ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of postsecondary education in the United States. George Mason University offers an interesting case study of the role of rankings in global activity. The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) clearly gives Mason the most favorable position, even when its North American grouping is juxtaposed with US News. Graduates of Moscow State University were instrumental in establishing relationships in Russia. Arrangements with African partners, tends to concentrate on particular projects, where an eagerness for constructive cooperation tends to trump broader institutional criteria. Consortium arrangements are facilitating student exchange projects with Brazil and Mexico, and have also furthered university planning with regard to opportunities in India. Mason's successful involvement in an undergraduate dual degree program with Chinese partners was mediated by a higher education association in the United States that works with the Ministry of Education in China.
