Abstract:

As the world shrinks, the influence of education retains not only its parochial and local elements, but easily stretches its influence into global transnational networks and borderless collaborative relationships. Higher education institutions throughout the world provide the means to meet today’s information and knowledge requirements dictated by the ever-fluid global marketplace. Problems, issues, and concerns regarding the global outreach of higher education are beginning to take on a stronger voice. However, professors and students at higher education institutions around the world still are conducting relatively little global education research. Therefore, remaining unaddressed are pressing educational issues such as the enhancement of cross-cultural curriculums, use of technology and virtual classrooms, fostering of trans-disciplinary global research, enrichment of global teaching and learning strategies for a changing global citizen and the development of a collegial transnational higher education system.

One influential person who can begin to address these and other global education issues is the college/university president. By virtue of their position, college/university presidents wield great power and authority to direct their respective institutions and lend support to global education research. Decisions made by presidents of colleges/universities have significant consequences on not only complicated local and national concerns but also complex transnational tertiary education issues. If college/university presidents around the world are expected to make the similar types of decisions to foster a borderless transnational tertiary education system, then it is important to know more about the substance of their work and how they make the administrative and fiscal management decisions.

This global pilot study identified “pre-choice” factors employed by presidents of higher education institutions around the world prior to making decisions. Seven (7) college/university presidents, one participant on each continent (North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe with an island representative as a substitute for Antarctica) participated in the study to accommodate global distribution.

This pilot study provides relevant information on two fronts. First, the study is global in scope and provides insight into the process and feasibility of global educational research undertaken by research scholars. Secondly, the study is a platform for higher education presidents around the world to share their insights which can be helpful to policy makers and others in higher education around the world.