On May 28 and 29, academic leaders, researchers, and policymakers from five continents discussed the key issues facing private higher education worldwide. The social responsibilities of the private sector in higher education for societal improvement and service were discussed, as well as more traditional topics such as accreditation, quality control, the financing of private higher education, and others. The significant diversity of the private sector in higher education was illustrated in reports from such diverse countries as Mexico, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Hungary. Realities differ, but problems are quite similar.

Daniel Levy, a noted researcher on private higher education, focused on what he termed isomorphism--the tendency of private universities to look similar in response to pressures toward uniformity. Other participants emphasized the variations among countries and even within systems. The funding of private higher education, and the difficulties of operating institutions based on student tuition in a competitive marketplace were emphasized. The link between funding, quality, and access was seen as one of the more perplexing issues facing private higher education. Issues of quality and accreditation were, not surprisingly, considered, and reports concerning accrediting arrangements in various parts of Latin America were discussed. Most of the participants agreed that the private sector is absorbing much of the growth in rapidly expanding academic systems throughout the world.

A special focus was on Latin America because of the explosive growth of private institutions there, and about half of the invited participants came from this region. The invitational conference was funded by the Ford Foundation. Boston College, as a private university in the Jesuit tradition that maintains links with other universities worldwide, was an appropriate place for the meeting, which was organized by the Center for International Higher Education. A book will be published containing the papers commissioned for the conference. Participants included university presidents and rectors, staff members from the Inter American Development Bank, and researchers on private higher education. The group was united in its concern for understanding, and improving, private higher education worldwide.