Going beyond the rhetoric: system-wide changes in universities for sustainable societies

In October 2008, the 5th Environmental Management for Sustainable Universities (EMSU) international conference was held in Barcelona, Spain. It dealt with the need to rethink how our higher educational institutions are facing sustainability. This special issue has been primarily derived from contributions to that conference. This issue builds upon related academic international publications, which have analysed how to use the critical position of universities to accelerate their pace of working to help to make the transition to truly SUSTAINABLE SOCIETIES! This issue focus is on the ‘softer’ issues, such as changes in values, attitudes, motivations, as well as in curricula, societal interactions and assessments of the impacts of research. Insights derived from the interplay of the ‘softer’ issues with the ‘harder’ issues are empowering academic leaders to effectively use leverage points to make changes in operations, courses, curricula, and research. Those changes are being designed to help their students and faculty build resilient and sustainable societies within the context of climate change, the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD), and the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The overall systems approach presented by Stephens and Graham provides a structured framework to systematize change for sustainability in higher education, by stressing on the one hand the need for “learning to learn” and on the other hand by integrating leadership and cultural aspects. The “niche” level they propose for innovative interactions between practitioners such as EMSU is exemplary developed by all of the other documents in this special issue. To highlight some of the key elements of the articles in this issue, there are proposals for new educational methods based in sustainability science, a set of inspirational criteria for SD research activities, new course ranking and assessment methods and results of psychological studies that provide evidence that participatory approaches are the most effective way to change values within university members in order to facilitate the development and sharing of new sustainability norms.

Student voice as risky praxis: democratising physical education teacher education

Background: Student voice agendas have been slow to permeate higher educational institutions. Curricula in universities, like those in primary and secondary education, are still usually made for students by teachers who, while they may have the best interests of the students in mind, rarely if ever engage students in curriculum decision-making. The need for more equitable, dialogic and democratic engagement by students is particularly relevant in the context of teacher education. It has been argued that pre-service teachers should experience democratic practices during their teacher education experiences in order to have the confidence, knowledge and skills to support democratic opportunities in schools.

Economic profile, Central SC Alliance

This document contains statistics on economic data, demographic data, industry data, occupation and employment data and education data for the Midlands Region of South Carolina. Also included is a list and directory of higher educational institutions in the region.

Economic profile, Charleston Regional Development Alliance

This document contains statistics on economic data, demographic data, industry data, occupation and employment data and education data for the Charleston Region. Also included is a list and directory of higher educational institutions in the region.

Economic profile, Charlotte Regional Partnership

This document contains statistics on economic data, demographic data, industry data, occupation and employment data and education data for the Upper South Carolina Region. Also included is a list and directory of higher educational institutions in the region.

Economic profile, Lowcountry Economic Network

This document contains statistics on economic data, demographic data, industry data, occupation and employment data and education data for the Lowcountry Region. Also included is a list and directory of higher educational institutions in the region.

Economic profile, NESA

This document contains statistics on economic data, demographic data, industry data, occupation and employment data and education data for the Pee Dee Region. Also included is a list and directory of higher educational institutions in the region.

Economic profile, Economic Development Partnership

This document contains statistics on economic data, demographic data, industry data, occupation and employment data and education data for the Upper Savannah Region. Also included is a list and directory of higher educational institutions in the region.

Economic profile, Southern Carolina Regional Development

This document contains statistics on economic data, demographic data, industry data, occupation and employment data and education data for the Lower Savannah Region. Also included is a list and directory of higher educational institutions in the region.

Economic profile, Upstate Alliance

This document contains statistics on economic data, demographic data, industry data, occupation and employment data and education data for the Upstate Region. Also included is a list and directory of higher educational institutions in the region.

Educational Loans And The Higher Education Sector In India

In 2001 the Indian Banks Association have come up with a model frame work for educational loans in the country. With the approval of the Central Government the public sector banks in India started to give education loans. The private and cooperative banks also joined the fray. Due to growing NPAs and the intervention of the Government these norms were modified in 2011. The budget allocation for the primary and higher secondary education is on the increase in India. However, higher education has been of late relegated or left to the mercy of the private players. There has been a steady growth of educational loans disbursed, private colleges and deemed universities started and enrolments of students in higher education during the years 2001 to 2011. This paper is a humble attempt to 1) analyse the growth of the educational loans vis-à-vis other forms of personal loans at the national level, 2) showcase the disbursements of educational loans in Kerala State, 3) to assess the growth of educational institutions and enrolment of students in higher education in India from secondary data and 4) to make suggestions based on the findings

Migrant Background and Higher Education Participation in Europe. The Effect of the Educational Systems

The main aim of this article is to shed light on the extent to which differences in higher education participation between people with and without a migrant background of low/higher social origin can be explained by two macro-level characteristics of national educational institutions: stratification of the secondary school system and provision of alternative access to higher education. General assumptions are that people with a migrant background of low social origin benefit in low-stratified secondary school systems and in systems that provide alternative access to institutions of higher education more than their native peers in the same social stratum, owing to primary and secondary effects of migrant background. Database is a pooled dataset of the five waves of the European Social Survey. Results of logistic multi-level analyses indicate that a low-stratified secondary school system improves the probability of people with a migrant background/low social origin attaining a higher education degree. On the other hand, a stratified secondary school system reduces their chances regarding this educational stage. The provision of alternative access to an institution of higher education improves their likelihood of becoming higher education graduates.

Innovators or inhibitors? Accounting faculty resistance to new educational technologies in higher education

While technology affords new opportunities and benefits for educators in their teaching practice, a significant number of faculty are resistant to adopting new technologies. Unprompted, 93% of faculty interviewed in the Australian study to be discussed in this paper pointed to accounting educator resistance as a key barrier to technology adoption and use. Adopting the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a framework, this paper argues that one of the greatest challenges facing business schools and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the 21st century is not new technologies themselves, but the ability of educators to embrace educational technologies. Drawing on the qualitative data to emerge from interviews with accounting educators recognised as exemplary in their use of innovative technologies, this paper explores the reasons for lack of faculty uptake and argues for academics to become innovators rather than inhibitors. The findings offer a timely insight into a twenty-first century issue affecting HEIs and, specifically, accounting academics. While carried out in the Accounting discipline, the findings may be relatable and applicable to all disciplines. A suite of recommendations are proposed for institutions, business schools and academics to consider.

ERP systems in the higher education sector : a descriptive study

In response to a range of contextual drivers, the worldwide adoption of ERP Systems in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) has increased substantially over the past decade. Though this demand continues to grow, with HEIs now a main target market for ERP vendors, little has been published on the topic. This paper reports a sub-study of a larger research effort that aims to contribute to understanding the phenomenon of ERP adoption and evaluation in HEIs in the Australasian region. It presents a descriptive case study conducted at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia, with emphasis on challenges with ERP adoption. The case study provides rich contextual details about ERP system selection, customisation, integration and evaluation, and insights into the role of consultants in the HE sector. Through this analysis, the paper (a) provides evidence of the dearth of ERP literature pertaining to the HE sector; (b) yields insights into differentiating factors in the HE sector that warrants specific research attention, and (c) offers evidence of how key ERP decisions such as systems selection, customisation, integration, evaluation, and consultant engagement are influenced by the specificities of the HE sector.

Developing a social justice framework to ensure good practice in higher education

As higher education institutions respond to government targets to widen participation, their student populations will become increasingly diverse, and the mechanisms in place to support student success and retention will be more closely scrutinised.