Deliver

How do universities measure success? Should 'return on involvement' be considered alongside 'return on investment'? How can institutions distinguish themselves from each other? What measures and indicators should be in place to evaluate their effectiveness? How do universities measure impact and what do they benchmark against? How can institutions provide strategic resources to students and faculty to increase their knowledge of the world around them? Are countries and universities being unrealistic in their expectations of rankings? Do rankings and benchmarking help institutions make evidence-based policy decisions?

Universities depend on engaged, motivated and skilled staff to achieve success. The ACU is committed to supporting its members through its Professional Networks in research management, human resource management, PR and communications, libraries and information, graduate employment, and university extension. These Networks offer in-depth interaction between individuals, enabling them to share good practice and gauge their work among peers.

Performance and positioning are two key issues faced by modern universities. Our Strategic Management Programme assesses and enhances good practice within a cohort of institutions by looking at institutional improvement rather than competitive rankings. Distinctiveness in higher education is a key part of the university experience, and the ACU aims to help institutions grow and gain knowledge on how to position themselves both domestically and internationally.

Higher education is rapidly expanding and becoming more international: the market for students and staff is a global one; research funds are increasingly allocated on an international, collaborative basis; academic reputations are built on global connections; and neither innovation nor good practice stops at national borders. As tertiary education moves ever higher up the development and economic agendas, the Association of Commonwealth Universities' experience in fostering partnerships between developed and developing country universities has and will always be seen as a relevant and important mainstay.