Private Prometheus: Private Higher Education and Development in the 21st Century

Private higher education is perhaps the most rapidly growing segment of postsecondary education worldwide. In this collection, the authors provide a multifaceted and comparative analysis of private higher education and consider both broad issues and specific case studies. The only book currently available to lend an international focus to this subject, it examines such topics as accreditation, funding, and the impact of the market in the context of Latin American, European, and Asian higher education, and is a unique and invaluable study for researchers and policymakers alike.

Including case studies from Hungary, India, Mexico, Chile, and Malaysia, this book offers new perspectives on such key issues as the relationship of private higher education to social and economic development, competition among institutions, and the association between government and private universities. As private higher education has the potential to provide postsecondary access while limiting public expenditure, it is a significant subject that has thus far been accorded only the narrowest attention. This groundbreaking collection analyzes for the first time its implications in a variety of countries, both developed and developing.