If we are serious about “internationalization” perhaps we should think about it in terms that go beyond expanding study abroad or adding minors and majors that have something to do with other places. Perhaps we should pay attention to what’s going on in higher education internationally and try to be a leading American institution in structuring our degree in a manner that would be internationally compatible. Perhaps we might learn a few things from the European agenda:
“Higher education, with its links with research and innovation, plays a crucial role in personal development and economic growth, providing the highly qualified people and the articulate citizens that Europe needs to create jobs and prosperity.
“If Europe is not to lose out to global competition in the fields of education, research and innovation, national higher education systems must be able to respond effectively to the requirements of the knowledge economy.”
This from http://ec.europa.eu/education/higher-education/agenda_en.htm. See, especially, sidebar links to:
- The Higher Education Modernisation Agenda
- The Bologna Process
- ECTS (European Credit Transfer System)
- The Diploma Supplement
