Welcome to the Spring 2016 course on International Higher Education (PAF 9399) at Baruch College.

This hybrid course provides a comparative perspective on international higher education at two primary levels-policy developments and institutional practices. At the policy level, students will be able to identify and analyze diverse contexts and approaches for education systems. At the institutional level, students will understand the constraints and choices that define various internationalization strategies.

My name is Rahul Choudaha, and I specialize in research and consulting on global higher education at DrEducation. I’m the principal coach of interEDGE.org, a training and coaching service focused on global talent development. I’m a frequent contributor to Huffington Post and University World News. I’m actively engaged with the profession of international education, and I have chaired or presented over 100 sessions at professional conferences and has been quoted in global media including the BBC, Time, NPR and The Wall Street Journal.

Previously, I worked for over seven years at World Education Services (WES) in New York City. As the Chief Knowledge Officer and Senior Director of Strategic Development, I raised organization profile, built research capabilities, deepened institutional relationships and launched innovative services. Before Baruch, I had taught a graduate courses in International Higher Education at New York University. I’m serving as the Past-Chair of NAFSA’s International Education Leadership Knowledge Community of senior international educators.

I hold a doctorate in higher education from the University of Denver. Before coming to the US, I had earned a master’s degree in management and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from India.

For the first week, we will start with introductions about the learners and the context of the course. You will write your first blog post combining two aspects:
1. Brief introduction about yourself (education, experience, professional interests, etc.)
2. Blog post based on following three readings available on BlackBoard. Some of the questions to think while writing reflection blog post are–what concepts and definitions have been discussed here? Do you agree or disagree with the readings? Why or why not? What sparked your interest and curiosity?
– Altbach, Internationalization and Global Tension
– Green, Is the United States the Best in the World
– Oxford, International Higher Ed Trends

Please note the timelines for Week 1:

Online blog post#1, due Monday, Feb/01 by 12 noon, 4 points

Online response, due Thursday, Feb/04 by 12 noon, 3 points

Look forward to an engaging learning experience for the class.

Rahul
Dr. Rahul Choudaha