No abstract

Over the past 20 years, international student mobility has experienced a three-fold increase, as planned and emerging education hubs have attracted increasing numbers of students. The appeal of alternative destinations is strengthened by their cultural, linguistic, and geographic proximity, as well as a growing number of internationally ranked universities. This article quantifies shifts in international student mobility and world university rankings over a consequential 20-year period (1999/2000–2018/2019) at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It examines shifts in the number of county-to-country connections (density), relative country importance in the network (centrality), and network structure (multipolarity). The results indicate the overall network density steadily increased year-to-year, with a three-fold increase in the number of country-to-country connections, as influence was more widely and evenly distributed among a larger number of core countries within the network. As the number of universities in planned and emerging destinations listed in the rankings doubled, the network structure indicated a movement toward multipolarity, where a more diverse set of countries exerted greater relative influence in the overall network. The results suggest that while core-periphery dynamics in international student mobility persist, they also have begun to shift, as a larger and more diverse subset of planned and emerging educational hubs in Asia, South America, Africa, and the Middle East exert increasing influence in the overall network.

Objective: This article explores entrepreneurial leadership behavior from the vantage point of mid- and senior-level administrators who lead international education initiatives at U.S. community colleges. Administrators’ choices are examined to understand how they develop and use strategies for targeted problem solving within their institutional context. Research questions posed in this study include: (1) How, if at all, do community college international education leaders (CC-IELs) self-identify as entrepreneurs? (2) What characteristics embody a CC-IEL entrepreneurial leader? (3) How are CC-IELs navigators of institutional contexts? Methods: Semi-structured interviews are used to investigate the perspectives and entrepreneurial leadership skills and behaviors of 14 CC-IELs. A narrative analysis approach allowed these leaders to reflect on their perspectives and narrate their decision-making process. Results: Findings indicated that the CC-IELs in this study identified as entrepreneurial leaders, used characteristics such as collaboration to build a culture of innovation, and strategically utilized relationships with stakeholders to ground themselves as navigators of institutional contexts. Contributions: This article contributes to the understanding of an under-studied group of leaders in community colleges, specifically those who lead international education programs. It also provides insight into the entrepreneurial dimensions of CC-IEL leadership roles.

This reflective article explores the different experiences of two higher education professionals who utilized intentional reflection to help with the transition to new countries and cultural environments. Both stories focus on how these higher education professionals grappled with challenges of being members of majority and minority groups within the racial and religious contexts of their new environments. The article concludes by sharing recommendations for how other higher education professionals can utilize reflection to help with transition and cultural adjustment.