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Since 1999, there has been a rapid expansion in enrollment in Chinese higher education. By 2003, its gross enrollment had risen to 17 percent of the age-cohort (which typically refers to the age group from 18 to 22 in China and 18 to 21 in Japan), indicating that Chinese higher education had entered the phase of mass higher education, according to Martin Trow's definition. Mass higher education in China was achieved nearly 40 years later than in Japan, but it is still worth conducting a comparative study. This chapter is concerned with similarities and differences in massification of higher education between China and Japan and focuses on the character, tendency, and policy choice of massification of these two systems of higher education in a comparative perspective. First, by reviewing rationales and policies for massification of higher education in the two countries, it is pointed out that although both countries share similarities, massification of higher education in Japan was greatly influenced by industrial demand, while in China it was heavily affected by a rapid increase in more graduates from senior higher schools and by unemployment. Second, how mass higher education was achieved in the two countries is examined. Third, based on quantitative analyses, this chapter illustrates the two types of massification of higher education arising from differences in the history and traditions of higher education institutions, political influences, social backgrounds, and international contexts. Finally, the chapter considers the progress of massification of Chinese higher education and puts forward some recommendations at the policy level for the further development of higher education in China in light of the Japanese experiences.

The purpose of this paper is to explain, in the context of the massification and internationalisation of higher education, how Web 2.0 and its socially oriented knowledge system (episteme) has the potential to counter the current neo‐colonial disprivileging of non‐mainstream knowledge systems and discourses.

The paper, drawing on postcolonial, epistemological, and Web 2.0 learning literatures, first deconstructs the continued dominance of the traditional academic discourse in transcultural settings. It then illustrates how Web 2.0's non‐foundational approach to the nature of knowledge gives it the capacity to construct postcolonial transcultural learning zones that are inherently open to other knowledge systems and discourses.

The paper concludes that the socially oriented knowledge system or episteme of Web 2.0 enables educators to create postcolonial, meaning more epistemically inclusive, transcultural learning zones in which no one knowledge system or discourse is automatically privileged.

The paper highlights the role Web 2.0 can play in negating the colonialising impact of dominant educational practices that disprivilege non mainstream knowledge systems and discourses that have entered university learning environments through massification and internationalisation.

The paper addresses a significant gap in the literature by highlighting the pivotal but much neglected role of epistemology in Web 2.0 as well as in the internationalisation and massification of higher education. More specifically, it indicates how the respectful acceptance of different knowledge systems and discourses can create postcolonial architectures of learning and promote a more egalitarian form of cosmopolitanism.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the policy of massification as a characteristic of the higher education system influences the quality of education? and what higher education model can the authors adopt to reconcile flow and quality?

The methodology adopted is based on a questionnaire survey of a population of young graduates divided between graduates with a conventional license and LMD license, either in the process of preparing for a diploma or in unemployment or work. But also, the qualitative dimension which, although secondary in this survey, the authors mobilized it through the analysis of open questions relating to the perceptions and representations that young graduates have of their situations.

The higher education reforms are perceived differently by higher education actors. The results found show that university massification has had the opposite effect by training graduates doomed to unemployment and expatriation.

The sample for this study is very limited, the results of this finding cannot be generalized to the entire university student as a whole.

This study emphasizes the duality of flow and quality in higher education. The authors have shown the different perceptions of stakeholders in higher education and that despite the multiple reforms of this system the authors still cannot find the best model.

Notwithstanding the social gains of the post-apartheid dispensation in South Africa, the country remains an unequal society in terms of race, class, gender and socioeconomic status. In this chapter, we provide an overview of access to success and widening participation in higher education (HE) in South Africa. Our thesis is that open distance learning (ODL) has the potential to empower the previously marginalized majority African populations by equipping them with requisite HE qualifications, and thereby moving them up the value chain. The authors explore the challenges of access and widening participation in HE by unpacking the historical nuances of access to it in South Africa. The authors explore the ideological foundations of conceptions of access, participation, and success by teasing out the notion of ‘epistemological access’. According to the South African philosopher of education, Wally Morrow, merely providing access to HE does not assure ‘epistemological access’. The authors argue that ODL can potentially create an enabling environment for the previously marginalized majority of Africans, not only to access HE in big numbers but also to have ‘epistemological access’.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the validity of equitable, equal, and merit equity of social and economic privileges for both gifted intellectual people and laypeople in higher educational systems.

This paper is a conceptual comparative analysis of mass education and elitist education within the context of academic justice and academic ethical fairness. This paper is based on a review of the literature pertinent to justice and fairness in designing and implementing higher educational systems.

The research undertaken reveals that there are significant fundamental differences between academic justice and academic fairness. An analysis of perceptual similarities and differences, however, reveals that more variable perceptions exist between mass education and elitist educational systems. Although both sets of models consistently place great emphasis on the issue of competitive meritocracy among students, academic justice is based on a conventional idealistic system in terms of equality, whereas academic fairness is founded on a type of holistic judgment free from bias, prejudice, dishonesty, or illegitimacy that pursues ethical and moral considerations in regards to decisions and actions. Academic massification, however, shows tendencies to emphasize bureaucratic cost‐benefits in order to implement justice for all, while academic elitism places more emphasis on meritocratic cost‐effectiveness analysis.

Since this paper is based on an ethical conceptual deductive analysis of two major systems of higher education, it has pros and cons concerning each system. Ethics is a relative conceptual reasoning; therefore, there could be other types of reasoning that could be followed by other researchers.

This paper opens arguments concerning how to respond to the needs of students with a consideration of cost‐benefit analysis and cost‐effectiveness analysis.

This study investigates the impact of large-scale teaching in higher education on students’ preparedness for the workforce within the context of evolving labour market demands, the expansion of higher education and the application of high-impact teaching strategies. It synthesizes perspectives on employer work readiness, the challenges and opportunities of large-scale teaching and strategies for fostering a dynamic academia-industry feedback loop. This multifaceted approach ensures the relevance of curricula and graduates’ preparedness while addressing the skills gap through practical recommendations for aligning teaching methodologies with employer expectations.

The research methodically examines the multifaceted challenges and opportunities inherent in large-scale teaching. It focuses on sustaining student engagement, maintaining educational quality, personalizing learning experiences and cultivating essential soft skills in extensive student cohorts.

This study highlights the critical role of transversal skills in work readiness. It also uncovers that despite its challenges, large-scale teaching presents unique opportunities. The diversity of large student groups mirrors modern workplace complexities, and technological tools aid in personalizing learning experiences. Approaches like peer networking, innovative teaching methods, real-world simulations and collaborative resource utilization enrich education. The importance of experiential learning for augmenting large-scale teaching in honing soft skills is emphasized.

This manuscript contributes to the discourse on large-scale teaching, aligning it with employer expectations and the dynamic requirements of the job market. It offers a nuanced perspective on the challenges and opportunities this educational approach presents, providing insights for crafting engaging and effective learning experiences in large cohorts. The study uniquely integrates experiential learning, co-creation in education and industry-academia feedback loops, underscoring their importance in enhancing student work readiness in large-scale teaching.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the way in which higher education participation is democratized in the entrepreneurial city of Hong Kong by the policy innovation that encompasses internationalization. There is a dearth of empirical studies about transnational education in Hong Kong, except for a few which examine students’ perceptions of transnational education from a user perspective, situated in marketized conditions (Leung and Waters, 2013; Waters and Leung, 2013a, b). The minimal volume of existing research has ignored the innovative aspects of democratizing higher learning by internationalization, namely, the operation of international degrees by overseas universities on offshore campuses. This policy innovation by transnational institutions is significant in an era of the globalization of higher education, as access to higher education cannot be otherwise realized given the local education policies.

Employing documentary research, this paper presents and assesses the growth of community college international education at The University of Hong Kong and its unique facets, juxtaposing it with the marketized context of East Asian higher education. It engages in specific reviews surrounding the operational mode and academic collaborations of the international educational programs and practices at the Hong Kong University’s School of Professional and Continuing Education.

This documentary research finds that the internationalized academic profession of partner universities enables curriculum design, pedagogy, teaching ideas and assessment methods to be informed by a diversity of international academic cultures and indigenous knowledge. Through this policy innovation, international education is institutionalized in such a way that it takes Hong Kong students beyond the community college context, which is relatively localized. It also illuminates the way in which the “ideoscape” of American community colleges and international partnerships with Australian and British universities have been manifested in the Hong Kong education hub for transnational student flows and intellectual exchanges across the Asian region.

This paper contributes to the academic literature of higher education studies, particularly in the areas of massification and democratization, as well as their connection with internationalization and policy innovation. It also delineates various forces that are propelling the development of higher education’s internationalization and massification.

This article aims to review the latest developments of the higher education sector in China since the mid‐1990s by focusing on the expansion of university education.

It is argued that while massification of higher education is an important indication of the progress in China's higher education system, the quest for world‐class universities indicates China's ambition to earn international reputation in higher education sector compatible with its increasing economic power.

The driving force of these two developments is from the state, which demonstrates the dominant role of the Chinese government in higher education policy and administration. However, the ambitious state constitutes both a driving force and a constraint for China's higher education. The strengthening administrative control accompanied by the financial benefits from the government has led to bureaucratization of China's universities. China's world‐class pursuit necessitates a fundamental change of the existing pattern of relationship between the state and university and university governance model.

The strategic plan to build up world‐class universities shows that China is not satisfied with the quantitative growth of its higher education, but is seeking to achieve a breakthrough in quality higher education.

The paper explains how China's desire to achieve world class status within the area of higher education is being achieved.

The trend towards massification and consolidation in electronic publishing was observed by Schiller in 1980, and is confirmed in the base maps drawn by McLaughlin for the Harvard Program in Information Policy Research. Schiller found the already apparent massification of the communications industry worrying, as links between the US government and the two major players, IBM and AT & T, were strong and likely to increase.