Higher & Continuing Education, Administration 

This book provides an analysis of the key changes taking place in Malaysian private higher education in the post-legislation period, including the identification and interpretation of key themes which have emerged during the implementation of this policy. It also analyses a range of key data sources, including legislation, policy documents and ministerial statements, and interviews with key private higher education institutions and six referral groups of informants. These informants include key executives of government agencies, private higher education associations, foreign affiliated universities, and local and foreign students. Based on an analysis of the data, themes are identified and interpretations made. Information technology education has become a marketplace to the information technology multinational corporations and the local private colleges as a result of the Malaysian government's strong emphasis on developing an edge in the knowledge economy. The international roadshows led by the government, and strongly promoted by leading private colleges, have rapidly expanded the presence of Malaysian private higher education in the regional marketplace. Globalization, isomorphism and privatization are identified as underpinning forces influencing the government's and the players' responses. These have impacted to generate a transformation of Malaysian private education from a colonial transnational model to one making Malaysian higher education a major export in the region. The author cautions that "bigger" may not necessarily be "better" for private higher education development. She concludes with policy recommendations to build a stronger homes-based private higher education centre and to introduce a quality control model that can straddle the context of private higher education in a transnational setting. - from Amzon