Structuring Mass Higher Education : The Role of Elite Institutions

Undoubtedly the most important development in higher education in recent years has been the seemingly inexorable expansion of national systems. In a comparatively short time period many countries have moved from an elite to a mass model. Furthermore, expansion has invariably changed the whole experience of higher education for all the interested parties from, presidents, rectors and vice-chancellors to first-term undergraduates.

Structuring Mass Higher Education examines the impact of this change upon the existing national structures of higher education. It also defines and highlights what makes an ‘elite’ university – something which institutions must strive for in order to gain their position as global players.  With case studies and contributions from a wide range of international authors, the book explores questions such as:

• Do higher education institutions retain a national significance, even though the vestiges of an international reputation have long faded?
• Has expansion undermined the quality of higher education because governments sought to expand "on the cheap"?
• Is the elite institutional response to mass higher education perceived as a threat to be responded to with purposeful action that sustains their elite status?
• Does the emergence of the international league tables pose a challenge to those responsible for governing elite institutions?

These are critical issues with which both policy-makers and institutional leaders will have to grapple over the next ten years, making Structuring Mass Higher Education a timely, relevant, and much needed text. It will appeal to policy makers and practitioners within higher education as well as student and scholars worldwide.