Throughout the world, interest in gauging learning outcomes at all levels of education has grown considerably over the past decade. In higher education, measuring “learning outcomes†is viewed by many stakeholders as a relatively new method to judge the “value added†of...

The French Government has had a paradoxical relationship with globalization. Globalization is perceived as both a threat to react against and a cradle for new policy ideas. French policymakers have a love-hate relationship with the European higher education reforms that started in the 1990s, a...

In the midst of the global recession, how have national governments viewed the role of higher education in their evolving strategies for economic recovery? Demand for higher education generally goes up during economic downturns. Which nations have proactively protected funding for their...

There is an extensive literature on the productivity of universities. Little is known, however, about how different types of leaders affect a university’s performance. To address this question, this paper blends quantitative and qualitative evidence. First, I establish that the best...

Standardized testing for college admissions has grown exponentially since the first administration of the old “College Boards†in 1901. This paper surveys major developments since then: the introduction of the “Scholastic Aptitude Test†in 1926, designed to tap...

This paper explores the emergence of selective admission policies in Dutch university education. Such policies are being developed to promote excellence in a higher education system that is generally known to be “egalitarian†and increasingly criticized for a lack of differentiation....

Using data from the 2008 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey, we show that study time and academic conscientiousness were lower among students in humanities and social science majors than among students in science and engineering majors. Analytical and critical thinking...

The growing global competition in which knowledge is a prime factor for economic growth is increasingly shaping policies and setting the agenda for the future of European higher education. With its aim to become the world’s leading knowledge economy, the European Union is concerned about...

There is growing evidence that students throughout the world no longer see the US as the primary place to study; that in some form this correlates with a rise in perceived quality and prestige in the EU and elsewhere; and further, that this may mean a continued decline in the US’s market...

With California’s public higher education system facing massive funding cuts and an increasingly diverse demography, the University of California recently established a commission to discuss policy options to shape the future of the ten campus system. The University of California...