International Perspectives in Higher Education offers a balanced perspective on how different countries approach key policies and what the United States can learn from those programs. Jason D. Delisle and Alex Usher have gathered a diverse group of experts to examine systems across the globe with a focus on the trade-offs between access, cost, and quality. The book explores a set of cross-cutting global topics such as free tuition, restricted versus unrestricted access, and the structure of student loans, drawing out the similarities and differences across countries. It also provides single-country case studies from Chile, Australia, and Brazil, paying close attention to the context in which specific reforms arose and the unintended consequences of implementation. Too often, programs found in other countries are presented as silver-bullet solutions to be lifted from one country and grafted on to the US system. This book, however, advocates for a careful examination of the strategies other countries are enacting-the political, historical, and demographic context, as well as the trade-offs among different outcomes-before deciding whether they would work here. Delisle and Usher provide an understanding of the interplay among various higher education reforms and the opportunities and challenges involved in undertaking similar reforms in the US context. Given the tremendous challenges facing the US system, their work establishes a solid foundation for policy debates moving forward.
Jason D. Delisle is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Alex Usher is president of Higher Education Strategy Associates.
Table of Contents Introduction Jason D. Delisle and Alex Usher PART 1 Trends and Policies Shaping Higher Education Systems Abroad Chapter 1 The Limitations of Free College in Europe Jon Marcus Chapter 2 The Expanding Role of Tuition and Other Forms of Cost-Sharing in Higher Education Bruce Johnstone Chapter 3 Juxtaposing Global and US Private Higher Education: What is to be Learned? Daniel C. Levy Chapter 4 The Practical and Ethical Underpinnings of Higher Education Access Policies Anna Mountford-Zimdars Chapter 5 The Architecture of Student Loan Systems Alex Usher PART 2 Case Studies: Lessons from Individual Countries Chapter 6 Chile: the Challenges of Free College AndrEs Bernasconi Chapter 7 Australia: The Price of Greater Access to Higher Education Vicki Thomson Chapter 8 Brazil: Expanding Access Through Private Institutions Dante J. Salto ConclusIon Jason D. Delisle and Alex Usher Notes Acknowledgements About the Editors About the Contributors Index
