Equity should be at the heart of international higher education

The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 4.3 advocates for ensuring equitable access to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including at universities. The SDG Target 4b underscores the need for increased scholarships for students from developing countries, especially from the least developed countries and small island developing states, enabling them to pursue studies in developed and developing countries.

In total the SDG4 targets establish objectives for access, quality and equity in higher education by 2030, highlighting the potential for international higher education to contribute significantly to their attainment.

Yet international higher education is not just about mobility. Amidst the disruption of in-person learning for international students caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have had the opportunity to explore alternative modes of online education. This has allowed us to reevaluate the significance of virtual mobility for international students, be it for short-term exchange programmemes, courses or full-time study abroad.

But, despite exceptions for students enrolled immediately before or during the pandemic, many universities continue to require in-person and campus-based learning as a prerequisite for full-time programmemes, with hybrid or blended modalities restricted to those registered as part-time students.

However, with advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), the landscape of virtual communication and interactions is undergoing remarkable improvements. The proliferation of next-generation internet transmission speeds, enhanced computing power and the integration of big data technologies promise to improve the overall experiences of virtual communication substantially.

Promoting virtual and blended mobilities should be encouraged to accommodate future study programmemes targeting international students, covering both degree programmes and short-term exchange programmes with or without micro-credentials. This approach provides international students with greater flexibility while maintaining the quality and standards of these programmes.

When promoting student mobility, whether through in-person or virtual modalities, policies and practices often focus on concerns about access and quality. However, factors such as the pandemic, the soaring costs associated with studying abroad and the increased use of ICT have exacerbated disparities both among and within countries regarding access to quality international higher education.

Improved scholarship opportunities, stemming from both governmental and non-governmental sources, will become more accessible for international students hailing from the least-developed countries and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). In addition, strategic and innovative measures will need to be deployed to facilitate the cross-border mobility of students from marginalized backgrounds while tackling concerns related to the brain drain in these countries.

Equity and inclusion should extend to students’ learning experiences and campus lives. To better support international students, universities are bolstering their facilities to address a spectrum of needs, including cultural, physical, mental and career planning needs among others, fostering a more inclusive campus environment.

Greater emphasis will need to be placed on tracking the employment destinations of international students, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds, to ensure their access to mainstream professions both in their home countries and the countries where they pursue their studies. Universities should incorporate this type of information into their alumni management systems.

The conventional wholesale type of study programmes will give way to more flexible learning modalities by unbundling traditional learning programmes for international students. This shift will be evident in the programmes’ design, enabling small learning units to be recognizable, portable and stackable for micro-credentials or complete qualifications.

Emerging learning providers, remarkably those positioned closer to the demand side and leveraging the latest ICT, are poised to become an integral part of the international higher education landscape. They will offer either complete degree programmes or micro-credential programmes, contributing greater flexibility to study programmes for international students.

National qualifications frameworks are essential in facilitating the evaluation of learning outcomes achieved through flexible learning pathways, including micro-credentials. These frameworks serve as standard benchmarks for equivalency assessment checks. More regional and sub-regional harmonization processes will be initiated and implemented to streamline this assessment procedure further.

Multilateral credit bank systems, including at the sub-regional and regional levels, will be instituted and operationalized, converting small learning units or experiences offered by various international higher education providers into standard credits. These credits will be recognizable, transferrable and stackable across various systems, thereby enhancing the recognition of flexible learning pathways.

While international higher education serves diverse purposes more than mere employment, it is equally valid to acknowledge that the post-graduation employment prospects of students in their host countries, along with their initial salary levels, are primary concerns for many international students.

Faced with the challenges of ageing societies in numerous countries, the competition has shifted beyond attracting the best brains to actively seeking skilled young individuals to revitalize their societies. Many developed countries are becoming increasingly receptive to skills migration as a strategic means of acquiring the workforce that is essential for their socio-economic development.

In the future, an expansion of study-plus-employment visa packages is anticipated to draw more international students, encouraging them to explore employment opportunities post-graduation - particularly in sectors grappling with labour shortages. This evolution necessitates a closer collaboration between the higher education sectors and employment and labour authorities, working together to identify priority sectors and promote study programmes that are tailored for international students.

In considering skills migration from the perspective of sending countries, it is imperative to address the issue of brain drain. While it is argued that returning students may face challenges functioning effectively in their home countries due to the absence of supportive platforms and ecosystems, exploring compensation and other mutual supporting mechanisms will become crucial to establishing a win-win situation for both sending and receiving countries.

The concept of higher education hubs has been gaining traction, with implementation in many countries being a pivotal component of their strategies for internationalizing higher education. This innovative approach creates a dedicated space for international higher education, fostering increased student mobility.

This phenomenon has primarily been observed in some emerging and well-developed higher education systems, where governments, higher education institutions and various entities collaboratively establish shared infrastructures, enabling international higher education providers to offer study programmemes to both international and domestic students. Providers are selected through invitation in some of these hubs, such as the Incheon Global Campus in the Republic of Korea. They are considered by the host to be high-quality and relevant to the hosting countries.

Another notable aspect is that certain higher education hubs are integrated into larger ecosystems, such as special economic or free-trade zones. International higher education, functioning as an industry, aims to attract fee-paying students while also addressing the demand for graduates in local industries. This model is exemplified in places like the Incheon Global Campus, the International Academic City and Knowledge Park in Dubai and China’s Lingshui Li’an International Education Innovation Pilot Zone in Hainan.

These innovative practices are also a part of countries’ strategies to enhance the quality of domestic higher education provision by introducing reputable foreign higher education providers and programmes to operate within their borders. Through collaboration with and learning from international higher education providers, domestic institutions can advance more rapidly than if they were working in isolation.

In the future, higher education hubs will function as versatile platforms, catering not only for traditional educational providers offering comprehensive degree programmes but also for innovative learning providers delivering standalone or stackable micro-credential courses. These hubs will transform into dynamic spaces where learners can pick up courses from diverse providers, accumulate credits and obtain full degrees upon meeting all the necessary requirements.

While continuing to prioritize the recruitment of university-age students for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, international higher education should also broaden its scope to accommodate mature students seeking opportunities for continuing professional development and lifelong learning.

This strategic shift will enhance the portfolios of international higher education institutions in response to the growing demand from non-traditional students. This is especially vital for countries struggling with an over-supply of university places due to the declining population of university-age students.

There is great potential for the expansion of international study and training programmes tailored for in-service professionals, encompassing reskilling, upskilling, continuing professional development and leisure activities. Given the increasing acceptance of lifelong learning among a growing population of mature individuals, the future market presents significant opportunities for international higher education providers.

Traditional universities are gearing up to expand their offerings for mature students, seamlessly integrating such services into their routine operations. Simultaneously, non-traditional providers are anticipated to play a progressively significant role in addressing the evolving needs of in-service professionals across diverse learning domains.

The landscape of international higher education remains significantly influenced by market forces, characterized by numerous national and institutional initiatives to attract international students. This trend is particularly pronounced in major global and regional hubs that serve as importers and exporters of higher education services.

Undoubtedly, higher education has evolved into a crucial component of the economy, indicating its integral role in shaping and driving economic dynamics. However, countries also require a collective platform to address the values and principles that are essential for cultivating a new landscape in international higher education that is equitable, quality-assured and adaptable to the diverse needs of learners across various countries.

As the only UN agency with a mandate in higher education, UNESCO stands as a critical facilitator for our collaborative initiatives in the international higher education sphere. UNESCO’s Conventions on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education weave together academic recognition, quality assurance and student mobility, serving as a foundational avenue for member states to come together to pursue a shared agenda for higher education.

Member states can transcend immediate gains and benefits by aligning national, market-driven perspectives with the agenda jointly developed under the UNESCO platform. This collective effort can steer us toward a shared future that benefits all countries and learners.

This is an edited and lightly adapted version of a speech delivered at the UK ENIC 23 Conference, 5 December 2023, at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre, Westminster, London; the speech was first published by University World News on 16 December 2023.

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