Trends around the world in higher education

As the competition in providing quality higher education continues to escalate around the world, national moves need to be considered in the broader context of international higher education. Three interesting trends that have emerged recently include:

• China - visiting international students from outside China will now be required to take language and culture classes. In addition, religious and political activity is prohibited.
• Europe - with full employment and young people's career aspirations a central consideration, a recent survey of Europeans indicates greater support for vocational education programs.
• Germany - referencing skepticism about other countries' ability to measure teaching effectiveness (i.e. U.K and Australia), German higher education officials have rejected proposals to measure faculty proficiency.

These three examples may seem localized to their national context but they may reflect broader questions that all higher education leaders should consider - cultural appropriateness of the learning experience, the purpose of tertiary education, and how to measure the impact of one of the precious investments a young person and her/his family can make.