There are 100 million students in higher education throughout the world today. This collection provides some indication of what are they are learning and of their wider experiences. It also outlines the changing global context of provision for undergraduate students as countries and universities respond to what they anticipate will be new demands for virtual and more traditional learning in and across subjects of study. It brings together contributions from a range of authors to focus on common themes combined with descriptions of the student experience in national higher education systems. This affords insight into what students can expect from emerging patterns of provision worldwide. It also informs institutional decision makers as they attempt to meet changing international student demand within their own national circumstances of retrenchment or expansion in competition with private, public, and for-profit rivals at home and abroad.

The editors present this panorama of provision through a team of expert contributors who relate their experience and knowledge to shared global concerns. Thus, they combine the big picture of economic and political globalisation with examination of its various aspects, such as

• cultural differences in learning,
• distance provision
• quality in the context of competition
• the globally connected undergraduate curriculum
• the predominance of business amongst other subjects of study, and
• the assessment and ‘employability’ of graduates.

At the same time, in an increasingly open market there are also restrictions upon student travel and residence in many polities, and increasingly variable fees for home and international students. These pan-global themes are combined with an overview of ‘Western’ higher education, including the US, English and UK, and Australian systems of higher education contrasted with systems in different cultural contexts, such as the Middle East, Africa and South America, as well as the new giants China and India.