Paradox or parody? Globalization and internationalization of higher education

An ongoing study on international university co-operation has been conducted to classify international university organisations by purpose and administrative patterns.Between the years from 1996-2008, surveys were sent to over 600 international university organisations worldwide in which respondents were asked to classify their entity. While characteristics are found which distinguish unique qualities, a further analysis is undertaken to determine whether such entities evolved as a consequence of globalisation (i.e. massification, transnational regulatory frameworks, ICT networks and knowledge banks) or because of economic imperative related to internationalisation strategies. The paper suggests that globalisation and internationalisation policies and practices converge as well as diverge around the world and accordingly are fundamentally different in both response and action.