Globalization of Higher Education: Transformation of Higher Education Institutions Through the Process of Internationalization

Abstract

Globalization’s impact on higher education institutions in the United States, along with universities around the world, has been unprecedented. Internationalization—the process of infusing, implementing, and integrating an international dimension to the primary functions of higher education institutions—has been the general response. But internationalization is a dynamic and complex phenomenon, tempting some universities and colleges to recoil into their parochial cocoon. Institutions that have chosen this path of educational devolution have felt, are feeling, or will feel the consequences of an uncharted territory. This study analyzed internationalization within institutions that transformed from having an inward focus to an outward focus. Case studies were conducted at Stanford University, Kalamazoo College, and Troy University to examine institutional transformation through the process of internationalization.