Comment on Internationalisation

International Focus, the newsletter of UK HE international Unit, has an article by Jane Knight on myths of internationalisation. The second myth is:


"Myth two rests on a belief that the more international a university is – in terms of students, faculty, curriculum, research, agreements, network memberships – the better its reputation is.



This is tied to the false notion that a strong international reputation is a proxy for quality. Cases of questionable admission and exit standards for universities highly dependent on the revenue and ‘brand equity’ of international students are concrete evidence that internationalisation does not always translate into improved quality or high standards.


This myth is further complicated by the quest for higher rankings on a global or regional league table such as the Times Higher Education or Academic World Ranking of Universities (AWRU). It is highly questionable whether the league tables accurately measure the internationality of a university and more importantly whether the international dimension is always a robust indicator of quality."
 
Also, it is much easier to be international in Switzerland or Singapore than in Central China or the Midwest of the US.