The World View

Peru is one of the last countries in South America to implement an accreditation program for higher education. And the experience has been different than elsewhere.

On November 11-12, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) held a prominent conference in Delhi on Strategies for Expansion of Indian Higher Education. Listening to the discussions there (and at a very successful entrepreneurial private university near Delhi) made for a sharp contrast with the discussions I heard when visiting Indian public universities. Each side has its own strong storyline or worldview about higher education and appropriate policy for it. Simplifying on both ends, we can portray one side’s vision as close to Wall Street, the other’s to Occupy Wall Street.

In early October 2011 the seminar, “Network for Organizations Managing Higher Education, Research and Capacity Building Programs for Developing Countries” was held in Norway to discuss issues of harmonization under the theme of “Coordination and Harmonization of International Aid Programs.” The network is a group of European organizations committed to developing higher education and capacity building in developing countries with the aim of harmonizing and coordinating the programs they implement.

The good news is that at several public universities in Brazil, students are being allowed space in the curriculum to add classes of their own choosing to the pre-defined program of study. Okay, most of these choices must be made within their area of study. But there is also an allowance to choose a certain number of credits from any degree program offered at the university. That’s where the good news ends

Recent research concerning higher education in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, China, India) reflects as many differences as there are in economic models and cultures But one similarity among these emerging economic powerhouses is the urgent need to improve academic culture. All four countries aspire to being recognized as home to world-class research-focused universities, but this class of institution requires a vibrant, merit-based academic culture.

A few nights ago I was sitting at the dinner table with colleagues from Brazil trying to explain the US higher education system. You never realize how complicated US higher education is until you try to explain it to someone. What does it mean to be a private university in the US?

Recent events in Chile have again drawn attention to student movements. Although current political activity is less dramatic in Argentina, the debate about activism at public universities in the media and public opinion has been sparked as a result of El Estudiante (The Student), a recently released independent Argentine film.

The fall in enrolment levels in Poland expected for 2025 is the highest in Europe, and comparable in the OECD...