University of Georgia

The study of comparative higher education is a logical extension of the multi-disciplinary strengths of the Institute’s graduate programs. The McBee Institute of Higher Education (MIHE) seeks to ensure that the next generation of scholars, leaders, and policymakers understand the importance of thinking internationally, and have a grasp of the social, cultural, political, and governance issues facing higher education worldwide.

  • The McBee Institute is a partner in the Higher Education Initiative for Southeastern Europe (HEISEE). This regional initiative, based in Rijeka, operates as an independent entity serving the countries comprising its membership and offering opportunities for networking for regional consultations, communications, conferences and meetings. the Institute is assisting with the overarching goal of enhancing postsecondary education throughout the region.
  • A Memorandum of Understanding signed between the McBee Institute and the University of Rijeka has solidified fifteen years of collaboration between IHE and the greater Croatian higher education community. Professional development workshops and annual visits between the two institutions have enhanced the quality of scholarship for MIHE and also provided assistance to Croatian universities in meeting established criteria for EU standards. In May 2019, Dr. Timothy Cain and Dr. Leslie Gordon conducted a 16-hour mini-course Issues in the Professionalization of Professoriate: Teaching and Working in Global Universities at the University of Rijeka.
  • The Executive Ed.D. Program in Higher Education Management, based in Atlanta, has an international component that is embedded in the courses and activities. The program also includes a summer session abroad in the Netherlands led by leading scholars from CHEPS, the Center for Higher Education Policy Studies at the University of Twente.
  • Over the past several years, the McBee Institute has hosted visiting scholars from around the world — including China, South Korea, West Indies, Turkey, and Finland — and continues its training work, including in Croatia with workshops on higher education management funded by the U.S. Department of State and local partners.

Visiting Scholars & Administrators

In December 2018, the McBee Institute hosted two administrators from the University of Rijeka, Ms. Daria Glavan Šćulac and Ms. Maja Skočanić. During their week on campus, they visited with MIHE faculty, interim provost Libby Morris, and several outreach and support units on campus, including Archway Partnership, Vinson Center, President’s Office, Gateway Initiative, Institutional Research Office. They appreciated the exchange of ideas and learning more about the scope of public and private partnerships that the University of Georgia engages in, the extent of the impact of these activities beyond the campus, and the level of coordination within UGA departments and centers.

 

Rong Wang, a PhD student from Beijing Normal University, conducted research in the Institute of Higher Education as a research scholar in 2017-18.

Wang earned her master’s degree in the College of Education in Zhejiang University, one of top 5 universities in China. She then began her PhD study in the Faculty of Education in Beijing Normal University, majoring in international and comparative education. The Faculty of Education is a national leader in advancing knowledge and learning through teaching practices, research projects and public services in education and related fields.

Wang’s research interests include international education organization, policies and reforms of higher education. She is now preparing for her doctoral dissertation focusing on the public service and outreach of universities in America. She also plans to do some research on the way UGA conducts research and in its service to the state.

 

The McBee Institute of Higher Education welcomed back alumna Haixia Xu as a visiting scholar for spring semester 2017. Xu, who earned her Ph.D. from the Institute in 2009, is now a Research Fellow at the National Center for Education Development Research of the Chinese Ministry of Education. NCEDR is charged with providing consultancy to the leadership of the ministry and its various departments on macro-level education policies in China.

Xu returned to the McBee Institute on a government grant. Over the spring semester 2017, she completed an assigned study on the funding for humanities and social sciences in American higher education, continued working on a study on MOOCs—of which she is principle investigator—and explored critical issues in higher education in both China and the United States.

In addition, she helped plan the itinerary for the week-long visit to China by students in the Institute’s executive Ed.D. program in higher education administration. “It is an honor to be part of the work in IHE,” said Xu, who traveled to Atlanta twice to help prepare Ed.D. students for the trip. “I wanted to make sure they would be well received on their visit.”

Xu has dedicated time to the study of international higher education, especially trends and strategies of higher education in major countries. She has published, presented and consulted on open and distance education in China and was invited to serve on a national panel on China’s Open University Initiative, contributing to the launch of the first six open universities in China.

In the field of lifelong learning, Xu was a core member of a national project on establishing a learning society in China, and she was coordinator of Research Network 4 (National Strategies for Lifelong Learning) of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Education and Research Hub for Lifelong Learning.

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