Obstacles to the Internationalization of Higher Education
by Robyn Tellefsen
If you were to speak with administrators of colleges and universities worldwide, you would discover that "internationalization" ranks high on their priority lists. After all, students need to be prepared for the demands of an interconnected world, and the internationalization of higher education helps produce globally literate citizens. But are higher education institutions able to put their money where their mouth is?
Though each region may use a slightly different definition, generally speaking, the "internationalization of education" can be defined as the process of integrating an international, intercultural, and/or global dimension into the goals, functions (teaching/learning, research, services), and delivery of higher education. That's from the Paris-based International Association of Universities (IAU), an international nongovernmental organization.
A new IAU report, based on survey data collected from 745 institutions in 115 countries in 2009, highlights global trends and regional perspectives in the internationalization of higher education. According to the report, the benefits of internationalization are many. Most regions cited improved international awareness of students and enhanced cooperation and solidarity as key benefits. Colleges and universities in Canada, the United States, and Europe identified enhancing international curricula as a major benefit, while developing countries placed greater emphasis on improvements in their own knowledge-production and research capacities.
In order to work toward the goal of the internationalization of higher education, colleges and universities are integrating a global dimension into their curricula, addressing cultural, ethnographic, geographic, historic, and linguistic issues. The internationalization of higher education also requires building a sense of regional and continental belonging without undermining diversity.
Barriers to Internationalization
Internationalization of higher education is not easily achieved, however. According to IAU, the main obstacle to internationalization is lack of financial resources. Universities worldwide are suffering from a lack of specific internationalization budgets and monitoring systems, perhaps as a result of the world economic crisis.
Many institutions reported that international student mobility policy is a high priority, but the actual level of mobility and scholarship incentives for students remains low, says IAU. Twenty-five percent of universities in Latin America and the Caribbean said they had no funds whatsoever for internationalization. Evidently, when it comes to the primary beneficiaries of internationalization, there's a significant gap between the haves and the have-nots.
Perceived Risk Factors of Internationalization
According to the report, developed regions in general see no risks to the process of internationalization - but developing regions express major concerns. The top three factors of concern to institutions are the perceived risk of commodification / commercialization of education programs, brain drain, and an increase in the number of degree mills and low-quality education providers.
Possible ways to stem the brain drain include requiring students to pay back government loans and reducing the length of time they are permitted to stay abroad. Dual-degree programs are an emerging option, now offered by 50 percent of U.S. universities and 34 percent of universities in Latin America.
No matter where they are in the world, students must have the opportunity to develop a global mindset. But will the rate of the internationalization of higher education be able to keep pace with the demand for a global citizenry? Only time will tell.
