Abstract
In the span of three decades the notion of the “internationalization of higher education” expanded from a collection of uncoordinated, individual projects and programs to an all-encompassing, conceptually ambiguous, complex and fluid term. Despite its widespread use, ‘internationalization’ is far from a clearly defined concept. Under its auspices we find a collection of practices ranging from intercultural language exchanges to construction of branch or foreign-backed campuses in other countries. In looking at these new internationalization activities it is evident that many are gradually incorporating an economic rationale alongside, and in some cases in place of, the traditional emphasis on education as a common good. The mechanisms used to incorporate a more economic rationale are often aligned with market or market-like practices that allow for academic capitalist perspectives to gain ground. This chapter explores how the emergence and promotion of an international student marketing initiative in the context of the German higher education system opens up opportunities for practices that share similar elements to those higher education systems that follow a more academic capitalist approach. In the German case, however, aspects of academic capitalism come forth in a more coordinated manner due to the work of federal-level organizations that are organizing change in a collective and scripted manner.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, a restructuring of the higher education system lead to the development of the Universities of Applied Sciences. These institutions grew out of the traditional professional schools (e.g. engineering higher education schools), thus had a strong practical orientation and were closely linked to the employment system. The current Fachhochschulen are becoming more similar to universities as seen in the growth of faculty research, yet they are still more connected to particular fields of applied science (i.e. engineering, computer science, business and management, social services, etc). The main different to universities is that Fachhochschulen are unable to award doctoral degrees.
- 2.
The report highlights the fact that the ‘benefits’ accrued by host countries can be calculated as a ‘gross value added’ resulting from expenditures by international students on accommodation, living, leisure and travel, as well as the revenue from indirect taxes and job creation (ibid.).
- 3.
In 2012 regulations to the Entry and Residence of Highly Qualified Workers legislation were adjusted to allow graduate-level international students the opportunity to stay and work for 18 months (in place of 12 months) after graduation to secure skilled, permanent employment. Moreover after 2 years graduates are eligible for an indefinitely ‘Right of Residence’ to remain in Germany.
- 4.
HEIs are financed by individual states. The federal government or federal-level organizations provide funding through other programs and opportunities but do not provide direct funding.
References
Ball, S. (2012). Global education inc. New policy networks and the neo-liberal imaginary. London: Routledge.
Baron, B. (1993). The politics of academic mobility in Western Europe. Higher Education Policy, 6(3), 50–54.
Berman, E. P. (2012). Explaining the move toward the market in US academic science: How institutional logics can change without institutional entrepreneurs. Theory and Society, 41, 261–299.
Castells, M. (2000). The information age: Economy, society and culture (2nd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell publishing.
Colyvas, J., & Powell, W. (2006). Roads to institutionalization: The remaking of boundaries between public and private science. Research in Organizational Behavior, 27, 305–353.
De Wit, H. (2002). Internationalization of higher education in the United States of America and Europe. Westport: Greenwood Press.
De Wit, H. (2013). Reconsidering the concept of internationalization. International Higher Education, 70(Winter 2013). Retrieved from: https://htmldbprod.bc.edu/prd/f?p=2290:4:0::NO:RP,4:P0_CONTENT_ID:119372
Enders, J. (2001). A chair systems in ransition: Appointments, promotions, and gate-keeping in German higher education. Higher Education, 41, 3–25.
European Commission. (2013). European higher education in the world (July). Communication from the Commission, COM (2013) 499 final.
Gardner, M. (2010). Call for foreign students to fill skills gap. University World News. Retrieved from: http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20101120090742261
GATE Germany. (2012). Über uns. Retrieved from: http://www.gate-germany.de/ueber-uns.html
Gumport, P. (2000). Academic restructuring: Organizational change and institutional imperatives. Higher Education, 39, 67–91.
Hahn, K. (2003). The changing Zeitgeist of German higher education and the role of GATS. Higher Education in Europe, XXVIII(2), 199–215.
Hall, P., & Soskice, D. (2001). Varieties of capitalism. The institutional foundings of comparative advantage. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hoffman, S. (2011). The new tools of the science trade: Contested knowledge production and the conceptual vocabularies of academic capitalism. Social Anthropology, 19(4), 439–462.
ICEF Monitor. (2013). Increasing the “stay rate” of international students. Retrieved from: http://monitor.icef.com/2013/05/increasing-the-stay-rate-of-international-students/
Knight, J. (2013). The changing landscape of higher education internationalization—For better or worse? Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 17(3), 84–90.
Krücken, G., Blümel, A., & Kloke, K. (2009). Towards organizational actorhood of universities: Occupational and organizational change within German administrations. FOV discussion papers 48.
Lebeau, Y., & Sall, E. (2011). Global institutions, higher education and development. In R. King, S. Marginson, & R. Naidoo (Eds.), Handbook on globalization and higher education (pp. 129–147). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Marginson, S. (2007). The public/private divide in higher education: A global revision. Higher Education, 53, 307–333.
Marginson, S., & van der Wende, M. (2007). Globalisation and higher education (Education working paper no. 8 EDU/WKP(2007)3). Paris: OECD Publishing.
Münch, R. (2011a). Akademischer Kapitalismus: Über die politische Ökonomie der Hochschulreform. Berlin: Suhrkamp Verlag.
Münch, R. (2011b). Introduction. Unpublished translation of chapter in academic capitalism along Humboldt’s tracks. pp. 1–14.
Naidoo, R., & Jamieson, I. (2005). Knowledge in the marketplace: The global commodification of teaching and learning in higher education. In P. Ninnes & M. Hellstén (Eds.), Internationalizing higher education (pp. 37–51). Dordrecht: Springer Publishers.
OECD. (2011). Education at a glance 2011: OECD indicators. OECD Publishing. Retrieved from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2011-en
Olsen, J. P. (2007). The institutional dynamics of the European university. In P. Maassen & J. P. Olsen (Eds.), University dynamics and European integration (pp. 25–54). Dordrecht: Springer.
Olson, J. (2012). From student mobility to market success: The changing logic of internationalization in German Universities. Dissertation, University of Georgia Press, Athens.
Prognos, A. G. (2013). The financial impact of cross-border student mobility on the economy of the host country—Executive summary. Retrieved from: https://eu.daad.de/medien/eu/publikationen/erasmus/englische_studie.pdf
Readings, B. (1996). The university in ruins. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Redden, E. (2014). Why they stay or leave. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/05/28/new-research-retention-international-students
Slaughter, S., & Cantwell, B. (2012). Transatlantic moves to the market: The United States and the European Union. Higher Education, 63(5), 583–606.
Slaughter, S., & Leslie, L. (1997). Academic capitalism. Politics, policies and the entrepreneurial university. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Slaughter, S., & Rhoades, G. (2004). Academic capitalism and the new economy. Markets, state, and higher education. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Streeck, W. (2009). Re-forming capitalism. Institutional change in the German political economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Townley, B. (1997). The institutional logic of performance appraisal. Organization Studies, 18(2), 261–285.
Townley, B. (2002). The role of competing rationalities in institutional change. Academy of Management Journal, 45, 163–179.
Tremblay, K. (2005). Academic mobility and immigration. Journal of Studies in International Education, 9(3), 196–228.
U.S. Department of Education. (2012). International strategy 2012–16. Succeeding Globally Through International Education and Engagement. Retrieved from: http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/internationaled/international-strategy-2012-16.pdf
Van der Wende, M. (2011). Global institutions: The organization for economic cooperation and development. In R. King, S. Marginson, & R. Naidoo (Eds.), Handbook on globalization and higher education (pp. 95–113). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Welch, H. (2010). Higher education in Germany: Fragmented change amid paradigm shifts. German Politics and Society, 95(28), 53–70.
Wildavsky, B. (2010). The great brain race. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Olson, J. (2016). Shifts in German Internationalization: A New Space for Academic Capitalism. In: Slaughter, S., Taylor, B. (eds) Higher Education, Stratification, and Workforce Development. Higher Education Dynamics, vol 45. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21512-9_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21512-9_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-21511-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-21512-9
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)