Kingston University London

Steve Woodfield: Research and Consultancy Projects

Back to Steve's main profile

Current projects (as of August 2009)

• The growth of private and for profit higher education providers in the UK (2009)
  Researchers: John Fielden (CHEMS Consulting), Professor Robin Middlehurst and Steve Woodfield. Commissioned and funded by Universities UK’s Longer Term Strategy Group. The project focuses on the scale and scope of private sector providers in the delivery of higher education in the UK, and will assess how their role might develop in the future.
  
  
• Trends in International Mobility: A comparative study of four European countries (2008–2009)
  Researcher: Steve Woodfield. Commissioned and funded by CIRIUS (part of the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation). Desk-based research on trends in international student mobility at higher education level. The research focuses on a comparative investigation of national strategies and policies and institutional activities in a small selection of European comparator countries of a similar size and profile to Denmark (Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden).

• Responding to Globalisation through Transnational Tertiary Education: Examining Policy and Educational Choices in India (2006–2009)
  Researchers: Professor Robin Middlehurst and Steve Woodfield. Funded by UNESCO and the Commonwealth of Learning (COL). This is an extension of the research project ‘The Role of Transnational, Private and For-Profit Provision in Meeting Global Demand for Tertiary Education: mapping, regulation and impact’ (see below) through developing a case study on the impact of cross-border education in India and writing a policy report on policy issues related to cross-border education.

Completed projects

• An Analysis of the UK’s Competition for International Students from Selected European Countries (2008–2009)
  Researchers: The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education (OBHE) and Professor Robin Middlehurst and Steve Woodfield (Kingston University). Commissioned and funded by the Universities UK Europe Unit and International Units. A study of national and institutional approaches to internationalisation and international student recruitment in seven European countries (France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland). The project report is available on the International Unit website.
  
  
• Universities and international higher education partnerships: making a difference (2008)
  Researchers: Steve Woodfield, Professor Robin Middlehurst and John Fielden (CHEMS Consulting). Funded by Million+. Million+ commissioned this project to identify the range of international partnerships operated by its 29 member institutions and the contributions of such partnerships to universities’ core activities of teaching, research and knowledge transfer. Publications from the study can be found on the Million+ website (PDF).
  
  
• Global Horizons for UK Students: A guide for universities (2007)
  Researchers: John Fielden (CHEMS Consulting), Professor Robin Middlehurst and Steve Woodfield. Commissioned and funded by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). This project focused on finding examples of innovative and successful ways in which English higher education institutions are encouraging and supporting outward student mobility. The project involved interviews with key stakeholders and English higher education institutions to help develop a good practice guide to assist institutions to promote UK student mobility. The study report is available on the Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE) website (PDF).
  
  
• Leadership Foundation Challenges and Themes Research Project (2007–2008)
  Researcher: Steve Woodfield. Commissioned and Funded by the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education (LFHE). An analysis of the current issues and themes in leadership, management and governance in higher education and their relative importance based on published research and a short survey of higher education institutions in the UK.
  
  
• The Composition, Challenges and Changes in Top Team Structures in Higher Education Institutions (2005–2007)
  Researchers: Steve Woodfield and Dr Tom Kennie, Ranmore Consulting and Nottingham Trent University). Funded by the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education (LFHE). This project examined the formation and constitution of "top management team" and senior management structures in UK higher education institutions (HEIs) through case study research in 17 UK universities. The project report can be found on the LFHE website.
  
  
• Responding to the Internationalisation Agenda: Implications for Institutional Strategy and Practice (2005–2006)
  Researchers: Professor Robin Middlehurst and Steve Woodfield. Funded by the Higher Education Academy. This project employed a combination of empirical and desk research to investigate the nature and practice of internationalisation and how this impacts on institutional policy and the educational and administrative activities of UK universities. Using an institutional research approach the researchers tested and adapted a tool originally pioneered by the OECD for reviewing internationalisation strategy and practice. The final project report is available on the HEA website (PDF).
  
  
• The Role of Transnational, Private and For-Profit Provision in Meeting Global Demand for Tertiary Education: Mapping, Regulation and Impact (2002–2003)
  Researchers: Professor Robin Middlehurst and Steve Woodfield.  Funded by UNESCO and the Commonwealth of Learning. This project used a desk research approach to describe and analysing the extent, impact and regulation of transnational private and for-profit provision in tertiary education in four countries (Malaysia, Jamaica, Bulgaria and Bangladesh). The final report and country case studies from this study are available on the COL website.
  
  
• International Commission Project II – Quality in distance Learning: Approaches to the Quality Review of distance-learning in a sample of four countries (2002–2003)  
  Researchers: Professor Robin Middlehurst and Steve Woodfield. Commissioned and funded by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) in the USA. This project focused on investigating national regulatory arrangements in the context of growth in electronically supported learning and in the import and export of education world-wide through the creation of country case studies for Jordan, Malaysia, Australia, Kenya and the UK which were then verified by in-country experts. The project report is available on the CHEA website (PDF).
  
  
• Redesigning Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Using ICT: Balancing Quality, Access and Cost – A Study of the US Pew Grant Program In Course Redesign and its Potential for UK Higher Education (2003)
  Researchers: The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education and Professor Robin Middlehurst and Steve Woodfield (University of Surrey). Funded by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). This project sought the perspectives of academic and professional staff in UK higher education institutions on the potential applicability of principles of the Pew Program in Course Redesign (PCR) – a tool which provides a model for integrating e-learning into the curriculum – to the UK.