The 50th volume in the book series ‘Global Perspectives on Higher Education' offers a stimulating and thoughtful assessment of higher education from a global perspective which addresses the challenges and prospects for the next decade. The challenges now faced by higher education and its likely future prospects and patterns are examined in terms of policy papers and case studies. Five broad topics are considered: the situation of academic faculty, the demand for access, the role of the university in society and its governance, funding trends, and higher education’s international dimensions.

The volume brings together as authors fourteen of the thirty participants of the Fulbright New Century Scholars 2005/2006 program, whose research addressed the topic of Higher Education in the 21st Century: Global Challenge and National Response and was published in a volume edited by the program leaders, Philip G. Altbach and Patti McGill Peterson, Higher Education in the New Century: Global Challenges and Innovative Ideas (2007). The present book not only continues the examination and assessment of current global trends in higher education, but also bears witness to the enduring power of Senator Fulbright’s vision of furthering mutual international understanding and offering collaborative study opportunities which extend the frontiers of knowledge.