New Typologies for Crossborder Higher Education

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 core-support 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-determi-nation. 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 universi-ties emerging and evolving at a rapid rate, internationally, in the early years of the 21st century. G iven the increase in demand for higher education, there are new providers, new delivery methods, and types of programs. These new providers include media companies such as Pearson (U.K.), Thomson (Canada); multinational companies such as Apollo (USA), Raffles (Singapore), and Aptech (India); corporate universities such as those run by Motorola and Toyota, and networks of universities, profession-al associations, and organizations. Generally, these new com-mercial providers are mainly occupied with teaching/training or offering services and do not focus on research per se. They can complement, cooperate, compete, or simply coexist with the traditional public and private higher education institutions with the traditional mandate of teaching, research, and out-reach. It is not just for-profit companies that are becoming increas-ingly interested in commercial crossborder initiatives. Conventional higher education institutions, both private and public, are also 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 (where they exist), but also on the increase are rogue or low-quality providers who are not recognized by bona fide accreditation/licensing bodies. Another worrisome development is the mushrooming of " degree mills " operating around the world. Many of these ventures are nothing more than web-based companies that are selling certificates based on " life experiences " and are not delivering education pro-grams at all. The expansion in number and type of entities that are pro-viding education courses and programs across borders is caus-ing some confusion. This also applies to the increasing diver-sity in delivery modes. The general state of flux may indicate progress and innovation, but it also begs for some kind of clas-sification system or typology to make sense of the new context of crossborder education.