Internationalization Plans for Higher Education Institutions

Many studies have been conducted on the internationalization of higher education. Yet little is known about institutional plans for internationalization. This article presents the results of a study conducted with the American Council on Education's Center for International Initiatives on the types, prevalence, development, implementation, and monitoring of internationalization plans at 31 Association of International Education Administrator institutions. Internationalization plans are found in existence at 71% of the institutions. The article discusses the development of an internationalization plan typology, developed based on analysis of these internationalization plans, and can be used by higher education administrators and scholars in designing and evaluating internationalization plans to address specific institutional needs. Moreover, the study identifies five overarching benefits and functions of internationalization plans: An internationalization plan serves as a (a) roadmap for internationalization, (b) vehicle to develop buy-in, (c) mechanism for explaining the meaning and goals of internationalization, (d) medium for interdisciplinary collaboration, and (e) tool for fund-raising.