Skip to main content

Institutional Differentiation in the Era of Massification: The Case of Malaysia

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Massification of Higher Education in Asia

Abstract

This chapter argues for the need to construct a diversified system for the future development of Malaysian higher education in the era of massification. In the first section, the chapter explores the concept of differentiation in the field of higher education, which is followed by exploring the ways in which Malaysian institutions are differentiated and the extent to which the Malaysian higher education system is diversified. With the understanding of differentiation and diversity, the chapter concludes by discussing possible ways in which Malaysian universities can further differentiate themselves, in view of the competition and need to survive in the era of massification and a universal higher education system.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    A search committee is tasked to nominate candidates for the leadership position and the appointment is made by the Minister.

  2. 2.

    UiTM and Apex are the exception where they are allowed to differentiate. The classification by Department of HE—research, comprehensive and focused—is the only form of differentiation of public universities.

References

  • Altbach, P. G., Reisberg, L., & Rumbley, L. E. (2009). Trends in global higher education: Tracking an academic revolution. Paris: UNESCO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Azman, N., & Mydin Kutty, F. (2016). Imposing global university rankings on local academic culture: Insights from the National University of Malaysia. In M. Yudkevich, P. G. Altbach, & L. E. Rumbley (Eds.), The global academic rankings game: Changing institutional policy, practice, and academic life (pp. 97–123). Oxfordshire: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Azman, N., Pang, V., Sirat, M. & Md. Yunus, A. (2014). Teaching and research in Malaysian public universities: Synergistic or antagonistic? In J. C. Shin, A. Arimoto, W. K. Cummings & U. Teichler (Ed.), Teaching and Research in Contemporary Higher Education: Systems, activities and rewards, (pp. 255–276). Dordrecht: Springer Science and Business Media.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beekun, R. (2012). Leadership and Islam: Effective leadership steps for strategy implementation in Islamic organizations. Retrieved on October 21, 2015 from http://theislamicworkplace.com/leadership-and-islam/.

  • Birnbaum, R. (1983). Maintaining diversity in higher education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boliver, V. (2013). How fair is access to more prestigious universities? British Journal of Sociology, 64(2), 344–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, D., & Chien, C. L. (Eds.). (2014). Higher education in Asia: Expanding out, expanding up. Montreal: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chevalier, A., & Conlon, G. (2003). Does it pay to attend a prestigious university? Discussion Paper 33. London: Centre for the Economics of Education, London School of Economics and Political Science.

    Google Scholar 

  • Croxford, L., & Raffe, D. (2015). The iron law of hierarchy? Institutional differentiation in UK higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 40(9), 1625–1640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dore, R. (1997). The diploma disease: Education, qualification and development (2nd ed.). London: Institute of Education, University of London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dzulkifli, A. R. (2016). Foreword. In Y. M. Lai, A. Abdul Razak & C. D. Wan (Ed.), Higher Education in the Middle East and North Africa: Exploring regional and country specific potentials, Singapore: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dzulkifli, A. R., & Ramli, M. (2008). Shifting rhetorics into reality: Transforming higher education for sustainable development—Universiti Sains Malaysia in the APEX framework. Paper presented at the Asia-Pacific Sub-regional Preparatory Conference for the 2009 World Conference on Higher Education, Macao SAR, September 24–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenstadt, S. N. (1964). Social change, differentiation and evolution. American Sociological Review, 29(3), 375–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fauziah, M. T., & Ng, M. L. Y. A. (Eds.). (2015). Governance reforms in public universities in Malaysia. Penang: Universiti Sains Malaysia Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamad, L. no date. Shura: Islamic Approach to Decision-Making. Retrieved on October 21, 2015 from http://www.whyislam.org/social-values-in-islam/social-ties/shura-islamic-approach-to-decision-making/.

  • Hazelkorn, E. (2008). Learning to live with league tables and ranking: The experience of institutional leaders. Higher Education Policy, 21, 193–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hazelkorn, E. (2017). Introduction: The geopolitics of rankings. In E. Hazelkorn (Ed.), Global rankings and the geopolitics of higher education: Understanding the influence and impact of rankings on higher education, policy and society (pp. 1–20). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang, F. (2012). Higher education from massification to universal access: A perspective from Japan. Higher Education, 63, 257–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huisman, J., Meek, L., & Wood, F. (2007). Institutional diversity in higher education: A cross-national and longitudinal analysis. Higher Education Quarterly, 61(4), 563–577.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hussain, I., McNally, S., & Telhaj, S. (2009). University quality and graduate wages in the UK. Discussion Paper 99. London: Centre for the Economics of Education, London School of Economics and Political Science.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kerr, C. (2001). The uses of the University (5th ed.). Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lari, S. M. M. no date. Imamate and Leadership: Lessons on Islamic Doctrine, Book 4. (H. Algar, Trans.). Retrieved October 21, 2015 from http://www.al-islam.org/imamate-and-leadership-sayyid-mujtaba-musavi-lari.

  • Leuze, K. (2011). How structure signals status: Institutional stratification and the transition from higher education to work in Germany and Britain. Journal of Education and Work, 24(5), 449–475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marginson, S. (2010). The global knowledge economy and the culture of comparison in higher education. In K. Sarjit, S. Morshidi, & W. G. Tierney (Ed.), Quality Assurance and University Rankings in Higher Education in the Asia Pacific: Challenge for Universities and Nations (pp. 23–55). Penang: Universiti Sains Malaysia Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meek, L., Goedegebuure, L., & Huisman, J. (2000). Editorial: Diversity, differentiation and the market. Higher Education Policy, 13(4), 1–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Education. (2014). National education statistic: Higher education sector. Putrajaya: Ministry of Education Malaysia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Education. (2015). Malaysia education blueprint (Higher Education) 2015–2025. Putrajaya: Ministry of Education Malaysia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morshidi, S., Abdul Razak, A., & Azman, N. (2012). University leadership in crisis: The need for effective leadership positioning in Malaysia. Higher Education Policy, 25, 511–529.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morshidi, S., Azman, N., & Wan, C. D. (2017). The dilemma of university rankings in policy and policymaking: The Malaysian experience. In E. Hazelkorn (Ed.), Global rankings and the geopolitics of higher education: Understanding the influence and impact of rankings on higher education, policy and society (pp. 77–99). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raffe, D., & Croxford, L. (2015). How stable is the stratification of higher education in England and Scotland? British Journal of Sociology of Education, 36(2), 313–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarjit, K., & Morshidi, S. (2010). Global university ranking through the APEX in Malaysia. In K. Sarjit, S. Morshidi, & W. G. Tierney (Ed.), Quality assurance and university rankings in higher education in the Asia Pacific: Challenge for universities and nations (pp. 194–217). Penang: Universiti Sains Malaysia Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinek, S. (2009). Start with why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. London: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trust, Sutton. (2010). Widening access to selective universities: Submission to Sir Martin Harris. London: Sutton Trust.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teichler, U. (2007). The changing patterns of the higher education systems in Europe and the future tasks of higher education research. In Higher Education Looking Forward: Relations between Higher Education and Society, edited by European Science Foundation (ESF) (pp. 79–103). Strasbourg: ESF.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tierney, W. G. (2010). Forms of privatisation: Globalisation and the changing nature of tertiary education. In C. Findlay & W. G. Tierney (Eds.), Globalisation and tertiary education in the Asia-Pacific: The changing nature of a dynamic market (pp. 163–199). Singapore: World Scientific.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Trow, M. (1973). Problems in the transition from elite to mass higher education. Berkeley: Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trow, M. (2000). From mass higher education to universal access: The American advantage. Minerva, 37, 1–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNESCO. no date. Medina of Fez. Retrieved on April 8, 2015 from http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/170.

  • Venkatraman, S. (2010). Beyond university rankings: A review of key indicators for improving quality provision of higher education. In K. Sarjit, S. Morshidi, & W. G. Tierney (Ed.), Quality assurance and university rankings in higher education in the Asia Pacific: Challenge for universities and nations (pp. 56–80). Penang: Universiti Sains Malaysia Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wan, C. D. (2015). Is there a ‘mid-rank trap’ for universities? Journal of International and Comparative Education, 4(2), 52–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wan, C. D., & Abdul Razak, A. (2015). Governance of higher education in Malaysia. In K. M. Joshi & S. Paivandi (Eds.), Global higher education: Issues in governance (pp. 339–379). Delhi: B. R. Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wan, C. D., Abdul Razak, A., & Lim, A. B. (2015a). Private higher education in Malaysia. In K. M. Joshi & S. Paivandi (Eds.), Private higher education: A global perspective (pp. 341–385). Delhi: B. R. Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wan, C. D., Morshidi, S., & Dzulkifli, A. R. (2015b). The idea of a university: Rethinking the Malaysian context. Humanities, 4, 266–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wan, C. D., Chapman, D., Ahmad Nurulazam, M. Z., Hutcheson, S., Lee, M., & Austin, A. (2015c). Academic culture in Malaysia: Sources of satisfaction and frustration. Asia Pacific Education Review, 16(4), 517–526.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chang Da Wan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Wan, C. (2018). Institutional Differentiation in the Era of Massification: The Case of Malaysia. In: Wu, A., Hawkins, J. (eds) Massification of Higher Education in Asia. Higher Education in Asia: Quality, Excellence and Governance. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0248-0_7

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0248-0_7

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-13-0246-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-13-0248-0

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics