Whether universities can survive as critical organisations in the current time is an open question which this volume seeks to address. The book examines particular aspects of three main themes: governance, critical regulation and regulated criticism; growth, equality, movement and instability in higher education systems; and teaching and learning. Topics range from 'University Futures' to an examination of governance by procedure and the loss of the social process of the university; a discussion of the meaning of academic freedom; and approaches to managerialism. Quality management is discussed, along with the question of whether European Liberal Education actually exists. Various aspects of the theme of teaching and learning are examined, from student participation in out-of-class activities, to the role of Centres of Excellence, and a consideration of widening participation. The book is international in its reach, and addresses the continuing dilemmas faced in higher education systems, within Europe and beyond.

Acknowledgements; Introduction; The University as a Critical Institution? An Introduction; Part 1: The Contemporary University: Governance and Organisational Futures; Can the University Be a Liveable Institution in the Anthropocene?; Hard and Soft Managerialism in Portuguese Higher Education Governance; Understanding the Changes of the Higher Education Governance in Poland and Ukraine: Institutional Analysis; What Does Academic Freedom Mean for Academics? A Case Study of the University of Bologna and the National University of Singapore; Part 2: Widening Participation, Curricular Innovation, Research Policy; How Can We Widen Participation in Higher Education? The Promise of Contextualised Admissions; Liberal Education Under Financial Pressure: The Case of Private German Universities; Heterogeneous Responses of Portuguese Polytechnics to New Research Policy Demands; Part 3: Higher Education Policies and Practices on Teaching Quality and Excellence, Research and the Student Experience; The Perceptions of Quality Management by Universities' Internal Stakeholders: Support, Adaptation or Resistance?; Internationalization - A Tool to Enhance Intercultural Competence in Higher Education?; University Student Participation in Out-of-Class Activities: Consequences for Study Career and Academic Achievement; Unravelling Tacit Knowledge: Engagement Strategies of Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning; List of Contributors.