In this chapter, the authors explore various types of cross-border higher education, considering equity and quality issues within these developments. With a particular focus on international branch campuses, the authors discuss the ways in which global competition for knowledge and economic development interact with tensions at the local level.

International branch campuses (IBCs) have been established in significant numbers over the past ten years. A common criticism of IBCs is that they cannot recreate the student culture of the home campus. While this is true, some IBCs have gone to great lengths not only to create a comparable culture for their students, but also to integrate their…

Multinational colleges and universities pose numerous challenges to the traditional models of quality assurance that are designed to validate domestic higher education. When institutions cross international borders, at least two quality assurance protocols are involved. To guard against fraud and abuse, quality assurance in the host country is…

International branch campuses (IBCs) operate in national and international policy environments that are still rapidly evolving. While IBCs have been operating for several decades, most of that time they have operated below the domestic regulatory radar of either the exporting (home) or importing (host) governments. As the number of such…

The two-year community college is a hundred-year-old phenomenon, locally funded and distinctly American, yet increasingly exportable. Serving ever more varied roles while being challenged economically, legislatively, and academically to meet progressively higher expectations in the United States, the American community college has been discovered…

Institutions of higher education in China and the United States are increasingly seeking international partners to deliver degree programs to the Chinese populace. This article illustrates how shared and divergent partner motivations and outcome expectations in a Chinese cross-border higher education program have created synergy and challenged the…