Institutional Barriers to International Expansion

Abstract

Abstract The Great Chasm creates opportunities for U.S. academic institutions to extend their global reach for the benefit of both themselves and non-U.S. nationals who value their services. Hence, it would seem logical for them to do so. Bridging the Great Chasm, however, is not an easy feat for the vast majority of American colleges and universities. It is complicated by a multitude of factors, including a traditional culture that is averse to commercialization, an organizational structure that is operationally slow, and a system of governance that often leads to indecision, conflict, and paralysis. In a highly competitive, rapidly changing economic environment, these factors often work to the detriment of American academic institutions. This chapter explores why they stand in the way of international expansion, and what it would take to remove them.