This week’s reading “Internationalizing Higher Education Worldwide” provided a thorough examination of the policies and programs that are currently in place in relation to the internationalization of higher education. By analyzing the programs and policies in a comparative nature it allowed the reader a better understanding of the systems that are in place. By providing real world examples of what is being discussed the reader can 1) conduct his/her own research into the areas discussed and 2) you can see how different countries handle similar policies and programs.
The “four categories of rationales driving country-level efforts toward higher education internationalization…” each have a level of importance. However, I think economic and academic motivations and goals have a stronger influence on why countries decide to pursue internationalization of higher education. Academic motivations or goals target different areas of importance especially for higher education institutions. Economic motivations and goals provide a realistic view as to why higher education internationalizing is important. Political motivations should not be discounted but I think they would be better applied to specific countries and/or regions; countries or regions that view internationalization as tool to strengthen its national security.
As the report moved to the different policy typologies, something that I questioned was how countries with multiple programs ran by the national government or other organizations were able to keep all of their programs funded. The programs and policies that target student mobility inbound and outbound seem to be costly with grant and scholarships available as well as in some cases favorable financial aid policies. These programs can cost specific higher education institutions or countries a lot of money (see Turkey Scholarship program). Is the money funded through private donations, government appropriation, etc. Understanding the funding would have given me more insight to see if these programs or policies are long-lasting.
With all the policies and programs that are in place to increase student and scholar mobility it is important that the opportunities are shared with students who would be considered non-mobile. One is to assume this would be 1st generation minority students who come from economic disadvantaged households. Ensuring that these students know that there are scholarships available to allow them to travel internationally would greatly increase the number of students who are abroad which is the goals of many of the policies and programs we read about. Making sure that scholars (professors) that teach abroad include minorities and women allow the visiting institutions a new perspective on teaching.