Recent studies have highlighted the major challenges faced by managers in the higher education sector and shown the contradictory demands which foster paradoxical tensions. Previous works have also underlined some specific tensions and rigidities that business school deans regularly face in their role. Yet, few studies have empirically explored…

Compared to the general population, university students experience unique demands and stressors that impact psychosocial distress. High levels of psychosocial distress can affect students academically, socially, and professionally. Strategies students use to cope with stress on their own, particularly problem- and emotion-focused strategies, can…

Interdisciplinary research is a popular mode of knowledge production that becomes intensively promoted by research centers all across the globe. Despite the facilitation of interdisciplinary research, however, scholars working in these centers are 'disciplined.' Career promotions, funding decisions and scientific publishing are based on…

Research on stimulant misuse among students has been rising. These medicines are generally prescribed to treat ADHD, but they are also used by students to enhance their academic performance. To date, qualitative research on the topic is limited, specifically in understanding the "process" of misuse, i.e. the motivations embedded in a…

In light of widening participation initiatives internationally, including those in Australia, much has been written about equity policies in education. There is a growing body of research related to the outcomes of such policies and the experiences of non-traditional students, including those from low socio-economic status (LSES) backgrounds and…

The impact of neoliberalism in higher education has been widely discussed and debated, yet most analyses have viewed the changes on university governance and academic work in different countries as slavishly bound by more global neoliberal factors without paying sufficient attention to the local contextual factors. This empirical study foregrounds…

The outbreak of COVID-19 has triggered a worldwide upsurge in online education. This paper first reviews the actions implemented by Tsinghua University in response to COVID-19 as an example. Based on the experience, the paper further discusses how to turn the 'forced innovation' happened in the pandemic into an 'anti-pandemic dividend' that could…

This paper explores assessment experiences of undergraduates studying across disciplines. Within a participatory research design, students as researchers were involved in data collection and interpretation. The student lens is brought to bear on the experiences of academically successful final-year students and their strategies for negotiating…

An academic learning environment has a significant role in shaping students' learning experience, scholarly identity construction, and socialization into academic culture. The aim of the present study was to understand the experiences of PhD students from their learning environment and the challenges and problems they may face. This case study was…

The 'publish or perish' system has been widespread in the global higher education sector to incentivize academic performance. How the system affects academics in non-western countries has received scant attention. This research studies the relationship between different types of employment contracts, work pressure and the childbearing decisions of…

All that we are certain of today is that all is uncertain. Uncertainty has become the new normal, affecting our family lives and routines, our professional goals and activities and our relationship with local, regional and national governments. We have seen, in just a few months, how our freedom to move and associate has been challenged and…

The paper revisits the outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy and particularly in Lombardy region, the first and initially most severely affected area among western countries. First, we provide an overview of the impact of the pandemic in the country and in the region, mentioning the turning points and the main effects on the national and local economy.…

Student mental health is an issue of great concern for universities, with rising numbers of mental health problems being reported and students reporting issues with accessing support. The current study, using a participatory research framework, investigated the possible barriers preventing students from accessing support, in terms of help-seeking…

Studies of stress and coping effects on college performance have yielded inconsistent results, which might be clarified by stricter adherence to stress theories. Here, university students (n = 1212) were surveyed during their first year, said to be the most stressful. They completed measures of stress overload (the pathogenic state identified by…

In this contribution to the Special Issue of Studies in Higher Education, I describe developments during the COVID-19 pandemic in Dutch higher education along three lines. First, the context is outlined in chronological order. It concerns the evolution of the pandemic in the Netherlands, complemented by the general situation at my own university…