Leadership and Management of HEIs using Strategic Risk-based Approach for Sustainable Academic Excellence in Higher Education

Higher Education Council (HEC) and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) manage academic excellence through continuous reviews to obtain national and international recognitions. While planning strategically to obtain academic excellence, there are various risks towards sustainable excellence in teaching, learning, and assessment, which if not managed, will negatively affect the performance.In Bahrain, public universities suffer from two major risks: financial risk, and mass education. Financially, students pay about 4% of the total tuition fee, where most of the university’s budget is subsidized by the government. Academically, mass education resulted in a vast increase in the student-to-faculty ratio, affecting the quality of teaching, learning, and assessment.HEC regulates the operation of private universities through defined policies and procedures to maintain and sustain academic excellence. However, key matters such as approving new programs, recruiting key management academic members, conducting workshops and conferences, require a thorough involvement of the HEC, which delays the process, hence affecting the management of operations at the university. In addition, three national reviews fatigue the academic members and misplace their concentration on direct academic matters.Through interviews with key figures in the Higher Education Sector including leadership roles at HEIs and HEC, a group of risks were identified, who highlighted major risks such as actions affecting reputation risks, inefficient business model risks, mass education risks, long approval processes, repeated recognition, and accreditation requirements. In the light of a risk-based approach, this paper will highlight the risks that could suffer academic excellence at the universities. Recommendations will be placed at the HEI and HEC level to maintain sustainable academic excellence in higher education.