- Development: Changing University Business Model
- Saudi Arabia: New Universities Coming Up
- EU: Student Recruitment in EU
- UK: Globalisation in HigherEd
The current university operating model – a combination of research and learning, degree programmes, and schools organised into faculties – has remained virtually unchanged since the 18th century. The business model is based on a cost function of that era, where high investment in arduous travel and the necessity of physical presence for access to both teachers and books empowered the “bundling” of courses to amortise the costs of physically attending a university. Over the decades many refinements have gone into what constitutes a “good bundle” of courses. But the internet, by virtue of being global, instantaneous, mobile, social and free, has unleashed a dizzying array of learning modalities that were not previously possible and essentially disrupt this bundle.
Giving another boost to the Kingdom’s higher education, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has ordered the establishment of three new universities in Jeddah, Bisha and Hafr Al-Baten. It brings the total number of public universities in the Kingdom to 28. Higher Education Minister Khaled Al-Anqari said King Abdulaziz University’s branches in north Jeddah as well as the colleges in Khulais and Kamil would be brought together under the new Jeddah University, which will have a total of 18 colleges and institutes.Makkah Gov. Prince Mishaal bin Abdullah thanked the Saudi leadership for approving the new universities. “This will help Saudi students to obtain higher education without any difficulty.”
The OECD reports that Germany is the leading European source of international students, with an estimated 132,000 students abroad in 2011. Along with being a significant source of outbound students, Germany is also an important destination in its own right. University World News reports that “in 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2013 their shares of overall student numbers stood at 23%, 26%, 25%, and 26% respectively”, according to the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). As these figures illustrate, Germany’s mobility policies balance a focus on the international recruitment students and staff as well as “encouraging and supporting domestic students and academic staff to study or work abroad.” The country’s recruitment strategies are closely tied in with the national cultural, trade, and international development policies which enable an integrated framework to increase the effectiveness of student recruitment.
Inside Higher Ed is today releasing a free compilation of articles — in print-on-demand format — about the globalization of higher education. The articles reflect long-term trends in the recruitment of foreign students, study abroad, internationalization of the curriculum, online education and more. The articles aren’t today’s breaking news, but reflect long-term trends and some of the forward-looking strategies that colleges are adopting.
