The Commoditization of Higher Education: Trends and Their Global Implications (offered by ETS)

Chair: Maria Leonor Alves Maia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco

Yvette Donado, Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of ETS

Yvette Donado will speak about the “commoditization” of higher education and its international implications.  “Commoditization” refers to the recognition that higher education is now a commodity, a good, something that can be bought and sold, marketed, developed, refined and used as an article of commerce. Growing competition for academic and technological talent worldwide means that institutions and countries are competing for talent as never before.  Can such competition be equitable, given inequities in the varying capacity from country to country to pay for talent%3F International student flows are changing the educational and employment landscape.

She will also discuss the phenomenon of “talent surplus” countries, those that are producing college graduates and professionals who can compete for jobs globally, and “talent deficit” countries such as the United States that need to import talent.  In this regard, “talent deficit” countries find themselves refining immigration policies to 1) attract more students from abroad; 2) retain those admitted for higher education studies; and 3) retain those already engaged in higher and post-graduate education.  Brazil, with its Brazil Scientific Mobility Program (formerly Science Without Borders) initiative and Mexico, with its Foro Bilateral Sobre Educación Superior, Innovación e Investigación (FOBESII) program, are among the many countries with policies that seek to increase the number of two-way flows of university students.    

Closely related to the above are her views about evolving attitudes and policies in the United States with respect to dual language learning.  Although the United States is a “language deficit” country, there is growing recognition that fluency in other languages is a valuable asset in increasing productivity and global competitiveness.  Other countries see English as a tool not only for educational attainment but also to boost trade.

Drawing on research at Educational Testing Service, she will speak to the increasing interest in identifying and measuring noncognitive attributes of students and employees.  These attributes – e.g., leadership, communication skills, persistence and others – can often explain relative success in studies and in the workplace, yet scientific methods to measure them as predictors of success are lacking.  University admissions officers and workplace human resource professional are turning to such tools increasingly as a means to help ensure success.  The return on investment can be high when such measurements are employed. 

Donado will present data from the Programme for International Student Assessment of Achievement (PISA), the research initiative of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).  It is a comparative study of educational outcomes of high school students in OECD countries and countries worldwide, and ETS is a lead coordinator of the research. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has chosen ETS to manage and develop the 2018 cycle of research.  PISA results are used by educators and policymakers worldwide to evaluate and improve their educational systems and promote learning.

ETS will be responsible for overall project management including survey design, test development, operations and quality control, expansion of the computer platform, as well as data processing, scaling and analysis. The work for the 2018 cycle began in July 2014 and runs through September 2020. ETS will collaborate with, and coordinate the work of, three other core contractors.

Finally, she will extend an invitation to attendees, governments and institutions to participate in potential partnerships with ETS in research in psychometrics, test development and other areas.