Higher Education in a Global Market: The Case of British Overseas Provision in Israel |
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| Authors: | Michael Lieven Graeme Martin |
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| Institution: | (1) School of Education, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B29 6LL, UK |
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| Abstract: | In recent years there has been a major expansion by higher education institutions in setting up ‘for-profit’, offshore programmes
and campuses. It has been claimed that for-profit provision in a free, or unregulated market, responds to student demand and
acts as a catalyst for innovation, thus fuelling arguments for a global ‘free market’ in higher education. There are few opportunities
to test these claims since higher education is overwhelmingly provided within national systems of education and is generally
subject to strong local regulation. Israel, in the 1990s, offered a rare case of an unregulated market in higher education
for foreign providers, albeit one which contained significant distortions: British institutions took the leading part in developments.
This article examines that experience in the light of documentation in the public domain and of practitioner research and
argues, contrary to unsubstantiated claims, that provision fell below acceptable standards. The article concludes that, in
this field, consumer demand did not operate on the basis of quality and that the market-place cannot assure standards of higher
education in overseas provision. Furthermore, until international standards are agreed, governments have a responsibility
to regulate provision which directly affects the lives of their citizens. |
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| Keywords: | Britain ‘ free market’ Globalisation higher education Israel off-shore provision quality assurance Quality Assurance Agency |
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