The "Subprime" Market and International Higher Education: Apples and Apples?

From Philip G. Altbach in International Higher Education, an interesting and intertaining comparison and perspective: It may be illuminating to compare the current subprime mortgage and housing-sector crisis in the United States and developments in international higher education. First, buyers and the housing and financial industries wanted to participate in a growing and lucrative housing market, just as many groups in the higher education industry now want to be players in international higher education. . . . International higher education stands somewhere in the middle of the cycle—somewhere between irrational exuberance and a bubble. Now is the time to look at what actions are sustainable and what are not, what policy will serve the interests of students and the academic community, and what actions constitute mistaken policy or simple greed. The academic community is committed to internationalization, although motivations differ and some institutions have no clear idea why they are involved. . . . [Yet, u]niversity presidents, vice chancellors, and rectors from Europe and North America have been trooping to China and India prospecting for international business—such as, branch campuses, collaborative linkages, and joint-degree arrangements.