Globalization and the University: Myths and Realities in an Unequal World

How will globalization affect higher education? Will globalization, the scientific community, and the Internet level the playing field in a new age of knowledge interdependence? Or will globalization produce worldwide inequality and the McDonaldization of the university? Is globalization responsible for all of the contemporary pressures on higher education—from “massification” to the growth of the private sector? The answer is a qualified yes to all these questions. This essay “unpacks” the realities of and clarifies the misunderstandings about globalization and internationalization in higher education. It also highlights the disparate effects of these trends on different universities and systems. The Bologna initiatives, for example, require European Union countries to synchronize degree structures. English-speaking countries benefit from the increasing use of that language for science and scholarship. Globalization strongly affects higher education in developing countries— where the bulk of future expansion will occur.1 Globalization poses special challenges—and responsibilities—for Americans. The United States, with the world’s dominant academic system, provides a model that other countries carefully study. Many nations adopt key American innovations—community colleges, the credit system, and doctoral study combining coursework and research, for example. The United States hosts about one-third of the world’s international students, and American universities hire foreigners in large numbers. American academic thinking today influences practice in other countries tomorrow. If we divide higher education into academic centers and peripheries, the United States is by far the most important center. Teachers in American academic institutions must understand how the global system works and ensure that American academic power is not misused. Circumstances beyond the campus and across national borders have always affected universities—a reality that is often forgotten in analyses of 21st century globalization. In turn, deep historical roots also affect the ethos and governance of universities. Of the Western institutions established by 1520, notes Clark Kerr, 85 still exist—the Roman Catholic Church, the British Parliament, several Swiss cantons, and over 70 universities. Of these enduring institutions, the universities have experienced the least change.2 Globalization and the University: Myths and Realities in an Unequal World