By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute  “In order to be competitive in the globalizing knowledge economy, the OECD countries need to invest in their innovation systems at the national and regional levels…As key sources of knowledge and innovation, higher education institutions (HEIs) can be central to this process.” (OECD, 2007, p. 11). VALENCIA, SPAIN — And so it began. A three-day … Continue reading Regional Development and the Role of the University

By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute Last week I had the fortune of presenting at the European Association for Institutional Research Conference (EAIR) in beautiful Innsbruck, Austria. For those who don’t often get the opportunity to travel to Europe, let alone international conferences, much of the current dialogue revolves around something called the “Bologna Process” (or Accord). For the uninitiated, the … Continue reading When Europe Comes Alive

By Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute In this week’s news, Kevin Carey and Thomas Toch (see “College Rankings: Higher Education’s Battle Royal”) discuss the upcoming US News and World Report Rankings Guide, which will hit the newsstands in a few weeks. Unfortunately, Carey and Toch take a purely populist view of the rankings and related issues. And this has set me … Continue reading Rankings, Rankings, and More Rankings