Higher Education Leadership Competency Framework in Malaysia: A Refinement

Abstract

This paper proposes a leadership competency framework for higher education institutions in Malaysia. It presents a two-year development process on the leadership competency in order to address the issues in identifying competent leaders in higher education institutions in Malaysia. This study utilizes a qualitative approach to achieve the research objectives. Specifically, an exploratory case study of a small unit under the Ministry of Higher Education in Malaysia is the focus of this paper. The study demonstrates that the existing leadership framework in higher education institutions needs to be refined to accommodate the demand changes. The practical implication of this paper is to provide an understanding on possible alternatives to the existing leadership competency framework in promoting excellence in all spheres of higher education, and academic excellence in particular. This paper provides a refined leadership competency framework specifically for higher education institutions in Malaysia.