ACCORDING TO THE World Bank, individuals
can increase their earnings by 17
percent for each year of post-secondary
schooling they complete. However, in
developing countries, it is estimated that
only 8 percent of young adults are enrolled
in college, compared to 74 percent
of young adults in wealthy nations.
To increase the number of young
adults worldwide who pursue post-secondary
education, Laureate Education,
a public benefit corporation that
expands global access to higher education,
has collaborated with Arizona
State University (ASU) in Tempe to form
Cintana Education.
“In an era where higher education
remains the most powerful global lever
for economic mobility, [Cintana’s] goal is
to empower selected institutions outside
of the United States to achieve their
ambitious goals for growth in scale and
quality,” says Douglas Becker, founder of
Laureate Education as well as founder
and chairman of Cintana Education.
“U.S. institutions have increasingly
focused on attracting international students
to the U.S., but few have been able
to engage effectively at the local level
outside of America to help institutions
advance in their home country,” says
Michael Crow, president of ASU.
The ASU-Cintana partnership will
partner with government entities and
the private sector to support the development
of startup universities equipped
to meet the needs of their countries. It
will focus primarily on building capacity
at nonprofit universities outside the U.S.
Participating universities will become
part of the Cintana Alliance, a global
network of universities.