Introduction

Abstract

Few subjects in the study of international higher education have attracted more attention in recent years than the idea of “the global university.” Dozens of books and hundreds of scholarly articles have appeared on this subject, generating vigorous debate in policy circles as well as the popular media around the world. Observers ask: how are the forces of globalization reshaping the modern university—its purposes, priorities, and procedures? What exactly is a “global” university? What distinguishes its approach to teaching, to research, to knowledge? Whose interests does it serve, and how? Too often, a global, or world-class, university is defined simply as one that receives high marks in international rankings or league tables. But what do such rankings measure? Do they reveal anything essential about the core mission, or values, of the university, or do they merely construct, then reify, a marketable category: The Global University? This volume seeks to examine the substance of this idea, demonstrating not only how the category of “the global university” developed over time but also how it has come to influence higher education worldwide. According to most current ranking criteria, a world-class university is one that pursues readily quantifiable (and commercializable) research and emphasizes postgraduate and professional over undergraduate education, often through international partnerships and with the help of internationally mobile students and scholars.