| Unit name | Global Higher Education |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EDUCM0113 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Marginson |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Education |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
Higher education and science are among the most international and global of human activities and higher education is especially global in the UK, where almost one quarter of all students are international and two thirds of research papers are co-authored across borders. It is now difficult to be an effective practitioner in universities without building international and cross-cultural awareness and skills and a store of knowledge about the larger higher education world and strategies for internationalisation. This unit opens up global and international higher education as a space of learning, exploration, investigation, analysis, comparison and practice. You will learn about the key elements, movements and relations of power that drive and change global relations in higher education and research including cross-border student mobility, global scientific cooperation, university partnerships, global university rankings, international marketing and student equity, multipolar capacity building, decolonisation and epistemic injustice, and geopolitical tensions now affecting universities in many countries.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
Global Higher Education is about becoming an effective higher education scholar-practitioner in international relations. You will discuss and investigate the ever-changing interfaces between local higher education management and practice; national society, government policy and regulation; and the global dimension – the unit takes the issues explored in Higher Education, Economy and Society, and Leadership and Management of Higher Education into the global space. Global Higher Education can also be taken as an optional unit by other students keen to explore the exciting field of global education and internationalisation.
An overview of content
The unit uses multiple lenses to examine global higher education: the different scales of higher education; the global geopolitical space of nations, regions and multilateral organisations; the worldwide research and knowledge system; the circuits of student and academic mobility; the networks of universities which differ in many ways and yet share a common mission and collaborate freely. Global Higher Education covers all world regions, with some emphasis on leading higher education systems including the United States and UK, China, India and the European Union. The introductory week develops the sense of a single world of higher education and knowledge which is also irreducibly diverse, and always moving, changing and emerging. The succeeding weeks explore in order global geography in higher education, definitions and strategies of internationalisation, multipolarity and geopolitics, the growth of educational participation across the world, international students and global mobility, global university rankings, global research and knowledge (inclusions and exclusions), and the climate-nature emergency.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
The unit aims to provide you with a highly stimulating and an exciting learning curve. At the end of the unit, you will have learned to think in terms on one-world in education as well as within the local and national environments, and be much better equipped to discuss, investigate and act on a range of current issues in global higher education and internationalisation including key topics such as international student mobility, global university strategies, global rankings and the effects of global geopolitical tensions in university partnerships and research collaboration.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the unit students will be able to:
The unit will be taught using a combination of lectures and seminars.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
You will be invited to register and vote on what you perceive, based upon your pre-set reading, to be the core problematic of the weekly themes of each class. This will lead into end-of class focused discussion which will deepen student engagement in both the reading and the Unit themes. In small groups , you will prepare a short presentation applying the contents of the previous class to your chosen country or world region. In doing so you will be encouraged to draw on the data sources specified in the Unit Handbook. Towards the end of the unit, you will be invited to participate in a ‘gold-fish bowl’ discussion, with interchangeable discussant and observers engaged in focused conversation on what counts as effective action in international and global higher education settings. These modes of discussion, mediated by formative feedback from teaching staff, will help you to prepare for the summative assessment
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
A 3,000 word essay (100%, ILOs 1-4)
When assessment does not go to plan
When a student fails the unit and is eligible to resubmit, failed components will be reassessed on a like-for-like basis
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. EDUCM0113).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
