ABSTRACT
A global transformation is underway in the political economy of higher education. The political economy of higher education in the Global North underwent a transformation in the second half of the 20th century that dramatically increased higher education capacity and student access, introduced programs to respond to an expanding vision of the public role of universities, etc. In the 21st century, the higher education system in the US and Western Europe has faced dramatic challenges arising from a new and more global transformation in the political economy of higher education. In the US and other nations of the Global North, the response of universities has focused on how to translate the turbulent, competitive, and threatening political economy of higher education into an environment of opportunity for universities that desire to become engines of innovation in a knowledge-based global economy. The changing configuration of US providers is just one facet of a truly global transformation in the topography of higher education.
