Innovative Paths to Quality Higher Education in Asia: Reform, Risks and Reinventions for a Sustainable Future

This book discusses essential topics on understanding the development and changes in higher educational systems in Asia, and explores governance, quality assurance, stakeholder engagement, and innovation in the post-massified era from an Asian perspective. While each of the three sections has a particular focus area, the common thread across all chapters is the local responses and relevance to global discourse. In each chapter, authors highlight the ways in which concerns were raised, compromises made, and challenges overcome. This book serves as a valuable resource for various stakeholders, including university administrators, admissions counselors, higher education professionals, and managers working with international programs, students in higher education programs, policy makers, scholars interested in higher education and policies, various knowledge industries, and Quality Assurance (QA) agencies. Readers learn from the challenges discussed and be inspired to design and implement innovative initiatives and strategies. Given the diversity of partnerships and innovation in research, teaching, and learning, there is no one way or ‘how to’ list of steps for effective higher education systems. Rather, readers glean insights from various scholars who recognize the value of collaborating across oceans and borders.

Angela Yung-Chi Hou is a Professor of Higher Education at the College of Education, National Chengchi University, Taiwan. She served as Executive Director of the Higher Education Evaluation & Accreditation Council of Taiwan (HEEACT) from 2016 to 2021 and has been deeply engaged in quality assurance practice and international research for over 20 years. Her leadership roles include serving as Vice President and Board Member of both the International Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) and the Asia-Pacific Quality Network (APQN). In 2024, she was invited by INQAAHE to serve as an international reviewer for accrediting quality assurance agencies worldwide. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Springer book series Higher Education in Asia: Quality, Excellence and Governance (SCOPUS index) and serves on the editorial boards of several peer-reviewed journals in the field of higher education. She is recognized among the world’s top 2% most-cited scholars in the field of higher education quality assurance.

Jung Cheol Shin is a professor of Higher Education at the Department of Education, Seoul National University, Republic of Korea. He was involved in policy analysis and policy development at the Korea Ministry of Education for about 20 years before he joined Seoul National University in 2006. His research interests are in higher education policy, and knowledge and social development. He is an editor-in-chief of the “International Encyclopedia of Higher Education Systems and Institutions” (Springer, 2020), and his other book publications include “University Rankings” (2011), “Institutionalization of World-Class University” (2012), “The Future of the Post-Massified University” (2014), “Mass Higher Education Development in East Asia” (2015), and “Higher Education Governance in East Asia” (2018).

Bjørn Stensaker is a professor of Higher Education at the Department of Education, and the current vice-rector for education at the University of Oslo, Norway. He is also a research professor at The Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research, and Education in Oslo. Professor Stensaker has a special interest in studies of governance, leadership, and change in higher education, including studies of how external and internal quality assurance impacts higher education and higher education institutions. He has published widely on these issues in a range of international journals and books, and he is among the world’s most cited scholars within the field of higher education. Professor Stensaker has contributed to the field of higher education research through empirical studies of higher education systems and institutions in Scandinavia and other areas in Europe, and beyond.