Education Policy Commons^™

World-Class Universities Or World-Class Systems? Rankings And Higher Education Policy Choices, Ellen Hazelkorn

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Is it always a good thing when a university rises up the rankings and breaks into the top 100? Do rankings raise standards by encouraging competition or do they undermine the broader mission to provide education? Should rankings be used to help decide educational policy and the allocation of scare financial resources? Should policy aim to develop world-class universities or to make the system world-class?

University rankings have dominated headlines and the attention of political and university leaders wherever or whenever they are published or mentioned. Politicians regularly refer to them as a measure of their nation’s economic strengths and …

Teaching, Research And Engagement: Strengthening The Knowledge Triangle, Ellen Hazelkorn

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The presentation looks at the the changing mission of higher education, and how the Knowledge Triangle can be used to help formulate a new understanding of higher education's interaction with society and the economy.

The Imperative For Achieving Diversity, Ellen Hazelkorn

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Diversity is seen as a basic norm of higher education policy because it best meets educational and labour market. This presentation examines the concept of diversity as it applies to institutional mission and differentiation, and to research. It argues that in response to rankings and the global financial crisis, policymakers are tending to make a simple correlation between rankings, elite higher education and global competitiveness. There is increasing emphasis on selective excellence and focusing on the 'economic value of research outputs'. However, pursuit of ‘world class’ is skewing policy and institutional priorities.

International Comparisons: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, Ellen Hazelkorn

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The presentation addresses the question of why international comparisons, e.g. rankings and benchmarking, have become so important for higher education. It looks at the thinking behind making comparisons, what kind of evidence we need to make valid comparisons and explore the basic questions of indicators, data, whether the process is fit-for-purpose, and the pitfalls in using comparative data.

What Have We Learned About And From Rankings?, Ellen Hazelkorn

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The presentation discusses the pros and cons of higher education rankings, and examines the impact and influence that rankings are having.

Higher Education At A Time Of Economic Crisis: Is It Good-Bye To The Celtic Tiger?, Ellen Hazelkorn

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This presentation provides an overview of the effect of the global economic crisis on Irish higher education.

Trends In Higher Education: What’S Happening In Ireland, Ellen Hazelkorn

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This presentation provides an overview of trends in higher education policy worldwide, and their implications for Ireland.

A Strategy For Small Nations In A Time Of Economic Crisis, Ellen Hazelkorn

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This presentation presents a higher education strategy for small nations.

Global Positioning Of Irish Higher Education: The Way Forward, Ellen Hazelkorn

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This presentation addresses the question as to how Ireland should globally position itself, and what are the appropriate policies and processes that should be adopted to best enable Ireland to respond.