Larry D. Lauer

This week the American Council on Education (ACE) launched a Blue Ribbon Panel on Global Engagement. Led by John E. Sexton, president of New York University and chair of the ACE board of directors, the panelists are prominant leaders in higher education from the United States and overseas. They will meet throughout the 2010-11 academic year.

Most experts agree that the globalization of higher education will ultimately touch every academic institution in some way. For many, it could be a real game-changer. The outcomes of the work of this panel will therefore be critically important for all of us in this industry.

Coincidentally, just this week major government cuts in funding for higher education were announced in the UK. Initial reports put them as high as 70 to 80 percent!  This will force a system, that at one time provided higher education as an entitlement to its citizens, to become largely a free market-based system, depending much more on student fees–not unlike the U.S.

So what are the consequences? Higher student fees in the UK are likely to allow some prestige universities to thrive, but others are likely to struggle to make ends meet, and still others might even fail. This means these institutions, each with their own motivations, will begin to look more agressively for new markets.

At minimum, new international reputation-building campaigns, broadened student recruitment initiatives, and accelerated fund raising activities will be launched. High school students in all parts of the U.S. will likely begin to hear more about the economic and educational benefits of an undergraduate education in the UK, and donors will be lured with new naming and recognition opportunities overseas. 

Responding to these and other coming changes around the world will require more than expanding study abroad and making sure that subject areas are taught from an international perspective. This “sea change” will present a whole new set of complex strategic planning challenges.

To remain competitive, or just to meet its’ goals, should my institution plan satellite campuses, institution and/or program partnerships, or expand study abroad into remote and developing countries? What about language and culture challenges?  Do we understand government regulations and political realities in each country? Are there financial or even reputational risks? Are these ventures compatible with our mission and vision?  And, of course, what kind of marketing program will be necessary in each location?

And even if we decide not to operate in other countries,  how will these changes affect us? It’s certainly clear that migratory patterns of students everywhere will change, donors everywhere will be inspired to think more globally, all governments will focus more on science/technology and career education, reputation-building will present new sophisticated challenges, education will be more student fee-based everywhere, and the U.S. will struggle to maintain its market position overall.

It becomes more and more clear every week that academic institutions in all parts of the world will have to consider how these forces of change will affect them.  The UK is just one dramatic example.  There are many more changes in many more places to come. It’s almost an understatement to say that the work of ACE’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Global Engagement is extremly timely!