PROPHEts in CIES Conference 2007

PROPHE ran two tandem panels at the 52nd Annual Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, March 17-21, 2008. Echoing the conference’s theme of access, PROPHE panels addressed “Private Higher Education and Its Access Role” in two regions with salient private growth in higher education: Asia and the Americas.

The Asian panel was chaired by Joanna Demurat, PROPHE Doctoral Research Associate, and had Philip G. Altbach, Monan Professor of Higher Education and the Director of the Center for International Higher Education, Boston College, as discussant. Akiyoshi Yonezawa, PROPHE Collaborating Scholar, co-presented with Hirosuke Honda, PROPHE Doctoral Research Associate, discussed expansion of Japanese private higher education and its impact on access and career through a historical perspective. Daniel C. Levy, PROPHE Director, gave an overview on access and increasing role of private demand-absorbing higher education subsector worldwide, illustrating throughout with the Indian case. Prachayani Praphamontripong, PROPHE Doctoral Research Associate, illustrated different access roles between private demand-absorbing and semi-elite higher education subsectors through the Thai case.

The Americas panel was chaired by Ancell Scheker Mendoza, a doctoral student of the Comparative and International Education Policy Program (CIEPP), University at Albany-SUNY, with Daniel C. Levy as discussant. Juan Carlos Silas Casillas, PROPHE Affiliate, discussed his research on the access role of private demand-absorbing higher education institutions in Mexico. Kevin Kinser, PROPHE Collaborating Scholar, talked about private higher education access through the U.S. for-profit sector.Comments of his presentation has already appeared on Diverse: Issues in Higher Education: http://diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_10888.shtml

In addition, PROPHEts also presented their research/ scholarly papers in several sessions. Daniel Levy shared his experiences with Philip Foster at Albany in the session, “The Influence of Philip Foster in Comparative Education.” Juan Carlos Silas Casillas explored intercultural universities in Mexico through a policy promoting access and equity in the New Century Scholars panel on “Arguments, Actors and Policies in Postsecondary Educational Equity: A Comparative Case Study.” Makoto Nagasawa presented his study of foreign academic credential evaluation in Europe.

PROPHEts in the news: Daniel C. Levy, PROPHE Director, gave his view on the proliferation of private higher education worldwide to InsideHigherEd.com during the 52nd Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Annual Conference in New York. Likewise, Diverseeducation.com reported on for-profit institutions and access in the U.S. and Mexico based on the PROPHE Americas Panel at the same conference.

How the Private Sector Offers Access to Higher Education Worldwide
Access is one of the salient higher education concerns worldwide and crucial to equity. While student demand for higher education has been rising rapidly, there seem strong limitations on what can be accommodated through public higher education. This is one main reason that private higher education (PHE) has developed powerfully in recent decades and seems destined to grow further. PHE is often popularly associated with privilege. In fact, outside the USA, little PHE is elite. Instead, as the private sector has moved to account for one third of global higher education enrollment, it has done so mainly through quite non-elite demand-absorbing institutions, including many that provide access for groups hitherto without access. Accordingly, we must explore how the private sector handles the increasing demand and investigate the varied private institutional types most involved in offering access.
To further discuss about PHE and higher education access, Daniel C. Levy, PROPHE Director, gave his view on the proliferation of PHE worldwide to InsideHigherEd.com during the 52nd Comparative and International Education Society Annual Conference in New York. Also, Diverseeducation.com summarized PROPHE Americas Panel as its news report, focusing on for-profit institutions and access in the U.S. and Mexico. See the full stories from the links below.

InsideHigherEd.com, March 19, 2008, “Private Colleges Proliferating, Worldwide,” by Elizabeth Redden, http://insidehighered.com/news/2008/03/19/private.
Diverseeducation.com, March 24, 2008, “Scholars Explore Whether For-Profit Universities Improve Access,” by Lois Elfman, http://diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_10888.shtml.

Asian Panel: Does Private Higher Education Promote Access?
(Click here to listen to an audio file of the full panel presentation.)

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PROPHE Collaborating Scholar, Akiyoshi Yonezawa talked about expansion of private higher education and its impact to access and career, using the Japanese historical experience. (Click here to listen to an audio file.) (Click here to download a power point presentation.)


	PROPHE Director, Daniel C. Levy, discussed access and the increasing role of private demand-absorbing higher education subsector through the case of India. (Click here to listen to an audio file.)


PROPHE Doctoral Research Associate, Prachayani Praphamontripong, presented her research on access roles of semi-elite and demand-absorbing higher education institutions in the Thai private sector. (Click here to listen to an audio file.) (Click here to download a power point presentation.)


	Philip G. Altbach, the panel’s discussant.
The Americas Panel: Does Private Higher Education Promote Access? (Click here to listen to an audio file of the full panel presentation.)
	(Left to right) Juan Carlos Silas Casillas, Kevin Kinser, Ancell Scheker Mendoza, Daniel C. Levy


	(PROPHE Affiliate, Juan Carlos Silas Casillas, gave a presentation on, “Demand-Absorbing Institutions as Enhancers of Access to Higher Education in Mexico.” (Click here to listen to an audio file.) (Click here to download a power point presentation.)


PROPHE Collaborating Scholar, Kevin Kinser, talked about the access role of U.S. for-profit higher education institutions, focusing on 3 issues: access to what, access to whom, and access at what cost. (Click here to listen to an audio file.) (Click here to download a power point presentation.)


	PROPHE Director, Daniel C. Levy, as the panel’s discussant.


	Director: Daniel C. Levy


The panel’s atmosphere