ABSTRACT
This chapter cites three cases of transitional economies in eastern Asia, such as China, Mongolia and Vietnam, that are on the move to rapid reforms in higher education. The environment of the global recession is that of an eastern Asia far more economically integrated than during past economic shocks, with more unified aspirations about becoming globally competitive and socially responsible as it moves toward the center of the world economic system. In general, Asian colleges and universities have a checkered past in weathering recession and economic shock, especially as they impact on particular income groups, regions, and sectors of the labor market. Inadequate government responses may be due to anachronistic assumptions about the role of higher education in development. Moreover, as global universities continue to shape the world of higher education, regional partnerships among universities within eastern Asia constitute a potentially pivotal development.
