Letter from the Editors

Dear Colleagues,

This is the second issue of 2019, but due to publication scheduling, it is our first opportunity to provide an update on some outcomes from 2018. The journal is receiving an increasing number of submissions, up from 204 in 2017 to 251 in 2018 (excluding Special Issue submissions). This reflects the growing interest and reputation of the journal. Like other journals, we could not have maintained our high editorial standards without the dedication of our peer reviewers. As an acknowledgement for their efforts, we have listed the names of all of our 2018 reviewers in this issue and on the journal website.

The opening two articles of this issue examine recruitment and selection practices. Academic job advertisements often explicitly encourage applications from persons of underrepresented backgrounds. In the USA, advertisements also include experience with diversity as a selection criterion (e.g. applicants must describe their experience with ‘diversity issues’ and working in multicultural environments). Karen Schmaling and colleagues examine how applicants address this criterion, including the type of applicants most likely to ignore it (a quarter of their sample).

Australian universities are increasingly using international executive recruitment firms when hiring senior leaders, rather than advertising or recruiting from within the institutional academic workforce. Loomes, Owens and McCarthy report on the range of drivers behind this reliance and its consequences through interviews at 10 Australian universities.

University leaders are the public faces of universities embodying the missions of their institutions, but how do their actions and communications reflect institutional mission statements? Jon McNaughtan and colleagues examine the mission statements and president communication from 50 US flagship universities, as well as interview leaders at a sample of these universities.

Vietnam higher education has rapidly expanded over the past three decades bringing predicable concerns regarding the quality of (new) institutions and education. Huong Thi Pham’s article illustrates the challenges faced by Vietnamese universities when adopting self-critical and decentralised Western quality assurance systems, which often conflict with Confucian cultural respect for hierarchy.

Higher education massification and marketisation in China has led to quality concerns, partly voiced through the mass media. Liu, Cai and Zhao examine the role of the Chinese mass media in policy agenda setting, enhancing policy legitimacy and monitoring implementation. They discuss the unfulfilled potential of the mass media in promoting public discussion and democratisation of education policies.

Quality assurance in Ghana involves a tripartite relationship between the national agency and affiliation between mentor and mentee institutions. Affiliation policies date back to British colonial times when the University College of the Gold Coast (now University of Ghana) was an affiliate college of the University of London. Francis Ansah and Patrick Swanzy investigate the contemporary relationships between the tripartite actors and the tensions between them.

Finally, in a departure from the traditional top-down strategic planning processes, Ye He and Symphony Oxendine present how appreciative inquiry – a strength-based organisational development model utilising stakeholder input – has generated positive change at a Canadian institution, and the preconditions for its success.

As always, we hope you enjoy reading the articles in this issue.