Higher education policy and strategies for sustainable development

In recent years, "the principles of sustainable development" have become in the forefront of the agenda of the countries; and it has been the basic principle of policy makers both in European Union and USA, and as well as in the international arena. While achieving sustainable development, education - particularly higher education institutions-play a pivotal role. The importance of the topic can be understood from the declaration of UN, which announced the years of 2005-2014 as the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Nevertheless, even though more than 440 higher education institutions from 50 countries have signed Talloires Declaration, it is only Ankara University from Turkey which signed the declaration for University Leaders for a Sustainable Future-ULSF. Yet, 160 universities from USA have signed the declaration. Hence in order to attract the attention of the higher education policy makers to the topic, this study will provide preliminary suggestions. Therefore, the essential purpose of this conceptual research is to clarify the definition of "higher education for sustainable development", emphasize its importance, and present implementation examples from the world. Besides, the integration of sustainable development principles to the activities of the universities will also be examined within the scope of this study. Furthermore, some initial suggestions for the Turkish higher education are provided in order to maintain sustainable development.