The purpose of the study is to investigate the institutional policies that contributed to the enhancement of
students’ academic success and educational quality in a Cambodian university. In a context of knowledge-based
economy, higher education plays an important role to develop the citizen physically, mentally, and spiritually as
well as to enhance the economic, social, political and cultural values of the nation. In the aftermath of the civil
war in 1998, the Royal Government of Cambodia has strived to restore its education system in order to be
integrated into the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Community by 2015 through adopting
various strategies and policies to advance educational quality for Cambodia students’ academic success. This
paper will investigate and discuss the status of institutional policies that can facilitate in reforming the
educational system in Cambodian tertiary education. Astin’s theory (1984, 1993, 1999) is adopted to link the idea
of institutional policies and Cambodian student’s academic success; the documents and data of governmental
ministries, development partners, and higher education institutions will be employed in the study of such policies.