Higher Education in a Global Context—Some Concerns Richard Yelland Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) SHEEO, Boston, August 2007

An organisation with global reach OECD Member Countries Working with countries around the world

Growth in all tertiary qualifications Approximated by the percentage of persons with ISCED 5A5B/6 qualfication born in the period shown below (2004) 8 Why doesn‘t the US have the age profile from 1960-1979? US 1940-1949:36% 1950-1959:5% 1960-1969:-1% 1970-1979:0 EU19 1940-1949:18% 1950-1959:5% 1960-1969:4% 1970-1979:4% OECD 1940-1949:16% 1950-1959:5% 1960-1969:4% 1970-1979:4% A1.3a

Expenditure on educational institutions as a percentage of GDP (2003) Tertiary education 1 US Total 2.8 Public 1.2 Private 1.6 OECD Total 1.5 Public 1.1 Private 0.4 EU-19 Total 1.3 Public 1.1 Private 0.2 B2.1b

Distribution of foreign students by country of destination (2004) Percentage of foreign tertiary students reported to the OECD who are enrolled in each country of destination Text has not been updated C3.8

Trends in international education market shares Percentage of all foreign tertiary students enrolled by destination. Market share (%) OECD countries C3.8

Governance: Burton Clark’s triangle State Academe Market

Supporting the Contribution of Higher Education Institutions to Regional Development Respond to initiatives across OECD to mobilise HE in support of regional engagement Synthesise experience into coherent body of policy and practice to guide HEIs and regional and national governments Provide opportunity for dialogue between stakeholders and clarify roles and responsibilities (i.e. assist with capacity building in each country/region)

Methodology Common framework for regional self-evaluation developed by OECD task group Self-evaluation report by regional consortium using OECD guidelines Site visit by international peer review team (HEI, Regional, National Experts) Peer Review Team report and response from the region Analysis and synthesis by OECD task group drawing upon regional case studies and commissioned review of literature Production and dissemination of synthesis report covering 14 regions in 12 countries

Emerging findings Abundance of action in most regions, but a lack of systematic processes and limited co-operation among HEIs and between HEIs and stakeholders Sustainability of funding is a problem Focus on research, technology transfer, business-related competitiveness Less emphasis on social, cultural and environmental development and ”knowledge transfer on legs” Common challenge: What to do with lowtech SMEs? Need for more ’joined-up’ Government and explicit recognition of the role of HE in regional development

International conference Globally competitive, locally engaged - HE and regions Valencia, Spain 19-21 September 2007 www.oecd.org/edu/imhe/valencia For more info on the project see www.oecd.org/edu/higher/regionaldevelopment

Challenges for Governments everywhere Ensuring fairness and equity in the system Managing diversity without reinforcing hierarchy Ensuring quality without over-regulation Improving the transmission of information between the labour market, individuals and the institutions Supporting innovation and research Understanding the interplay of quality, equity and efficiency

Thank you for your attention richard.yelland@oecd.org