The article examines the engagement of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) with the higher education sector. Detailed empirical case studies probe the ultimate failure to launch of the OECD’s Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes initiative, as well as the recent demise of the long-established Institutional Management in Higher Education programme and the development of a new initiative on the evaluation of higher education system performance. The analysis is informed by a theoretical framework drawn from the wider international organization literature, focusing on internal organizational dynamics and the manner in which international organizations seek to construct their external authority. A complex portrait of the OECD as a policy actor correspondingly emerges, focused on agenda-setting within the organization in terms which highlight the interplay of organizational, governmental and stakeholder interests. This is further suggestive of a broader research agenda exploring emerging international-level policy processes in higher education.

本文考察了经济合作与发展组织 (OECD) 与高等教育部门的合作。详细的实证案例研究探讨了经合组织高等教育学习成果评估倡议最终未能启动，以及最近成立的高等教育机构管理计划的消亡以及一项关于高等教育评估的新倡议的发展。教育系统绩效。该分析基于从更广泛的国际组织文献中汲取的理论框架，重点关注内部组织动态以及国际组织寻求构建其外部权威的方式。经济合作与发展组织作为政策参与者的复杂画像相应地出现了，侧重于组织内的议程设置，强调组织、政府和利益相关者利益的相互作用。这进一步暗示了一个更广泛的研究议程，探索高等教育中新兴的国际政策进程。