Hello! I am Sima Saran Ahuja and this is my fourth session in the MSED Higher Administration program. I am General Counsel of the Metropolitan College of New York. Coming from an immigrant family that came to this country to pursue higher education, I am interested in the history and current trends of international higher education. More importantly, as a member of a college that is increasing international enrollment and very focused on growing these numbers, there are several aspects of the trends that impact my role. Previously, I was in CUNY’s office of General Counsel and both my parents are long-time CUNY professors. I am a graduate of Barnard College and the B.N. Cardozo School of Law.
As an introduction, the readings this week did a good job laying out the past, present and future of international higher education in terms of the international political and academic landscape. It was also useful to get an understanding of the concept of internationalization which rooted the readings and I am sure will be a guiding principle in the weeks to come. The readings seem to break down into three categories: (i) Altbach who provides a brief history of higher education and explains the concept of internationalization; (ii) Green who addresses the US’s explicit role in the history and future trajectory; and (iii) Oxford University Press’s detailed and fascinating look at current trends in international higher education. I am excited to explore these trends in-depth in this class.
In Altbach’s article, I was intrigued to review the history of international higher education prior to the 1970’s – a watershed moment for Asian students venturing abroad to pursue education and to note that the history and trends date back to WWI and carry real relevance to goals of international peace and solidarity signaled by the establishment of institutions such as the UN. The final question posed by Altbach is an unsettling one – whether current global conflicts involving religious fundamentalism and nationalism will harm international higher education strides. Statistics cited in Green’s article suggest that current conflicts in troubled regions are in fact where the largest segments of international students hail from – South Asia, China and Nigeria. I look forward to exploring what Green’s statistics reveal about the pessimism underlying Altbach’s premise that global conflict may curtail higher education international pursuits. I agree that the internationalization of higher education may be at a critical crossroad.
The Oxford University Press review of international trends in higher education was instructive. While the review was undertaken with Oxford in mind, I think the trends are relevant to other markets and institutions looking to break into the international higher education market or sustain growth in that area. Given Green’s assertion that the US is lagging behind in internationalization, the Oxford discussion of trends seem particularly relevant and informative in understanding why and how to reverse the US trends. I am curious to learn more about international branch campuses in non-traditional countries, particularly with respect to current viability and success rates, e.g. Johns Hopkins in Malaysia. I am also eager to learn more about the concept and trends of widening access through innovations such as MOOCs (their apparent rise and decline) as well as internationalizing access to research and the potential impacts on quality of research and intellectual property rights.
Hi Sima! I’m interested as well in the open access of research materials, but it’s also interesting that it would just be research but other things as well, like artworks and other artifacts and manuscripts. I think if it’s fine with the original author, I think there should not be too much of an issue in terms of intellectual property rights. And if done properly, the quality of research should be sustained as well. And to be honest, there’s already research in existence that claim to be of good quality but there is usually bias that needs to be considered when analyzing research. One should be critical of the research anyways. And the expansion of international campuses to non-traditional countries made me wonder what would constitute as non-traditional. The affects of the current conflicts will definitely have some effect in my opinion and hopefully we’ll delve more into what the effects will be.
Hi Sima — Thanks so much for the post! I, too, was interested in learning more about the history of internationalization of higher education that Altbach wrote about. As an undergrad History major, I was particularly interested in the Cold War era. I specifically remember one of my professors giving a lecture on the “Cold War University”, which discussed the various ways — from research to promoting a specific ideology — that higher education was involved in the Cold War.
I agree with Altbach that higher education still plays a crucial role in helping to promote global peace. Where I differ, however, is that recent religious, ideological, and nationalistic movements threaten the global flow of students and information. While it may not seem like it from reading apocalyptic headlines in the news, we are living through one of — if not the — most peaceful times in global history. Certainly poverty, war, climate change, and terrorism are threats to internationalization, but war on a large scale like the wars of the 20th century are unlikely to happen any time soon. When we think how far we have come from the end of WWII — in terms of global prosperity, literacy rates, and technology — there’s never been a better time for internationalization. Of course, the issue is much more complex than a 100-word blog response (okay, I’m probably at at least 200 words!), but overall I feel very optimistic about the internationalization of higher education.
Hi Sima,
I was in agreement with you about “whether current global conflicts involving religious fundamentalism and nationalism will harm international higher education strides” until I read Jen’s reply to you. I do worry about international terrorism all over the world. When the Paris attacks happened, I knew a student over there who wanted to come home. I know many people who do not like to even travel abroad for holidays because of the threat of terrorism, but I also know many people who wont let anyone or anything stop them. When I read Jen’s response ” we are living through one of — if not the — most peaceful times in global history”, I had to stop and think – Are we? You have brought up a good point Jen. Thank you both.
Deb