Internationalisation of higher education: students and institutional mobility

Abstract

Internationalisation of education involves the movement of education providers through the establishment of subsidiaries, franchises, campuses and twinning programmes across countries; the delivery of education services through online distance programmes over the internet; the cross-border movement of teachers, students and researchers; the standardisation of curricula and pedagogies and the harmonisation of standards across countries. All these forms of internationalisation have assumed importance for various reasons. Growing affluence and aspirations in the developing world alongside capacity constraints have led to increased demand for higher education. With privatisation and foreign direct investment (FDI) liberalisation in the higher education sector, providers have entered other markets and are engaging through different forms of partnership across borders. Technological advances have made possible new forms of cross-border engagement, including distance courses, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and support services. Bilateral cooperation arrangements between countries in education and research are facilitating the movement of students, researchers and educators. All these forms of engagement are covered under the four modes of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in the WTO, although the sector remains the least committed among all sectors under the GATS due to concerns over the commercial implications of internationalisation in what is considered a public good.1