Curricular Joint Ventures: A New Chapter in US Cross-Border Education?

Abstract

For universities in industrialized nations such as the United States, globalization poses relatively little threat and offers many benefits. This article identifies and describes one trend emerging from globalization — how American colleges and universities are leveraging their curricula internationally through joint ventures between universities or between universities and other partners such as corporations, or non-profit or non-governmental organizations, that result in new academic programs each partner alone does not offer. It discusses US institutions’ hunt for revenue, prestige and quality and the motivations for such international activity. It describes a range of international curricular joint ventures using different models and with varying motivations. However, for most US institutions, cross-border education is subservient to other campus priorities. Although one could guess that inter-institutional collaboration will be an important strategy to maximize resources and to gain access to the global market place, the jury is still out. It is also not clear if US institutions will become more outward looking both in their academic and entrepreneurial ventures.