Higher education system and institutional management trends and challenges

Abstract

The article reviews the trends in higher education internationally and links these changes to new policy developments in higher education in South Africa. The paper then reflects on the implications of these changes at the institutional level and the way the process of transformation can be managed. Issues touched on include the appointment of managers and the training of managers to better cope with their portfolios. A strategic approach to management is recommended and the notion of creating a learning organisation emerges from time to time. A caution is raised about treating students as customers if indeed they are customers, and the significance and role of leadership in any organization is commended to higher education institutions as well.