Does Higher Education Provide the Necessary Skills and Competencies to Succeed in the Job Market and Life?

There is a crisis in higher education. One troublesome issue is the sharp drop in higher education enrollments as well as the decline in the number of colleges in the United States. There is evidence that some college degrees are not worth the time and the money, and students would have earned more had they joined the workforce immediately after graduating high school. The authors discuss some of the problems and posit that some higher education institutions in the United States have done a poor job of teaching crucial skills, including critical thinking, ethical thinking, collaboration skills, and character development. The most vital competency of all might be inculcating in students a passion for lifelong learning, which is necessary to develop the ability to adapt swiftly to changing business conditions. Without these skills, it should be no surprise that there has been a disconnect between higher education and employability.

Higher Education Development and Student Mobility During Crises: From a Comparative and Historical Perspective

More advanced transportation and a much flatter world structure accelerate the internationalization process of higher education, and which also makes it possible for the virus to spread quickly around the world. [...]in the age of globalization, there are much more potential factors that may cause global/regional social crises. Harari (2018) proposed in his 21 Lessons for the 21st Century that human beings are now facing new challenges caused by global warming, big data algorithms, and terrorism, and "when the old stories have collapsed, no new story has emerged so far to replace them.” [...]although the nature of medieval universities still more or less influences the current higher education, while anticipating the future trend of cross-border student mobility, it seems more appropriate to use the premodern history as a supplement, rather than evidence for proving that history repeats itself. According to the university archives, "over 500 UNC students had been treated in the infirmary and seven had died as a result of complications with the illness” (Cozens, 2020, para. 10). [...]presently, the State of New York is still the second most popular destination for international students in the U.S., and New York University in the City of New York "has been the leading host university for international students” since 2013 (Zong & Batalova, 2018, para. 16).

A comparative study on turnaround leadership in higher education and the successful implementation of the UN's sustainable development goals

Purpose>Given the increased emphasis on embedding the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) in the curriculum, research, engagement activities and operations of higher education institutions, this comparative study aims to replicate an earlier international study of Turnaround Leadership for Sustainability in Higher Education (TLSHE) in the unique context of Malaysia and Japan. This paper also presents a case for closer focus on developing Education for Sustainability (EfS) leaders in institutions of higher learning.Design/methodology/approach>This study is a quantitative comparative research. The authors collected data for EfS-related variables from lecturers affiliated with Malaysian and Japanese public and private universities. Building on the data and results from the TLSHE study, this study made a series of within- and between-sample descriptive comparisons from different angles and levels. To generalize the findings, this study used gender and experience outside higher education as control variables and compared the academics from the Malaysian and the Japanese institutions through the path modeling framework.Findings>The comparisons showed that except for two domains, namely, contextual factors influencing EfS leadership and the EfS leadership development approaches, the means of all other domains based on the data collected from the Malaysian sample were the highest, followed by means from the international TLSHE sample, and finally the means from the Japanese sample. This study also observed that transparency, engagement with EfS initiatives at different levels, passion for teaching and learning, and creative and lateral thinking were among the top indicators. The inferential tests revealed significant differences between the academics from Japan and Malaysia as well.Practical implications>The findings of the analyses can be used to ensure that the selection and development of EfS leaders (in this case, lecturers who may be formal or informal EfS leaders), not just at the central but at the local level in the distinctive context of Japan and Malaysia, focus on what counts and the good ideas embodied in the 17 UN SDGs are actually put into practice. This study has also highlighted the policy implications with respect to the gender and the previous work experience of lecturers outside higher education sector in more detail.Originality/value>This study compares the perceptions of two samples of academics from Asian countries with the perceptions of the international TLSHE sampled EfS leaders in terms of EfS leadership-related issues and therefore, increases the awareness of academic community in this regard. It also highlights the role of lecturers (e.g. professors) as intellectual academic leaders in achieving SDGs. Moreover, this study shows that lecturers' gender and previous work experience outside higher education should be considered when developing and implementing policies on EfS leadership.

Moral Courage: Restoring Well-Being, Community, and Capacity within the Post-Pandemic University

Purpose: This paper aims to spark dialogue regarding what it takes to lead well as a university leader post-pandemic. While much has been written about the future challenges facing universities, not a lot has been written about the kind of moral courage that is required to lead them. There never has been a more important time for strong leadership from university presidents;leadership that supports human flourishing and learning in all its forms. Design/methodology/approach: Discussion focuses on the role of presidents in leading the post-pandemic university. The author speaks from experience on the need to restore well-being, community, and capacity for a more hopeful and resilient future. Findings: This study makes a case for a post-pandemic university needing to be marked by courage and humanity. Students are looking for universities to align with what they care about and what is relevant to their experience and future. Responsibility falls to leaders within the academy to restore well-being, community and capacity across the university. Research limitations/implications: Leading a university as president, at the best of times, is a complex and rewarding role. Leading during a global pandemic could hardly get more challenging. It is hoped that this paper will generate additional discussion as to what it means to lead well in the academy. Originality/value: The author's experience having led a university through one of the most challenging times in our history may provide a perspective for colleagues and future leaders of the university sector.

Assessing University Governance and Policies in Relation to the COVID-19 Pandemic

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, universities around the globe have taken numerous extraordinary measures and implemented many changes to their strategic, operational, and academic activities. Currently, there is a transformation taking place from the emergency decision-making in the early stages of the pandemic towards reflection and resolution on how the past months can shape governance and strategy. Higher education institutions have been facing challenges with the alignment of their university governance for their strategic and operational plans. Presently, university leaders have prioritized risk management and financial management over all else. Unfortunately, due to these priorities, university responses to the pandemic took the top-down approach of management, rejecting the shared governance structures and collegial practices of the institutions. The pandemic has accelerated the openness to change by creating an emergency or steering response team led by university presidents and provosts, with sub-teams focusing on operations and other academic advisory groups working together to deal with the fast-rising scenarios. The consequence is a clear flow of information and strong communication across the institution, which sequentially builds on mechanisms to respond to the secondary effects of the pandemic. Moreover, higher education institutions are continuously facing challenges with their strategic alignment of business objectives in order to have a diverse educational system in response to the pandemic. "Assessing University Governance and Policies in Relation to the COVID-19 Pandemic" presents the latest research and studies investigating information on university governance and adapting previous, existing, and proposed models for the current pandemic. This book is comprised of chapters contributed by various leading international authors to discuss and analyze all aspects of university governance in relation to their impact on strategies in finance, sustainability, academic issues, research, faculty and students, leadership, campus, employment and recruitments, and more. This is an essential text for university presidents, strategic planning authorities in universities, college deans and academic department chairpersons, government authorities and policymakers, researchers, students, and academicians.

CRITICAL STORYTELLING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: BEREA COLLEGE STUDENTS SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES

Pohl reviews Critical Storytelling During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Berea College Students Share Their Experiences edited by Nicholas D. Hartlep, Christopher V. Stuchell, Nathaniel Elisha Whitt and Brandon O. Hensley.

College Presidents’ Public Messaging During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Analysis of Published Opinion Pieces as Crisis Communications

During the Spring and Summer of 2020, college presidents across the United States undertook the difficult task of determining how best to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. An important aspect of leading through a crisis is messaging—that is, communicating about how the crisis is impacting one’s organization and how the needs of organizational constituents are being addressed. The purpose of this study was to analyze short opinion articles (op-eds) published by college presidents regarding higher education and the COVID-19 pandemic to understand how those publications functioned as public crisis communications. This study involved a content analysis of 40 op-eds that were authored or coauthored by college presidents between March and August 2020. Findings indicate that college presidents discussed their organizations’ implementation of public health matters, the importance of togetherness in a crisis, and how their institutions were helping the community during the public health emergency. College leaders’ desire to attain much-needed resources was also evident in many op-eds. This study illuminates how college presidents used public messaging via opinion pieces to communicate publicly during the early months of the pandemic and to attempt to secure resources for their organizations. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of American Behavioral Scientist is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

CONFRONTING WHITENESS IN SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION THROUGH RACIALIZED STUDENT ACTIVISM

In 2010, a group of racialized doctoral students at an elite university in Canada collectively mobilized against institutional racism within their school of social work. They insisted that their school confront the ways in which White supremacy was embedded within various policies and practices. These early initiatives led to the creation of the Racialized Students’ Network (RSN). Although the RSN has ended, it has produced a new generation of scholars who continue to interrogate Whiteness and White supremacy. It has also offered roadmaps through which newer generations of racialized social work scholars can advance anti-racist and decolonial feminist perspectives within postsecondary social work institutions in Canada. In this article, the authors, who are now tenure-track or tenured professors at Canadian universities, demonstrate the ways in which graduate student anti-racist activisms are a central avenue for confronting Whiteness and institutional racism. Through a collaborative autoethnographic methodology, this article draws from the authors’ personal experiences within the RSN, the group’s source documents, and their collective analysis on how the RSN has informed their ongoing activism. They discuss how their everyday experiences align with current anti-racist struggles and movements to shape their actions and responses in academe. The RSN Model of Racialized Students’ Activism is presented to demonstrate the collective processes the student activists explored to reflect and apply their intersecting identities to support racialized students and address systemic racism.Alternate :En 2010, un groupe d’étudiants racisés, aux études doctorales dans une université canadienne, s’est mobilisé collectivement contre le racisme institutionnel au sein de leur école de travail social. Ces étudiants ont insisté pour que leur école confronte les façons dont la suprématie blanche s’ancrait dans diverses politiques et pratiques. Ces premières initiatives ont conduit à la création du Racialized Students’ Network (RSN). Bien que le RSN n’existe plus, il a donné naissance à une nouvelle génération de chercheurs qui continuent de s’interroger sur la blancheur et la suprématie blanche. Il a également offert des feuilles de route grâce auxquelles les nouvelles générations de chercheurs en travail social racisés peuvent faire progresser les perspectives féministes, antiracistes et décoloniales au sein des programmes de travail social dans les établissements postsecondaires au Canada. Dans cet article, les auteurs, qui sont maintenant professeurs titulaires ou permanents dans des universités canadiennes, démontrent comment les activismes antiracistes des étudiantes et étudiants sont une avenue centrale pour confronter la suprématie blanche et le racisme institutionnel. Grâce à une méthodologie autoethnographique collaborative, cet article s’inspire des expériences personnelles des auteurs au sein du RSN, des documents sources du groupe et de leur analyse collective sur la façon dont le RSN a influencé leur activisme actuel. Ils discutent de la manière dont leurs expériences quotidiennes s’alignent sur les luttes et les mouvements antiracistes actuels pour façonner leurs actions et leurs réponses dans le milieu universitaire. Afin de démontrer les processus collectifs entrepris par les activistes étudiants pour refléter et utiliser leurs identités entrecroisées afin de soutenir les étudiantes et étudiants racisés et confronter le racisme systémique, le modèle d’activisme des étudiantes et étudiantes racisés du RSN est présenté.

Strategic plan decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic: A phenomenological study of college presidents

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore and describe the decision-making experiences of leaders at Midwestern colleges who engaged in strategic planning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research was conducted using a qualitative phenomenological methodology and research design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven college presidents. Findings revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic impacted strategic planning components and how leaders led their institution through crisis response and strategic planning. The recommendations set forth in this study include, during crisis: evaluate the need to temporarily pause strategic planning activities, thoughtfully allocate personnel resources, engage in scenario planning, create flexible strategic plans, adopt a directive style of leadership, use guiding principles in decision-making, communicate clearly and openly, and engage in reflection and self-care activities. This study contributes to research surrounding leadership, decision-making, strategic planning, and crisis while also providing practical recommendations for leaders to position their institution's strategic planning activities to both survive an initial crisis event and thrive following. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

University Social Responsibility: Challenging Systemic Racism in the Aftermath of George Floyd’s Murder

In this paper, we examine university discretionary interpretation of the 2020 social upheaval that emanated from George Floyd’s murder as an element of university social responsibility (USR) policymaking. The paper addresses two research questions: (a) What are university presidents’ implicit and explicit social justice responses to George Floyd’s death and the idealistic protests of 2020? (b) To what degree are principles of social justice embedded in universities’ intellectual roots and social responsibility? Using a sample of university presidents’ public statements in response to George Floyd’s death and the idealistic protests of 2020, we analyze the response and responsibilities of universities in the struggle for a just society. We cross-check mission statements and strategic plans to corroborate universities’ public statements with their institutional philosophies, mission, and action plans relating to discrimination against racial and ethnic minorities and systemic racism. We use critical discourse analysis and the Voyant Tool to perform a textual analysis of 62 university presidents’ letters and mission statements. They all denounced the dehumanization and inequitable treatment of Black people. An important implication of our work is the sharp difference in the depth and forthrightness of responses by university presidents across university types. Some presidential letters are forthright in their denouncement of the murder of George Floyd and systemic racism, while others were, at best, vague in their approach. Presidential letters disclose their institutions’ priorities, organizational identities, and social responsibility convictions. Overall, mission statements and strategic plans included addressing systemic racism and inequality. While there is no ordered symmetry between presidential narratives and institutional action, we anticipate social responsibility as a core institutional value. We argue for social justice anti-racist platforms as critical dimensions of USR. We call for university milieus that promote a fair and just society among all stakeholders.