近日，上海密西根学院作为国际合作办学的成功典范在美国《纽约时报》的热议话题中被提及。这则发起在其“辩论空间(Room For Debate)”专栏上的议题“美国高校是否该发展成全球化大学”引发了美国教育专家、学者的激烈讨论。
随着经济全球化的发展，越来越多的美国大学也加入到全球化的进程中：海外建立分校、新增国际合作项目、开设海外研究中心等合作方式发展“全球化”大学到底是大势所趋还是互利双赢，参与话题讨论的美国教育专家、学者各持己见。Abul Hasen，现任美国俄克拉荷马州立大学工学院院长，在讨论中提及上海交通大学与美国密西根大学合办的密西根学院是国际合作办学的成功典范(原文如下)。
2015年1月19日，Abul Hasen教授发布在《纽约时报》的原文：
Joint Programs and Research Centers Are a Better Option
With the money in the Middle East and in Asia, there will be a number of high quality universities popping up in the region, and if we don’t grab a slice of that pie, others will. As such, it is important for us to go global with higher education, as we have some of the best universities in the world.
Global universities are universities that have branch campuses in different countries, have opened joint institutions with other international universities, or are doing collaborative research with them. A number of issues plague many of these international branch campuses, including but not limited to recruiting and retaining quality faculty, upholding academic standards, retaining academic freedom and financing. New York University, Texas A & M and other big name universities are opening up branch campuses financed by host countries; they have very little to lose and a lot to gain.
But far better than branch campuses is the joint institution model. For example, The University of Michigan has a joint institute with Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and it has been quite successful. Michigan students can study abroad in Shanghai, while the joint institute acts as a pipeline through which Michigan can attract top students from China. Along with joint institutions, collaborative research centers with international universities have also been working well. M.I.T. has established a research alliance with Singapore wherein M.I.T. faculty members mentor postdoctoral associates and graduate students, collaborate with researchers from universities, research institutes and industries in Singapore and Asia. Columbia University has also created global centers around the world to promote faculty research and student exchange opportunities.
American universities should think carefully and plan well before opening a branch campus abroad; any international efforts must include graduate studies and research components in order to be successful. The global university trend is growing, and if these international endeavors are well planned, they will help the American higher education system grow as well.
Abul Hasan is the chairman of the School of Engineering Technologies at Oklahoma State University. He was previously the dean of academic affairs for George Mason University-Ras Al Khaimah and the director of academic affairs for Australian College of Kuwait.
背景介绍：
密西根学院是上海交通大学与全球名列第12位，被誉为全美“最佳公立大学“的美国密西根大学（安娜堡）与2006年共同创办的国际化学院，是中国教育部特批设立的高等教育改革特区。经过八年多的发展，从“上海市示范性中外合作办学机构”到”国家级教学成果一等奖”、再到国家教育体制改革小组认定的“中国高等教育改革楷模”，密西根学院在一流师资队伍建设、拔尖创新人才培养、办学体制改革等方面取得了重要突破，走出了一条通过国际合作快速在中国建设国际一流学院的创新之路。2014年，密西根学院荣获了国际教育最高荣誉奖之一的“海斯克尔国际教育革新奖”，成为中国高等教育中外合作办学十余年来首次获得该奖的教育机构， 其创新型，国际化，追求卓越的办学成果，引起国内外主流媒体和教育机构的高度认可和关注。
