Improve University Governance

Strong university governance practices ensure that universities define and implement their goals; manage their academic programs, student life, and physical, financial, and human resources; and monitor their achievements and results, such as whether programs match market needs and graduate students with needed skills. With a University Governance Screening Card already implemented in 60 universities from six countries (Egypt, Morocco, Palestine, Lebanon, Algeria, and Tunisia) and a regional report, this pillar now includes an online survey for higher education institutions and a databank.

Seek Financial Sustainability

Financially sustainable higher education institutions and systems are equipped to meet growing student demand and weather various economic climates. In partnership with the French Development Agency, the Program held a workshop in January 2011 and launched a report, Breaking Even or Breaking Through, in October 2011.

Internationalize Higher Education

The Program released a report in September 2011 about student mobility trends in and out of the region and how to develop internationalization strategies geared toward improving the skills and employability of students and raise the research and innovation capacity of institutions.

In recent years, enrollment in higher education in MENA has increased significantly. Average enrollment across the region increased 20 to 30 percent between 2000 and 2008. However, although student enrollment numbers are increasing, there is still a gap compared to other, developed countries. In OECD countries, the proportion of the adult population with at least an associate’s degree is 14.5 percent, with countries like Ireland as high as 20 percent.

Higher education has been proven to facilitate economic growth and to encourage innovation, social mobility, and democracy. Having higher education credentials alone, however, is not enough: the labor market must have the flexibility to expand and adapt to accommodate the strengths of the work force. In MENA, however, despite the availability of more skilled workers, the job market has remained limited, and graduates from higher education institutions constitute a larger proportion of the unemployed population than those of faster-growing economies. Youth unemployment rates in MENA are higher than any other region in the world – 21 percent in the Middle East and 25 percent in North Africa – and university graduates with at least an associate’s degree make up nearly 30 percent of the unemployed.

The MENA regional program on higher education recognizes these disparities and seeks to improve post-basic education and related institutions in the region. The mission of the program is to

• Improve employability of tertiary education graduates
• Facilitate mobility of students, teachers and graduates across the region
• Develop analytical tools to improve the management and quality of tertiary education
• Promote knowledge sharing on quality, governance, and financing issues

	University Governance Screening Card The University Governance Screening Card is the product of the higher education program’s (link back to program page) pillar on university governance.
	Resources Includes all the program's publications, tools, blogs, press releases, and events information,.
	Our team and partners The Program team is composed of international researchers and world-class experts on the governance, internationalization, and financing of higher education institutions.