OZ 2009/4

130 ORGANIZACIJA ZNANJA 2009, LETN. 14, ZV. 4 MASSIFICATION Rising demand is manifest in the massification of higher education. Globally, age participation rates (APRs) in higher education had grown from 19 % in 2000 to 26 % in 2007. There were 150.6 million students enrolled in tertiary education globally in 2007, which represents a 53 % increase over 2000. However, in low income countries these percentages were much lower growing modestly from 5 % in 2000 to 7 % in 2007 (Altbach, 2009). DIVERSIFICATION It is clear that the public sector alone can no longer respond to the growing demand for higher education. In response, there is a multiplication of new providers of higher education. As an increasing proportion of the population continues into higher education, the notion of transition programmes between school and universities, such as community colleges, is acquiring greater importance. Other providers include private higher education, open and distance learning and cross-border providers. The boundaries between them are often blurred and a key policy challenge is how to assure the quality of their provision. PRIVATE HIGHER EDUCATION Private providers are now the fastest growing sub-sector of higher education. Some 30 % of students are enrolled with such providers globally. In Japan and South Korea 80 % of students are enrolled in private higher education institutions, which are fully integrated into the overall higher education system and regulated by the government. Although Europe has the lowest proportion of students in private higher education, this is gradually changing, particularly in transition countries where proportions reach 40 %. (Sadlak, Vlasceanu, Wells, 2007) THE ICT REVOLUTION Modes of teaching and learning are also changing. Applications of ICT are impacting higher education significantly in each of its four primary functions: Research, Administration; Service to the Community; and Teaching. COBISS is a good example of how ICTs have impacted research. Open and distance learning, eLearning and ICT are expanding learning opportunities and teaching methods significantly. For example, open universities are expanding and multiplying all over the world. Some of them, called mega-universities, enrol hundreds of thousands of students without sacrificing quality. Furthermore, many conventional institutions are adopting dual-mode or blended program delivery systems, creating a new dynamic of flexible and lifelong learning. Here in Slovenia, you have an example of a distance teaching higher education institution – DOBA – that combines the three elements of diversification that were highlighted at the WCHE as emerging trends. It is a private institution, it provides teaching and learning through the distance mode and it operates as a cross-border provider, offering courses in Serbia. The ICT revolution has enabled higher education institutions to transcend traditional borders. People worldwide have rapid access to many and varied digital sources of information, content and knowledge. Moreover a spirit of openness, sharing, participation and collaboration is gaining ground rapidly through open source software, open content projects, and open educational resources. Higher education institutions should see how they can integrate these emerging technologies into their ICT policies and programmes by adopting what is appropriate after a careful analysis of long-term costs and benefits. MOBILITY Another major trend in global higher education is increasing mobility, not only of students and academics, but also of programmes and institutions. The number of internationally mobile students jumped from 1,825,000 in 2000 to 2,800,000 in 2007. The provision of tertiary education to these students is dominated by six host countries: USA (21 %), U.K. (13 %), France (10 %), Germany (8 %), Australia (8 %) and Japan (5 %). The fastest increase of mobile students is fromAsia and the Pacific. For every 17 African students one is studying abroad. These trends are exciting but they pose the challenge of equity: how to provide equal opportunities for all? CROSS-BORDER HIGHER EDUCATION: OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS The mobility of institutions and programmes is an emerging global trend known as Cross-border higher education (CBHE). According to the 2005 UNESCO- OECD Guidelines for Quality Provision in Cross-border higher education, this covers forms of higher education