The more I read, the more I realize how much of our lives are controlled by policies that are for the interest of others. It appears to me that every policy has an underlining mission to look as if it benefits society, but in reality, the mission of the policy is something completely different. In the reading for this week, Internationalizing Higher Education Worldwide: National Policies and Programs, by ACE, American Council for Education, the author tells us in the introduction that the findings in the report are “just the beginning of the story” (p.3) and that much more is yet to be known on “how and why national policies for internationalization are developed, what they focus on , how they are implemented, and what they yield in terms of impact in the short term and long term “ (pp.3-4). I found this line interesting in regards to the title of the report.
As I read through Hans de Wit four categories of rationale, many of the rationales did not mention the idea that internationalization would benefit students learning outcomes, thus giving them greater success in mobility in their own lives. Although many of the policies do benefit students, the reason the policies were implemented in the first place does not appear to come from the need of the student but rather it comes from the need of the government. For example, within the academic rationale, many countries reported not enough space within their universities for their own students, or they were in need of world class research universities in their country. On the economic front, international tuition was a big driver, both for the university itself and for the community within the student lived. Public diplomacy was a driver in the political arena and global problems were mentioned as the reason on the social/cultural perspective.
I was not surprised to see there were not many programs mentioned for the United States after reading last weeks article, but I was surprised at how many recent programs there are within other countries, both inbound and outbound, when it comes to internationalization. Other countries are leading the way. Even if the programs are all a political move, which addresses a whole other area outside Higher Ed, these countries are doing something that is either directly or indirectly benefitting their students. Why the U.S. is not in the game, is another question that we all should be asking ourselves. Or are they, and we just don’t know about it?