Regionalisation and Its Impact on Quality Assurance in Higher Education
Author(s)
Ephraim Mhlanga*
ABSTRACT
In many parts of the world, higher education is still predominantly shaped at national level, and tends not only to reflect but also to underscore the specific traditions and circumstances of individual countries (Enders, J. 2002:1). As a result, it has been mainly assessed in the context of national systems with very little attention being paid to its international dimension. In Southern Africa, this trend has largely been due to the nature of relationship that prevails between higher education and the nation state. This trend has started changing as globalisation and internationalisation factors exert more and more influence on the shaping of the institution of a university. This article argues that in Southern Africa, globalisation manifests itself through regionalisation, a process that has ushered in standardisation of quality assurance systems; a new managerialism in the management of higher education institutions; marketisation and commodification of knowledge; changing forms of state-university relationships; greater emphasis on efficiency, cost saving and income-generating discourse; the forging of university-private sector partnerships; and increasing staff and student mobility in the region and on the continent. The article pursues these themes and shows how they impact on the quality of delivery of three case universities in Southern Africa.
In many parts of the world, higher education is still predominantly shaped at national level, and tends not only to reflect but also to underscore the specific traditions and circumstances of individual countries (Enders, J. 2002:1). As a result, it has been mainly assessed in the context of national systems with very little attention being paid to its international dimension. In Southern Africa, this trend has largely been due to the nature of relationship that prevails between higher education and the nation state. This trend has started changing as globalisation and internationalisation factors exert more and more influence on the shaping of the institution of a university. This article argues that in Southern Africa, globalisation manifests itself through regionalisation, a process that has ushered in standardisation of quality assurance systems; a new managerialism in the management of higher education institutions; marketisation and commodification of knowledge; changing forms of state-university relationships; greater emphasis on efficiency, cost saving and income-generating discourse; the forging of university-private sector partnerships; and increasing staff and student mobility in the region and on the continent. The article pursues these themes and shows how they impact on the quality of delivery of three case universities in Southern Africa.
Cite this paper
Mhlanga, E. (2012). Regionalisation and Its Impact on Quality Assurance in Higher Education. Creative Education, 3, 1079-1086. doi: 10.4236/ce.2012.326162.
Mhlanga, E. (2012). Regionalisation and Its Impact on Quality Assurance in Higher Education. Creative Education, 3, 1079-1086. doi: 10.4236/ce.2012.326162.
References
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[1] Carnoy, M. (1999). Globalization and educational reform: What planners need to know. Paris: UNESCO. [2] Cross, M., Sehoole, T., Mhlanga, E., Bayers-Ameguide, P., Inglis, J., & Koen, S. (2004). University experience in the 21st century: Perceptions of global and local exposure at the University of the Witwatersrand, unpublished research report. Johannesburg: University of the Witwatersrand. [3] De Wit, H. (2000). Rationales for internationalisation of higher education. URL (Retrieved on 5 May 2006). http://www.ipv.pt/millenium/wit11.htm. [4] Delucchi, M., & Smith, W. L. (1997). A postmodern explanation of student consumerism in higher education. Teaching Sociology, 24, 322-327. doi:10.2307/1319301 [5] Enders, J. (2002). Higher education, internationalisation, and the nation state: Recent developments and challenges to governance theory. A paper prepared for the CHER conference, Vienna, Austria. [6] Harmonization of higher education programmes in Africa: Opportunities and challenges. (2007). A report of the third ordinary session of the conference of ministers of education of the African Union. Johannesburg, South Africa. [7] Johnson, B. (2005). Towards post-managerialism in higher education: The case of management change at the University of the Witwatersrand. Unpublished doctoral Thesis, Johannesburg: University of the Witwatersrand Library. [8] Knight, J. (2003). Trade in Higher Education Services: The Implications of GATS. Kagisano, 3. [9] Kraak, A. (2004). Discursive tensions in South African Higher Education, 1990 to 2002. Journal of Studies in International Education, 8, 244-281. doi:10.1177/1028315304265337 [10] Maasen, P., & Cloete, N. (2002). Global reform trends in higher education. In Cloete, N. et al. (Eds.), Transformation in Higher Education: Global pressures and local realities in south africa (pp. 13-57). Kaapstad: Cape Town. [11] Muller, J. (2005). The world is not enough: Knowledge in question. South African journal for higher education, 19, 89-103. doi:10.4314/sajhe.v19i3.25506 [12] Neave, G. (1988). The Evaluative State Reconsidered. European journal of education, 33, 206-283. [13] Sosteric, M., Gismondi, M., & Ratkovic, G. (1998). The University, accountability, and market discipline in the late 1990s. Electronic Journal of Sociology, CAAP. http://www.sociology.org/content/vol003.003/sosteric.html [14] Subotzky, G. (2006). Globalisation and higher education. URL (Retrieved on 18 May 2006). http://firgoa.usc.es/drupal/node/26911 [15] The Statesman (2007). Revisioning Africa’s tertiary education in the transition to a knowledge economy. URL (Retrieved on 5 September 2007). http://www.thestatesman.net [16] Torres, C. A., & Schugurensky, D. (2002). The political economy of higher education in the era of neo-liberal globalisation: Latin America in comparative perspective. Higher Education, 43, 429-455. doi:10.1023/A:1015292413037 [17] Van der Wende, M. (n.d.). Quality assurance in higher education and the link to internationalisation (1) Paper to be published by the OECD in a publication with the title: “Quality and the International Dimension in Higher Education Institutions”. URL (Retrieved on 7 December 2005). http://www.ipv.pt/millenium/wende11.htm [18] Woodhoues, D. (2001). Globalisation: Implications for education and for quality. A paper presented at the AAIR Conference held at Rockhampton, Australia. [19] Yang, R. (2003). Globalization and higher education development: A critical analysis. International Review of Education, 49, 269-291. doi:10.1023/A:1025303303245