World Universities and Cross-Border Higher Education

Abstract

World universities are degree-granting institutions that may be hosted by a country but not designed to share the host country's national or cultural character. Instead, they are intended to concentrate on scholarly themes of global relevance. In addition, there are entities within cross-border higher education which are institutions of higher education that have undergone the 'multinationalization' process. This process involves academic programs and/or institutions from one country which are offered in other countries (Altbach 2004: 3). The development of both types can be traced back to specific instances during periods of colonialization, but the majority proliferated only after the end of World War II. The intent of this presentation is to consider how current geographic, financial, and competitive factors may have affected the establishment of these specific kinds of universities and forms of cross-border higher education. A related study is described which considers the interplay of globalization and internationalization forces upon higher education and identifies a typology of multinationalization programs. It is anticipated that, ultimately, the over-all analysis will raise important issues for consideration by universities interested in developing global themes as well as offshore operations in other countries.