Building Capacity for Higher Education Growth

The growth of higher education is increasingly impacting on the organisational structures and strategic direction of universities in the developed and developing world alike. The 50% increase in student enrolments across the world over the last decade has changed the face of the university sector, with increased institutional diversity, new forms of private higher education and so on.
The literature on higher education clearly demonstrates that middle managers, often drawn from the academic community, are crucial to the processes of development and change. As Professor Ron Barnett of the Institute of Education in London puts it: "Much more than capable management, across the world universities need creative, visionary and effective leadership with a global perspective that understands the capacities of universities in promoting the public good."
Higher education is seen as the key to increasing economic competitiveness with a wide range of strategies adopted by universities to achieve expansion with internationalisation. These include leading universities establishing overseas campuses, and a slew of collaborative ventures between universities within and across countries. Yet, for any country, particularly those gaining in presence on the world stage, the focus is more towards seeking to build world-class universities.
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Source: University World News, Issue No: 0161, 6 March 2011