanding these tertiary education governance changes by drawing on the principles of critical educational policy analysis. The chapter scrutinizes the multiple sources of power, international, regional, and national, that shape the rapid ongoing tertiary educational changes. Ultimately, the chapter argues that Jamaica’s tertiary education governance can be categorized as a shift from the governance mechanisms of “growth driven” to “regulatory control.” The chapter further posits that future regional shifts in tertiary education governance will be shaped by the continuing postcolonial struggles to adapt to the global order while protecting regional and national interests and aspirations.

The research aims to describe Sri Lanka's education system, discuss reforms that have been implemented within the school, university and vocational education sectors in the recent past and suggest potentially fruitful reforms whilst identifying the various constraints which can affect their implementation.

A descriptive approach is employed, with extensive review of related literature and the use of relevant secondary data where appropriate.

The research shows the need for considerable reform of Sri Lanka's education system, especially with regard to improving the quality of state education and encouraging greater private sector participation.

The research shows the deficiencies Sri Lanka's education system suffers from and suggests means to overcome them. However, the political and social pressures may present obstacles upon the implementation of such courses of action.

The recommendations offered by the research could make a contribution towards transforming the education system in Sri Lanka into one which can produce empowered individuals who can find employment within the emerging sectors of the economy and thereby improve overall living standards in the country.

The paper makes a novel contribution by encompassing school, tertiary and vocational education in Sri Lanka. It shows the numerous problems that could arise in a context where a universal system of free education from the primary to the tertiary level exists vis‐à‐vis a flourishing private sector, and would be of value to education policy‐planners in Sri Lanka and other countries with both state and private sector provision of education.

The aim of the chapter is to investigate the changing structural position of post-secondary schools in Poland, seen from the perspective of the expansion of higher education from one side and the current reform of vocational education from the other. Do post-secondary schools enhance opportunities for those who might not otherwise consider further education, especially when we consider lower cost, open admissions and greater accessibility in comparison with higher education institutions? Or do they play a role of a ‘discounted’ and ‘undervalued’ education for those who could not manage to enter three-year-bachelor cycles in tertiary education and thus were forced to lower their initial educational aspirations? The opening up of higher education to new student populations was done by the rapid expansion of the private (paid for) sector and the fee-paying courses in the public sector. Liberal educational policy not only opened an opportunity for the privatization in higher education, but also expanded the market-driven provision at the post-secondary level. The discussion on the relevance of post-secondary vocational qualifications must be seen within the context of the continual inflation of diplomas/degrees and the unemployment of graduates after finishing higher education. Since 2010, there has been a reverse process initiated at the governmental level in Poland: reform schemes to increase the participation of young people in vocational education and training. However, the structural position and functions of post-secondary schools, as well as their role in the employability of young people, are not subject to any open discussion at the political level. This sort of status quo concerning post-secondary institutions means that their institutional identity issues are resolved and their structural position defined predominantly by market forces.

This paper aims to identify changes occurring within the property professions and at the same time focus on the changing structures of the tertiary education sector in Australia and how both of these will influence property/real estate education and research into the future.

The paper reviews a range of published international material and conference papers mostly emanating from the Pacific Rim Real Estate Society (PRRES) a formal focus for property researchers, educators and practitioners from over 15 countries. Structured interviews with leading property academics were conducted along with the authors' direct involvement with the Australian Property Institute and their National Education Board.

There is a strong demand for tertiary/property real estate education, which will continue in Australia though with a likely wider base extending beyond the traditional valuation and analysis fields. However, given the significant emerging changes in the tertiary sector in Australia, certain universities will tend to focus in such specialist areas.

It would appear that this is not a widely researched area outside the PRRES group. The findings, however, are sound and have important implications for education and research in this critical economic sector.

The findings should help better refine the academic offer and research initiatives developed by those individual universities as they seek to establish their market niche. Whilst this paper applies particularly to the Australian context, observations regarding changing demand will be of wider interest and assistance.

This paper for the first time considers the changing demand for real estate / property graduate courses and demands for research in this field against the backdrop of contemporary change in the tertiary sector in Australia.