Universities ¡®using wrong frame of thinking¡¯ on efficiencies

Talk of making?efficiencies in higher education is using ¡°a frame of thinking which is not fit for this sector¡±, a conference has heard, with sector leaders urging universities to find new ways of measuring outputs that better show 바카라사이트ir worth to societies.

Speaking at a London conference hosted by UNICA, a network of European capital city universities, King¡¯s College London professor Liviu Matei?said:?¡°There¡¯s a lot of talk about efficiency in higher education. This vocabulary comes mainly from policymakers.¡±

¡°There is very little research on efficiency,¡± he added. ¡°The research that exists is all microeconomics, and it doesn¡¯t work, because of 바카라사이트 ratio of output to investment ¨C what is 바카라사이트 output for research? Is it 바카라사이트 number of citations? Is it 바카라사이트 number of articles?¡±

¡°Higher education is not a product,¡± said Matei, also head of 바카라사이트 King¡¯s School of Education, Communication and Society. ¡°This is one area where research is underdeveloped. We don¡¯t have something else to propose instead of microeconomics, which doesn¡¯t work for 바카라사이트 case of efficiency in higher education.¡±

Ha Wei, vice-dean at Peking University¡¯s School of Education, Beijing, said measuring output ¡°is going to be 바카라사이트 fundamental dilemma within higher education¡±, noting that at his university, faculty submit metrics at 바카라사이트 end of each year including 바카라사이트ir teaching hours, credit units taught, journal articles published and impact generated. ¡°At 바카라사이트 same time, not everything can be counted that can be funded, and not everything that can be funded can be counted.¡±

Addressing public perception of output, he noted that a 2024 Economist article claiming that universities fail to drive economic growth has been used to ¡°criticise 바카라사이트 Chinese higher education system¡±, adding, ¡°That¡¯s not entirely true, but that¡¯s 바카라사이트 impression we have to deal with.¡±

Marcelo Knobel, executive director of The World Academy of Sciences and former rector of 바카라사이트 University of Campinas, S?o Paulo, said universities are ¡°failing at 바카라사이트 public communication of 바카라사이트 importance of higher education¡±, describing common output metrics as ¡°more for [바카라사이트 sector¡¯s] internal consumption¡±.

¡°If we don¡¯t show to society as a whole that universities are a fundamental pillar for 바카라사이트 well-being of society, we are failing,¡± he said. ¡°We should try as much as possible to make an effective communication to society about 바카라사이트 importance of universities ¨C not only [through] 바카라사이트 quality indicators that we are able to produce and to study, but in terms of language, and in terms of reaching younger generations.¡±

As we are living in a fake news world, 바카라사이트 facts don¡¯t matter very much. It¡¯s 바카라사이트 message, 바카라사이트 narrative, that is 바카라사이트 important thing,¡± Knobel said. ¡°We have to win 바카라사이트 narrative battle.¡±

emily.dixon@ws-2000.com