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Each country responds to internationalization differently and offers various interpretations of the concept. Thailand has incorporated the internationalization of higher education into its plans since 1990. This article aims to discuss the primary motivations of the government and of Thai universities in moving toward the goal of internationalization. The discussion focuses on so-called “international programs” in Thailand. Using English as the medium of instruction, these “international programs” have been widely offered in both public and private universities. The programs illustrate the internationalization of higher education in terms of its teaching function. Generally, government rationales involve both global economic trends and domestic socioeconomic forces. At the institutional level, stakeholders’ demands, needs of universities to generate fee income, and specific reasons drawn from domestic context were shown to be the main drivers of the international programs. Current interpretations of the efforts to internationalize higher education in Thailand show a quantitative growth in programs that only serve particular demographic groups. The substantial contributions that internationalization may offer to the higher education system have not been guaranteed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the first private university in Uganda was founded in 1988 and the private university sector has since grown rapidly to become one of the most prominent features of higher education (HE) in Uganda, the contribution of private universities (PUs) to the provision of HE has remained largely unexplored and as such, less understood. The purpose of this paper, then, is to analyse the contribution of PUs to the provision of HE in Uganda, using theories of the non-profit organisations and Geiger's conceptual framework about rationales for growth of the PUs. The paper is based on data that were collected through qualitative interviews conducted in 2008 with six faculty deans from Uganda Christian University (UCU); reviews of paper and web-based documents from the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) and the PUs in Uganda; and reviews of national and internal literature about private higher education (PHE). Data analysis reveals that excess demand for HE, per se, was not responsible for the growth of the PUs in Uganda; instead, it created opportunities for individuals and organisations to establish PUs. Because of their diverse backgrounds and the policy environment in which they exist, PUs undertake various roles in the provision of HE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the concept and the rationales for the internationalisation of higher education. In particular, the impacts of globalisation and the knowledge economy upon the internationalisation of higher education are examined. The study suggests that the internationalisation of higher education is becoming increasingly dominated by economic imperatives that focus on exporting education and generating income from overseas students. What is currently overlooked is that 'internationalisation' is occurring not only beyond but also within national borders. A practice model is proposed for helping higher education institutions analyse the internationalisation of higher education from four rationales to develop more inclusive internationalisation policies and strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]