African Higher Education Programme and Provider Mobility Partnerships

Abstract

The international nature of higher education is not new. The development of partnerships to facilitate the international mobility of scholars, students and knowledge has been happening for centuries. But in the last three decades, there has been a powerful transformation in the international landscape of higher education. It is no longer just people who are moving across borders, so are education programmes, providers, projects and policies. Research on student mobility, internal and external to Africa, exists but there is very little analysis on international programme and provider mobility (IPPM). The purpose of this chapter is therefore to explore the scope and scale of IPPM within Africa and with international partners. The focus is primarily on partnership programmes, international branch campuses, franchise arrangements, distance education and international joint universities. In general, the level of IPPM activity in Africa is seen to be moderate. But this is very difficult to assess given the lack of reliable data and the inconsistent use of terms. Nevertheless, preliminary research indicates that IPPM is increasing significantly and most often in a vacuum of necessary policies and regulations by the host African country. An IPPM classification framework is used to explain and give examples of the scope of IPPM activities in Africa. In addition, a brief case study on IPPM activities in Mauritius is provided to illustrate how about 35% of their students have increased access to higher education through IPPM. Another key objective of the chapter is to advocate for the importance of African universities and national governments to develop IPPM policies and data collections system and undertake further research on the benefits, risks and unintended consequences of IPPM.