A comparative study of student mobility programs in SEAMEO-RIHED, UMAP, and Campus Asia

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the student mobility programs of the three initiatives – in Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization-Regional Institution of Higher Education and Development, University Mobility in Asia and Pacific (UMAP), and Campus Asia – and provide a comparative analysis of the respective programs in terms of the role of government, institutional involvement, quality assurance, and challenges. In addition, the paper will assess their impacts on higher education regionalization by regulatory models toward the end of the paper. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts qualitative document analysis as a major research method to explore the developmental models of three student mobility programs. Document analysis is an approach used to gather and review the content of existing written documentation related to the study in order to extract pieces of information in a rigorous and systematic manner. Findings ASEAN International Mobility for Students (AIMS), Collective Action for Mobility Program of University Student in Asia (CAMPUS Asia), and UMAP student mobility schemes have a shared purpose in higher education regionalization, but with different regulatory frameworks and Functional, Organizational, and Political approach models. AIMS and CAMPUS Asia as a strong network and government-led initiatives adopt a combination of functional, organizational, and political approaches; UMAP provides university-driven regional mobility programs with a hybridized force. However, all three of them face the same challenges at regional and national levels, such as different national regulation, coordination among participants, and implementation of credit transfer schemes. Practical implications The scale of three student mobility programs is still low, which results in limited impact on higher education regionalization in Asia. However, a stronger decision-making model and increased financial support to universities and students are desirable for the creation of a sustainable and effective network. Originality/value This is an original research and makes a great contribution to Asian nations.

Impact of a consortium-based student mobility programme: The case of AIMS (Asian International Mobility for students)

“…AIMS is a consortium-based student mobility programme, in which over 6,000 students participated in a semester-long student exchange (SEAMEO RIHED, 2020). This is one of the largest-scale student mobility programmes involving many countries in the region of Asia (Chi Hou et al. , 2017).…”

Seoul Destination: A Mixed-methods Study of a Korean University

“…Kim & Torres, 2008); • increasing the number of classes available in English as a common academic language (Byun & M. Kim, 2011;Chun et al, 2017); • the introduction of various programs such as Brain Korea 21,Study Korea,and the World Class University project (Byun et al, 2013;Green, 2015;T. Kim, 2017); • the co-development and funding of regional multilateral student mobility programs such as the Collective Action for Mobility Program of University Students in Asia (CAMPUS Asia) as well as University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific (UMAP) (Hou et al, 2017); • the investment in a transnational/regional education hub in Songdo, Incheon (IGC, n.d.;Jon et al, 2014); • funding of international student scholarships, chiefly the Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) and the Korean Government Scholarship Program (KGSP) (Krechetnikov & Pestereva, 2017;Study in Korea, 2019).…”