Leading academic change - successful examples of how universities can respond to the demands of new educational policies and current needs of employers

Recent socio-economic developments have increased the demand for a highly skilled workforce and thus for higher qualifications and education. Access to higher education must therefore be made more widely available and support structures need to be refined, especially for those who have participated less in higher education in the past, for example, adult learners, vocational learners and/or employed learners. At the same time, higher education institutions have to adapt to these new student groups, their needs and the new economic and political demands. To do this, universities need to respond with necessary structural changes in order to put a strong focus on lifelong learning specific to the needs of today’s knowledge-based society. The paper describes the ways in which four different European universities within various country-specific frameworks have reacted to meet the needs of our knowledge based society and what implications can be drawn from this perspective for change management at universities. Each university responded in a different way to meet the demands of new educational policies and the needs of employers for academically qualified workers. However three critical success factors for the successful implementation of lifelong learning programmes could be identified. There must be an institutional-wide and highly visible commitment to LLL, firmly anchored in the organisational structures of the institution. There must be effective support structures for non-traditional students as well as learning methods and learning flexibility designed to meet the needs of new target groups. Finally, Higher Education Institutions must create a positive open learning environment, open to the outside world, to business and industry, and with cooperation and openness within.