Assisting the Development of the Global Network of Universities

Stuart Umpleby,Professor of George Washington University School of Business

and

Konstantin Mekhonoshin,Associate Professor, Siberian Institute of Law, Economics, and Management;

Irkutsk State University; University of Maryland University College

Trends that are creating a global network of universities

• The internet

• The Bologna Process

• Faculty and student exchange programs

• International travel

• Widespread use of the English language

• Reduced ideological competition

What the internet makes possible

• Much easier access to a great deal of information via the world wide web

• The possibility to work with scholars anywhere in the world as easily as with colleagues at the same university

• The ability to offer classes to students not located in the same city

How the internet is being used

• Cooperation on research and co-authoring of papers by researchers in more than one country

• Distance education where students and professors can be in various countries

• Administrative cooperation on conferences, professional societies, and exchange programs

Regions and Countries

Regions Countries

Africa Congo, Nigeria, South Africa

China

East Asia Japan, Myanmar, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam

Europe Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, UK

Latin America Brazil, Columbia, Mexico

Middle East Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Turkey

North America Canada, United States

Oceania Australia, Indonesia, Philippines

South Asia Bangladesh, India, Pakistan

Number of PC Users

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

Afr

ica

Sou

th A

sia

Mid

dle

Eas

t

Oce

ania

Latin

Am

eric

a

Chi

na

Eas

t A

sia

Eur

ope

Nor

th A

mer

ica

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Total PCs in Millions

Year

Region

Africa

South Asia

Middle East

Oceania

Latin America

China

East Asia

Europe

North America

SOURCE: Yearbook of Statistics, Telecommunication Services, Chronological Time Series 1990-1999, International Telecommunication Union

Total Internet Users

The rate of increase has

been phenomenal after

1994

North America, Europe and East Asia are the top three

China, Oceania, Latin America

and South Asia also have a

high growth rateAn increase in every region

But the rate is lower and it

started late

The graph begins from 1990

1990

1993

1996

1999

Mid

dle

Ea

st

Afr

ica

So

uth

Asi

a

La

tin

Am

eri

ca

Oce

an

iaC

hin

aE

ast

Asi

aE

uro

pe

No

rth

Am

eri

ca

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Total Internet Users in Millions

Year

Region

Middle East

Africa

South Asia

Latin America

Oceania

China

East Asia

Europe

North America

SOURCE: Yearbook of Statistics, Telecommunication Services, Chronological Time Series 1990-1999, International Telecommunication Union

The Bologna Process

• Is creating common course and degree structures

• Is making it easier to transfer credits from one university to another

• Is facilitating student and faculty exchanges

• Is spreading from Western Europe into Eastern Europe and other countries

Faculty and student exchanges

• The number of exchange programs is increasing – Junior Faculty Development Program, Bradley Program, and Ron Brown Program in the U.S.

• Some universities in the U.S., the U.K. and Germany allow students to receive degrees from two universities for a few years to establish a degree program

Likely benefits from strengthening universities

• Improved international understanding

• More rapid economic development

• A more skilled labor force

• More educated citizens to create stable democracies

• More scientific advances created by more scientists

International activities of universities

• Provide overseas experiences for students• Conduct joint research programs with

professors in other countries• Help other universities establish or improve

their degree programs• Establish campuses in several countries,

thus increasing competition in higher education

Interpretations of the “global network of universities”

• Connecting universities to the internet and providing distance education

• Increasing standardization in course credits and degree programs

• International cooperation in teaching courses

• International collaboration on research

Sources of funds for universities

• Charge tuition

• Begin an endowment

• Submit more applications for research grants

• Support “observer consulting”

Examples of “observer consulting”

• The World Bank builds a road or bridge using an international contractor and “hires” a local civil engineering professor to observe

• A local sociologist or anthropologist is also hired to observe effects on the local people

• Businesses also hire local professors to observe and then teach current methods

Universities Expanding Overseas

• Development of Distance Education

• Cost Minimization Strategies

• Teaching outsourcing

Examples of outsourcing teaching

• University of Maryland University College and the Siberian-American Faculty of Management

• University of Southern Queensland and the Siberian-American Faculty of Management

Reasons to outsource teaching to foreign professors

• Expand the number of potential instructors• Lower costs by hiring instructors who are

willing to work for less than Western professors

• Hire professors who know both English and the home country language

• Increase the number of students who enroll for courses

Benefits of outsourcing teaching

• Students will have more educational options to choose from

• Students will have access to current knowledge from Western universities

• Faculty will improve their skills and knowledge by using Western syllabi

• International faculty will receive higher wages and hence continue as professors

Reform of universities

• More faculty oversight and governance• Increased demands from tuition-paying

students for quality instruction• More opportunities for students to evaluate

the quality of instruction• Higher faculty salaries• Less corruption, such as professors selling

grades to students

Prepared for the conference on the Global Integration of Graduate Programs

Irkutsk, Russia

October 3-8, 2005

www.gigp.org