Global perspectives on student affairs: competing institutional logics in massified higher education systems

Massification has transformed higher education from elite to high-participation and, in some contexts, universal systems. This expansion has intensified horizontal differentiation among institutions and vertical stratification of students, resources, and status. This comparative study examines how these forces shape student affairs and services (SAS) across nine systems – Mauritius, Singapore, Cambodia, India, Bangladesh, China, Brazil, South Africa, and South Korea. Drawing on institutional theory, we identify five institutional logics – access, equity, quality, market, and global – local adaptation – and show how they are operationalised and contested across governance, funding, functions, target populations, and professionalisation. Incorporating contemporary political pressures, challenges to academic freedom, and shifts in student mobility, we advance an explanatory typology linking constellations of logics to distinct SAS configurations. Findings reveal how hybrid arrangements can either mitigate or reproduce inequalities. We conclude with context-sensitive policy strategies to rebalance equity and market imperatives while adapting international models to local conditions.