The Higher Education (HE) landscape has undergone tremendous changes in recent years. The changes within the past decade involve governance, funding, the number and type of students, and type of academic programme. Key among the issues driving the changes in the way Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) operate is the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 17 SDGs and the African Union's Agenda 2063 impose obligations on HEIs to pursue innovative projects and programmes that support the sustainable growth of HEIs. The Strategic Plan of an HEI should drive such an agenda.

It is said that the HE enrolment rate globally has doubled in the last 20 years, rising from 19% to 38% between 2000 and 2018. Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing a similar increase in enrolment. However, expansion in the number of HEIs is insufficient to match the demand created by a growing young population and shifts in employment options and requirements. In addition, the student population is also getting more diverse; thus, demanding flexible education models and underrepresented student support services. The high cost of HE in most countries, coupled with the time requirements of traditional degree programmes has resulted in the drive for HEls to invest in strategies to attract adult learners and serve non- traditional students, such as part-time, distance and online learners. HEIs offer such alternative education delivery models to meet the academic goals of students. The need to target international students and increase their enrolment and attract high- calibre staff requires innovative marketing strategies by HEIs.

Another factor that has influenced changes in HEI is the skills gap which has widened in the past two decades. Graduates from these institutions are expected to have marketable skills to meet the needs of the employment landscape with the tightening career demands. There is also a change in student demographics, cultural environment, and entrepreneurial norms. Thus, HEIs are expected to emphasise workplace skills through experiential learning opportunities and impact 21 Century skills. This has contributed to the drive towards increasing Universities of Applied Sciences, which are expected to focus on practical workplace skills rather than traditional Universities. There is also an increasing demand to incorporate virtual reality into pedagogical approaches to promote increased engagement and motivation, exploratory and contextualised learning, and experiential learning opportunities that may otherwise be inaccessible.

While delivering on the mandate of teaching and training students, there has been an increase in the need for HEIs to improve their research output and consultancy to impact society. The public value paradigm requires HEls to serve society in the best possible way. Thus, the concept of research-intensive Universities has been adopted by many HEls globally. This is also driven by international pressure and competition, as seen in rankings. This is again linked to financial management as many institutions work to attract large research grants with the added goal of raising funding for the running of institutions.

Public Universities globally have had to be innovative to meet the funding gap, which has widened in most counties. In places where funding has been mainly through Students' fees, further sources of funding have become necessary; thus, also giving birth to the concept of Entrepreneurial Universities. There is a growing need for alternate funding options other than state funding through research and innovation opportunities, unique external partnerships, and the development of innovative academic programmes. In addition, innovative fund-raising campaigns through individuals and alumni networks and associations have been intensified.

Since 2020, COVID-19 pandemic has been transforming the HE landscape. Most Universities report a significant effect of COVID-19 on inbound students and staff mobility and, therefore, have seen the need to develop and implement a response plan to the outbreak. There is evidence of robust and multi-faceted communication efforts being undertaken by institutions across the globe and a strong desire for better guidance at the national level as universities work to navigate the many dimensions of this situation. Universities are also seeking access to good practices modelled by other HEIs. Crisis response, longer-term planning in the face of Uncertainty, partnership management, technology solutions, and more effective communication processes with relevant authorities are among the key focal points for the future.

The key issues driving change in the HE landscape globally include the demand for diversity (profiling, programme variety), internationalisation, accountability, performance (accreditation, rankings, performance agreements), competition (for students, staff, managers), cooperation (networks with industry), and application of ICT (educational innovation, embracing artificial intelligence for learning) as these HEls work to contribute to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

OVERVIEW OF TERTIARY EDUCATION IN GHANA

The role of tertiary education in economic development cannot be over-emphasised. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (as cited in Bawakyillenuo et al, 2013) gave four means by which tertiary education contributes to socio-economic development: the formation of human capital (primarily through teaching); building of knowledge bases (primarily through research and knowledge development); dissemination and use of knowledge (through interaction with knowledge users); and the maintenance of knowledge (through inter-generational storage and transmission of knowledge). These actions are imperative in achieving the United Nations' Agenda 2030, the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the African Charter on Human and People's Rights. Article 17 of the Charter advocates that every individual shall have the right to education.

The 1992 Constitution of Ghana emphasises the need to make higher education accessible to all based on capacity by every appropriate means and, in particular, by the progressive introduction of free education. It further states that the State shall, subject to the availability of resources, provide equal access to equivalent university education, emphasising science and technology (Ghana Constitution, 1992, Article 25, 1C). The tertiary education sector in Ghana, as with the general education sector, comprises both public and private institutions.