The global order, based on international governance and multilateral trade mechanisms in the aftermath of the Second World War, is changing rapidly and creating waves of uncertainty. This is especially true in higher education, a field increasingly built on international cooperation and the free movement of students, academics, knowledge, and…

This book examines issues of identity; positionality; community; value and relevance, to explore where transnational higher education is headed and what form it may take moving forwards. Transnational higher education has traditionally been viewed through the lens of access. Now, the authors argue, higher education must think more closely about…

We survey here the state-of-the-art in open courseware initiatives worldwide. First, the MIT OpenCourseWare project is overviewed, as it has been the real starting point of the OCW movement. Usually, open courseware refers to a free and open digital publication of high quality university level educational materials that are organized as courses,…

Over the past year, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have received a great deal of attention from the academic community and the media. The EUA Secretariat has followed the development of the MOOCs since the beginning of 2012, surveying discussion forums and publications, but also assessing the websites of MOOC providers and participating in…

Over the past decade, online courses and entire online degree programs have been made available, serving millions of students in higher education. These online courses largely have been designed and taught using the theoretical concepts and practical strategies of Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALN). During 2003-04, approximately two million…

Distance education in its many forms had been around for decades, but the Western Governors University (WGU) was arguably the first "virtual university" (VU) in the United States, or at least the first VU that gained widespread attention from the press and public. After the governors in the Western Governors Association announced they would create…

People do not want to know the history, minutiae of policy, or operations, or even the political intrigues of a virtual consortium. People want to know if the consortium has value, whether it can help them, and if it is a threat. In this article, the author focuses on the operating principles and policies that have proven successful in the…

This article examines the current and potential contributions of the University Consortium for Catholic Education (UCCE) to both K-12 and higher Catholic education. In order to situate the development of alternative teacher preparation programs, a history of Catholic teacher formation is addressed followed by a brief summary of the existing…

The proportion of active foreign language teachers working in cooperative or collaborative efforts is very small. Foreign languages have lagged behind other disciplines in this area. Consortia, or groups of postsecondary institutions agreeing to work together toward specific, long-range goals, date back to medieval times, but few have emerged over…

This book presents essays on the histories of five Massachusetts schools of higher education (Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Smith College, Hampshire College) who together have had a successful consortia lasting for 25 years. The first essay, by Theodore P. Greene, depicts the temper of Amherst…

The National University Extension Association (NUEA) was formed in 1915 by 21 colleges and universities--state, land grant, and independent. From its inception, the organization moved rapidly to codify academic formats, operational procedures, and administrative structures for extension education based upon prevailing models found within…

Describes the 1973 founding, history, and accomplishments of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC). Lists traits common to tribal community colleges. Discusses the AIHEC's role in providing assistance to tribal colleges and in lobbying for the passage of the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act. (DMM)

The Illinois Master Plan-Phase III, which stresses the urgent need for the state to achieve a completely integrated system of higher education through consortia or regional Collegiate Common Markets (CCM), is actually not a new idea, but is in many ways a revitalization of the philosophies espoused by William Rainey Harper at the beginning of the…

As part of a process of discerning the future direction and mission of the Sisters of Saint Joseph College Consortium (SSJCC), a year-long study of 11 institutions founded and run by the Sisters of Saint Joseph was undertaken. Sisters of Saint Joseph (SSJ) is a Roman Catholic women's religious congregation founded in 1836 which operates a…

The role of the regional campus in Indiana (specifically the Fort Wayne campus of Indiana University and Purdue University) is considered, based on verbatim accounts of various educators. In addition, an overview of the history and development of the two universities' separate Fort Wayne campuses and the subsequent joint campus established in 1964…