OECD (in cooperation with the World Bank), Cross-border Tertiary Education: A Way towards Capacity Development. Paris: August 2007. ISBN: 978-92-640-3849-3. Pages: 200.

Cross-border higher education is emerging to become a fascinating but very complex phenomenon. The mobility of students, professors, knowledge and even values has been part of higher education for centuries, but it has recently grown at an unprecedented pace. The last two decades have seen a significant growth in the mobility of higher education programmes and providers through physical and virtual modes of delivery. This presents many new opportunities among which are increased access to higher education, strategic alliances between countries and regions, as well as the expansion of human resource and institutional capacity. Parallel to these opportunities are an equal number of challenges: a potential increase in low quality or rogue providers, a lack of recognition of foreign qualifications by domestic employers or education institutions, along with elitism and the tensions it creates. In many cases, these new trends lead countries to revisit different aspects of their tertiary education policy, especially regulatory frameworks for quality assurance and private higher education.

The purpose of this book is to cast light on these opportunities and challenges, especially for developing countries willing to leverage cross-border higher education as a tool for development. It discusses the concept of capacity-building through cross-border education, emphasising the critical role of quality assurance and trade negotiations. The publication should be of particular interest to both education policy makers and the myriad stakeholders in higher education from developing countries.

For more information on the book and how to order it, visit the OECD Europe website.

OECD