Higher education and internationalization Lex Borghans Maastricht University

Trends 1.European universities are changing rapidly –And in the USA they fear this development 2.These trends are difficult to document and effects are hard to measure, due to a lack of data 3.National governments (at least the Dutch) neglect this trend and still think about higher education in the same way as about primary education

European universities are changing rapidly There are clear trends that European universities get stronger In the USA they fear the consequences

Enrollment grows

Relatively fewer students go to the USA

US students come more often to Europe

Research in Europe becomes international Language of Dutch PhD theses

Research in Europe becomes international Language of journals

Why this trend? Balance between costs and benefits shifts

These trends are difficult to document Most data sources are national Non-response among students who go abroad is high Identification is difficult due to selectivity

Questions What are the effects for students when they study abroad? What are the effects for students who stay in their own country who experience a larger share of international students? What are the effects for the quality of universities? What are the spill-over effects for the local economy?

CHEERS as an example Students living abroad Living abroad for work or study Secondary education abroadBefore studyDuring studyAfter study Italy Spain France Austria Germany Netherlands UK Finland Sweden Norway

International aspects of work Traveled abroad Communication with people abroadInternational context Italy Spain France Austria Germany Netherlands UK Finland Sweden Norway84.3

International experience during the study and after Students with international experience during the study: –4 x more likely to work abroad –2 x more likely to travel internationally –Equally likely to communicate with people abroad –1.5 x more likely to have work in an international context

Who goes abroad during the study? Women are more likely to go abroad before or during the study Work orientations: –Varied social life and personal development have strong positive effect –Family/home has strong negative effect –Work and career has no effect during the study, and positive effect after the study

Effects of international experience during the study OLS Monthly income.044***(.008) Hourly income.032***(.008) Hours of work.485***(.128) Job satisfaction.099***(.017) Career satisf..102***(.016) Personal devel..047***(.014) English.379***(.019) French.360***(.018) German.303***(.016) Italian.271(.171) Spanish.147***(.026)

Empirical strategy Individual participation might be selective Instrument: Average participation in international activities during study in field of study within countries.

Effects of international experience during the study OLS2SLS Monthly income.044***(.008).172***(.060) Hourly income.032***(.008).043(.056) Hours of work.485***(.128)4.018***(.919) Job satisfaction.099***(.017).497***(.121) Career satisf..102***(.016).623***(.117) Personal devel..047***(.014).221***(.104) English.379***(.019).697***(.145) French.360***(.018).490***(.138) German.303***(.016).346***(.114) Italian.271(.171).293(2.060) Spanish.147***(.026)-.322(.246)

Response of the national government The example of the Dutch government Essentially they think about universities as a closed Dutch system –A recent report about the future of Dutch higher education almost ignores the European context –While more than 50% of all masters at universities are in English the government raises the question whether it should be legal not to teach in Dutch –The parliament wants to know whether we gain more from foreign students than they costs (do they buy enough in local stores to recover the government spending?)

What are the best policies? What are the key features to promote internationalization? –Internationalisation is a trend that governments can not stop –The challenge is to use this trend to build strong universities Which policies best promote internationalization? –Policies that acknowledge this trend rather than policies that try to keep things as they are –The key question for each country is: Do you want to become the Massachusetts or the Kentucky of Europe?