OLPD5702: Higher Education in Global Contexts

This course is an introductory overview of higher education in the international context and the processes of internationalization in which higher education institutions engage. It addresses contemporary issues facing regions, countries, and higher education institutions across the world and focuses on how higher education institutions approach their global work. The outcomes sought for students in this course include the following: Understanding of broad historical events, including the political, cultural, religious, psychological, and economic factors that shaped higher education in regions and countries across the world; Knowledge about the role of the federal government in shaping the structure of the higher education system in specific countries; Understanding of the process of internationalization as it relates to institutions across the world; Identification of the motivating factors that influence international activity related to higher education institutions; Identification of the cultural and sociopolitical factors that drive internationalization in higher education institutions. No single course can address all of the topics related to international higher education. In this course, the following seven primary questions serve as the focus for an analysis of international higher education: 1) What are the most significant historical factors that shaped higher education in a specific country, and to what extent do those country-specific historical factors help understand higher education in the region? 2) What is the role of the federal government in a country, and to what extent are within-country differences analogous to differences among states in the United States? 3) How is higher education financed within a country, and are there regional economic forces that affect countries in the region? 4) What is the structure of higher education in the country (e.g., public institutions, private non-profit institutions, and for-profit institutions)? 5) What sociocultural, political, and institutional aspects of institutions’ global initiatives.

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