Governance, Global Rankings, and Strategic Convergence in Higher Education Institutions

Governments and accreditation bodies, as well as world university rankings, have a critical impact on the strategic agenda of institutions of higher learning. This chapter presents a critical analysis of the impact of external governance arrangements, encompassing national states, accreditation bodies, and world rankings, on the strategic agenda of institutions of higher learning in such matters as curricula and research, globalization and internationalization, and organizational governance. On the basis of desk research and an integrative synthesis of the literature, this chapter explores the ambivalent impact of such external influences.