1. Quality, Profit, and the Public Good Tensions in Cross-Border Delivery of Higher Education Kevin Kinser Department of Educational Administration and Policy Studies University at Albany State University of New York

2. Quality Standard –Pre-defined criteria: Implicit or explicit Measurement –Data collection and reporting Assessment –Judgment: what is good

3. Quality Assurance External evaluation Community norms Public confidence Who is evaluating? Whose norms? Which public? Quality Insurance?

4. Profit Revenue – Expenses = Surplus Fee-based, unsubsidized = Private Shareholder/owner compensation = Profit Distinction: Home or Cross-Border location?

5. Public Good Higher education should contribute to the realization of significant public ends (Kezar, et al, 2005) Benefits accrue to society as a whole Contemporary Challenges –expanding private sector, privatization –economic, competitiveness rationale Public benefits in a global market?

6. Endemism Natural to or characteristic of a specific place Belonging to a particular people or country Restricted or peculiar to a locality or region Prevalent in a specific field, area, or environment

7. Organizational Endemism Organizations are embedded in a physical location and uniquely situated to thrive within its context Relationship between the geopolitical environment and the organization –structures, associations, and economic conditions connected with a particular region Adapted from Lane & Kinser, 2008

8. Endemic Higher Education Higher education has traditionally been geographically focused and state supported Borders are important –define the boundaries of institutional service –define the scope of political sponsorship Legally, economically, and culturally linked to their native geopolitical environment.

9. Non-Endemic Academics Higher education operating outside of its geopolitical home base Requires adaptation to the new environment Tests resiliency of existing systems and procedures (e.g., quality assurance) Cross-border activity Invasive or Cultivar?

10. Endemic Quality Assurance Place of origin matters Establish trust in the source Regulate the delivery Importing higher education –Acceptable, creditable, valuable Exporting higher education –Protection of the national “brand”

11. Cross-Border Models Branch campus Foreign ownership Curriculum supply Joint venture Distance education Partnerships Ubiquitously private, increasingly for-profit

12. U.S. Case: Regulatory Triad Federal oversight: Accountability State registration: Approval Accreditation review: Quality Assurance –voluntary –non-governmental –multiple agencies

13. U.S. “Domestic” Cross-Border Each state represents a distinctive regulatory environment Endemic higher education the norm –Public, private, for-profit institutions typically operate in a single state Relatively permeable borders –U.S. Constitution Commerce clause Non-endemic is a private activity

14. U.S. Non-endemic examples Public –Troy University: 8 fed, 15 states; SACS –University of Toledo: 1 fed, 1 state; HLC Private –Webster University: 1 fed, 20 states; HLC –Western Governors Univ: 1 fed, 48 states; NW, DETC For-profit –Strayer University: 60 fed, 15 states; MSA –Kaplan College/Univ: 33 fed, 20 states; HLC, ACICS, ACCSCT, DETC

15. Quality Confusion Triad pressured by non-endemic higher education –States serve as inconsistent regulators limited control of exporting variable oversight of importing –Multiple accreditation options provide conflicting standards; compliance concerns –Feds unconcerned with locations

16. Why Private Matters Control separated from geography Financial incentives and market pressures encourage expansion Public good competes with private benefit Quality assurance as operating expense –Argument for legitimacy

17. “A generalized perception or assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed system of norms, values, beliefs, and definitions.” (Suchman, 1995) Quality and Legitimacy

18. “A generalized perception or assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed system of norms, values, beliefs, and definitions.” (Suchman, 1995) Quality and Legitimacy

19. “A generalized perception or assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed system of norms, values, beliefs, and definitions.” (Suchman, 1995) Quality and Legitimacy

20. “A generalized perception or assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed system of norms, values, beliefs, and definitions.” (Suchman, 1995) Quality and Legitimacy

21. International Implications Permeable borders encourage non-endemic activity Public institutions not distinctive from private, for-profit Borders remain barriers to state oversight Endemic quality assurance may not adequately address non-endemic functions Even in a robust regulatory environment, non- endemic institutions can control the process

22. Conclusion