Antigoni Papadimitriou

Adoption of ISO‐oriented quality management system in Greek universities: Reactions to isomorphic pressures

Purpose – Quality management in Greek higher education at least until 2006 was in an early and debated stage. The intent of this paper is to present the extent of use of the ISO standards in Greek universities till 2006 and simultaneously to evaluate whether adoption of ISO‐oriented quality management tools is consistent with DiMaggio and Powells notions of isomorphism (coercive, normative, and mimetic).Design/methodology/approach – The authors employed a mixed‐methods approach with sequential data collection with several alternations between quantitative and qualitative methods.Findings – It is found that ISO‐oriented quality management system is fruitfully adopted in units only if all three types of neo‐institutional pressures (coercive, normative and mimetic) are present. These results and the high response rate suggest that there is a quality movement at the micro level in Greek higher education.Research limitations/implications – Quality management (QM) research within the relatively uncharted Greek...

The Enigma of Quality in Greek Higher Education. A mixed methods study of introducing quality management into Greek higher education.

This study investigated the adoption of quality management in Greek universities as an outcome of organizational processes. It examined a period in the first decade of the 21st century when program evaluation and quality management were heavily debated in Greece. The study recognizes that higher education institutions are complex organizations with multiple levels; moreover, they exist in a multi-level, multi-actor environment. Greece presents an environment that is well known for its difficulty in conducting empirical social science research. Until this dissertation, very few studies have been published concerning Greek higher education in general and quality management in particular. This study furthers our understanding of the forces that stimulate or impede changes in Greek higher education by choosing a multi-level mixed methods research design. This research used several data-gathering techniques, including document analysis, surveys and interviews with a variety of stakeholders, to study quality management at national (macro), institutional (meso), and departmental levels (micro). Greek higher education institutions are state-funded institutions and operate in a legalistic environment, under a plethora of laws and regulations. At the macro level the general consensus was that the Bologna Process was the main reason that drove the Greek Government in 2005 to adopt a quality assurance policy for higher education. At the meso level 8 out of 21 universities voluntarily invited an external review (EUA-IEP), which found that quality management was not a routine practice. Different surveys among institutional leaders and department heads, respectively, confirmed this finding. At the micro level data indicated that ISO standards were applied in 32 cases (laboratories and academic support services) in 7 out of 21 universities. However, in departments quality assurance systems were either nonexistent or in early stages of development. Using concepts from neo-institutional theory (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983) along with organizational characteristics, this research shows that coercive, normative, and mimetic isomorphic pressures were present, though rarely all at the same time. The lack of coherence among the three isomorphic pressures seems to explain the widespread failure to adopt quality management. Leadership proved to be the crucial intra-organizational factor for change promoting quality management.

Reforms, Leadership and Quality Management in Greek Higher Education.

This article reports on research to form an understanding of how to account whether and how quality management (QM) has been adopted in Greek higher education. Greece only recently introduced quality assurance policies. In this study, I will describe governmental reforms related to QM policies until 2010. An issue that is frequently addressed concerns the role of leadership for the implementation and facilitation of QM. Therefore, the study will also discuss how leaders (rectors and vice-rectors) in Greek universities perceived external environmental pressures and to what extent they adopted (or not) QM. Neo-institutional theory has become a dominant approach for explaining how organizations adapt to institutionalized pressures for change of their business theory from their environments and has been applied to different organizational phenomena; therefore, in order to explain why Greek higher education institutions adopt QM I used the neoinstitutional theory.

Designed Diffusion? The Impact of an EU Instrument for Public Management Reform in the Western Balkans

Abstract In pursuit of the European Union’s (EU’s) agenda to promote public sector reform in countries beyond the member states, the EU has relied on softer instruments to induce domestic reforms through technical and financial support. The impact and durability of such measures are contested and the research findings are mixed. This article examines the Tempus program, a core neighborhood policy instrument the EU has used to promote public management reforms. Tempus is the oldest and most dominant instrument to modernize higher education in central and east European countries. It promotes the adoption of key managerial reforms elements. Drawing of these perspectives on policy diffusion, we analyze the relative impact of the program. Based on data from over 50 Western Balkan universities, we compare institutions deeply involved in the Tempus program and those minimally involved or non-affiliated with Tempus. Results show that Tempus projects had minimal direct effects in terms on adoption of public management reforms in the region.

Addressing Challenges of Conducting Quality Mixed Methods Studies in Higher Education

In this chapter, the authors discuss challenges and decision-making in the process of conducting quality mixed methods research in higher education, and offer the lessons learned from their experiences. The chapter begins with a discussion of quality and the ways of establishing quality in mixed methods studies. Two examples of studies are used to illustrate the issues involved in addressing quality in conducting mixed methods studies in different higher education settings. The first example discusses the challenges associated with establishing the quality of meta-inferences in a mixed methods (quantitative to qualitative) design that was used in two studies of students’ engagement and persistence in pursuing graduate degrees online in the United States. The second example presents the methodological steps and criteria for evaluating the quality of a multilevel mixed design study to explain quality management in Greek higher education. The authors also reflect on how researchers can become active participants in the co-construction of quality in mixed methods research.

Exploring Advertising in Higher Education: An Empirical Analysis in North America, Europe, and Japan.

This empirical study explores higher education advertising campaigns displayed in five world cities: Boston, New York, Oslo, Tokyo, and Toronto. The study follows a mixed-methods research design relying on content analysis and multimodal semiotic analysis and employs a conceptual framework based on the knowledge triangle of education, research, and innovation. The study reveals that education is overwhelmingly the strongest element emphasized across the five cities and that students constitute the most salient and central element in the majority of the advertisements.

What Kind of Universities in Greece Invited External Evaluation (EUA-IEP)? Isomorphic Pressures and Leadership: The Greek Case.

In the absence of any national quality performance monitoring system (until 2006) 8 of 21 Greek public universities voluntarily participated in the European University Association Institutional Evaluation Programme (EUA-IEP). Empirical data were collected through documents (eight evaluators’ reports). This article uses qualitative content analysis to understand the relationships between neo-institutional pressures (coercive, normative and mimetic) and university characteristics that influenced the choice for the EUA-IEP. Normative and mimetic pressures were detected through these reports. Coercive pressure did not play a role in the decision to invite the EUA-IEP. Different types of universities engaged in the EUA-IEP but not monothematic and ‘Athenian’ universities.

Academic freedom and student grading in Greek higher education

The issue of who has the final say on academic standards (grading), academics or managers, has hitherto not arisen in Greece. Professors entitled to research, to teach and to inquire is a freedom expressed by the Greek Constitution. This article presents a contemporary view and raises concerns about the future and the longevity of academic freedom and students’ grades in Greek higher education.

Conclusions and Reflections on Branding and Marketing in Higher Education

This edited volume set out to examine branding and marketing in the context of higher education from an international, regional, and national perspective. The book has a wide range of contributors, whose expertise spans higher education, sociology, quality management, comparative international education, marketing and branding, ranking, and educational philanthropy, all of whom have a major interest in global postsecondary education. In this chapter, we analyze trends across the chapters and identify ways to move research and practice forward. Issues of methods, identity building, and copyright are important for future research on the topic. The future of higher education will likely require practitioners and scholars who have command of at least the basic skills and competencies for branding and marketing in higher education.

Using a Mixed Methods Approach to Examine the (Re)Imaging of Higher Education Institutions in the Western Balkans

This chapter’s research captured a onetime (Summer 2014) collection of data from ever-evolving, continuously updated website homepages from the Western Balkans public and private universities. Using a sequential mixed methods design, data revealed many factors about how each institution wished to publically position itself within the constraints of all the immediate stakeholders. The Western Balkans regional definition in this, as in other studies, includes the countries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Data indicated a competitive, online marketplace where each institution sought new stakeholders though graphics, logos, special identity icons, and use of social media for advertising in local languages. Document analysis revealed exotericism and quality messages as well as the use of English, however not in all HEIs.