What can universities in the United States do to counter the rise of xenophobia?

By Brendan O'Malley – Managing Editor. In Commentary, Andrés Castro Samayoa suggests that universities in the United States could make international students feel more included by building coalitions between all those whose identities are under scrutiny in these politically turbulent times. Christopher Ziguras examines why so few students have taken up the promise of global online learning and considers how the market might grow in future. V Santhakumar says it is crucial to improve the quality of schooling in India to ensure that more students are better prepared and motivated for higher education, which would in turn benefit the economy. And Rebecca Schendel hopes that the publication of a widely contested essay on colonialism will serve as a wake-up call to academics to ensure that peer review does not lose its credibility as a guarantor of publication trustworthiness.
   In World Blog this week, Hans de Wit says threatening developments indicate that defending academic freedom will be high on the agenda for higher education in 2018, but there are also some positive trends worth working towards this year.
   In Features, Yojana Sharma interviews Christopher Tremewan, secretary general of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, about how the association is stepping up its impact on policy to help tackle major global and regional challenges.
   In a Special Report on a London seminar on the future of transnational education, Nic Mitchell reports that international campuses are increasingly blurring the lines between international student recruitment and mobility and transnational education. Mitchell also reported on discussions around the potential for transnational education to broaden higher education access to the world’s poorest communities.
   This Wednesday a webinar looking at how higher education megatrends will shape the future of global higher education and international student mobility will be hosted by StudyPortals, with University World News as the media partner. You are invited to register. More...