New Typologies for Crossborder Higher Education

Jane Knight

doi:10.6017/ihe.2005.38.7455

Abstract

a common understanding that academic values are the bedrock upon which managerial values are brought into play. Perhaps most enabling of all, we find the entrepreneurial university to be a place that diversifies income to the point where its financial portfolio is not heavily dependent upon the whims of politicians and bureaucrats who occupy the seats of state policy, nor upon business firms and their “commercial” influence, nor even upon student tuition as main support. Funds flow not only from such well-identified sources but also, crucially, from a host of public agencies (other than the coresupport ministry or department) and alumni and other private donors who provide moral and political support as well as direct year-to-year funding and accumulation of endowment. Effective stewardship comes to depend not on the state or on “the market,” but on university self-guidance and self-determination. The entrepreneurial university does indeed provide a new basis for achievement. My qualitative case studies of exemplars of change offer a strong lesson for future research. Concepts induced from exemplary practices are strengthened by the reassurance of solid facts—documented actions taken in defined contexts. More good case studies that lay bare those facts will be needed to further illuminate the character of entrepreneurial universities emerging and evolving at a rapid rate, internationally, in the early years of the 21st century.

Highlights

Given the increase in demand for higher education, there are new providers, new delivery methods, and types of programs
Conventional higher education institutions, both private and public, are seeking opportunities for commercial delivery of education programs in other countries. The majority of these are bona fide institutions that comply with domestic and foreign regulations, and on the increase are rogue or low-quality providers who are not recognized by bona fide accreditation/licensing bodies
The word “provider” is used as a generic term to include all types of higher education institutions as well as companies and networks involved in crossborder education

Summary

Introduction

Given the increase in demand for higher education, there are new providers, new delivery methods, and types of programs. Four key factors are used to describe each category of provider and to distinguish one group from another: whether the provider is public, private, or religious; whether it is nonprofit or for-profit; whether it is recognized by a bona fide national licensing or accrediting body; and whether it is part of the national “home” higher education system.

Results

Conclusion