TRENDS IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE AMERICAS, EUROPE AND ASIA AND PIECING TOGETHER THE KEY SUCCESS FACTORS AND TOXIC BLIND CORNERS

Abstract

The main thrust of this research was to contribute to theory building in the Theory of Higher Education (PPT) and their applicability in Oman and globally looking at the broader issues of students, academic work, and the place for higher education in society. The research explored gaps in knowledge regarding this theory as a contribution to knowledge, and in this instance, the Oman and global higher education industry was the epicentre of the research and was expected to meet foremost the needs of industry and government as employers of graduated students, then the needs of students and society in knowledge and innovation. This research was conceptual research using literature review only. A barrier is anything that prevents the system from achieving its goal likegetting enough students, doing academic work and finally poor resourcing. The main reasons giving rise to this research were the facts that some colleges and universities in the world faced challenges in assessment, quality, graduate employability and suitability for industry. The main objective of this research was to contribute to theory building in the Theory of Higher Education and identify critical success factors. The secondary objective was employability of graduates as the end product, maximising knowledge creation and innovation. Qualitative research method in the form of conceptual research was used in this research. The main findings were that lack of practicals/diverse teaching methods, lack of compulsory internship, unfair assessment, balancing classes with free time, the need for diversity in terms of faculty, uncommitted students, incompetent faculty, outdated syllabus, students from high schools not being college ready, graduates not matching industry requirements were the main issues.