Module 1: Higher Education and Development

Globally, the funding landscape of higher education is undergoing significant transformation. One of the most notable trends is the decline in direct government investment, even as the operational costs of running universities continue to rise amidst competing demands for public funds. While public financing remains a significant source of support for higher education institutions (HEIs), there is increasing pressure to enhance operational efficiency and financial accountability. In response, many countries are shifting or planning to change from a predominantly state-funded model to more diversified funding frameworks. This transition underscores the growing importance of strategic financial management, effective resource allocation, and income diversification. For HEIs to remain resilient, innovative, and sustainable, they must explore alternative revenue streams, adopt performance-based approaches, and align their financial strategies with national priorities and institutional missions.

Governance and management in higher education are critical to ensuring effective, efficient, and quality-driven systems that align with national goals and institutional aspirations. While good governance is widely advocated, achieving it is complex due to differing interests between regulators and service providers. Balancing these priorities requires collaborative policymaking, strategic foresight, and consensus-building to serve both national development and institutional sustainability. Effective governance involves formulating policies that are practical, adaptive, and capable of guiding strategic actions at both national and institutional levels. When well-executed, governance at the national level sets the tone for institutional governance, fostering alignment, accountability, and performance. To sustain quality service delivery, institutions must further translate national policies into context-specific rules, programmes, and operational frameworks. These must be strategically planned, informed by evidence, and supported by capable leaders and managers whose decisions have a direct impact on outcomes. Ultimately, good governance demands thinking leaders, informed decisions, and a commitment to shared responsibility across all levels of higher education.

Higher education leaders play a pivotal role in maintaining institutional quality while navigating continuous change in increasingly complex and uncertain environments. As such, they must be equipped with strong change management competencies, not only to manage current operations efficiently, but also to lead their institutions toward future-oriented goals. Effective leaders are those who actively drive transformation by engaging stakeholders in meaningful processes of institutional renewal and improvement. Beyond implementing change, they help shape adaptive cultures and agile operating environments that are less resistant to innovation and more responsive to evolving needs. Leadership in higher education today demands a strategic blend of operational management and visionary direction-setting. This requires aligning institutional goals with broader policy and societal expectations, while fostering an internal culture that supports resilience, collaboration, and continuous learning. Ultimately, it is the synergy between responsive leadership and a flexible, efficient institutional context that enables higher education institutions to thrive amidst uncertainty and change.

Quality assurance and accreditation are foundational to sustaining excellence, accountability, and relevance in higher education. These mechanisms ensure that academic programs and institutional practices meet established standards and expectations, both nationally and internationally. Internal quality systems, led by institutions themselves, promote a culture of continuous improvement, while external validation processes, such as accreditation, provide formal recognition that these institutions or programs adhere to predefined benchmarks of performance. Together, these frameworks enhance transparency, build stakeholder trust, and support strategic development. It also enables comparability across institutions, facilitates student mobility, and ensures that qualifications remain credible in a globalised context. As higher education systems face increasing pressures to demonstrate value and adapt to change, robust quality frameworks enable institutions to remain responsive, agile, and mission-aligned. Ultimately, these processes contribute to shaping a high-performing, inclusive, and future-ready tertiary education sector.