Higher education leaders today recognize the need to develop an international strategy for their institutions but may lack the knowledge and perspective required to inform good decisions. Institutions must create educational environments where students will begin to appreciate the complexity of global integration and develop skills to navigate it successfully. International outreach and initiatives enrich institutional culture but must be based on good information and analysis.

To address this need, the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Boston College Center for International Higher Education (CIHE) launched a publication and webinar series titled International Briefs for Higher Education Leaders. The purpose of the series is to assist campus leaders in their efforts to make sense of a broad and complex set of issues inherent in the internationalization of American higher education today. In an era of “information overload” and in light of the realities of time constraints faced by busy institutional leaders, each Brief publication is organized around one clearly defined topic.

This book features the key themes of global engagement, China, India, and the “southern cone” in Latin America.